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My name is Cheryl Roberts and I was a part of the Idaho Partners in Policymaking class that took place last weekend. I want to thank you for your presentations. I don't know if I can fully express how my perspective has been changed by your words.
When I arrived home last Saturday evening I was tired from the weekend and happy to see my family. The weather was warm and Emma and Justin began playing out in our front yard with some of the neighborhood kids. As I watched my young daughter play with her brother and their friends I began to cry! It seemed that I was seeing her for the first time! All I could see was a beautiful four-year-old girl running and playing with her friends. I wasn't "assessing" her gait or trying to figure out how I could make her play "more productive" or wondering if she could understand the games. She was carefree and beautiful and having a wonderful time.
How can I thank you enough for opening my eyes to see the beautiful little girl and not the disability?
It is truly like I am seeing things from a different perspective. I had honestly not expected to come home and discontinue Emma's therapies, but as I sat with her this week in SLT, OT and PT, all I could see is her frustration when she was pushed so hard and our expectations were always that she do just a little more. We are always asking her to jump farther, draw better, speak more clearly and in general do more! I have previously joked with the therapists that as soon as Emma "gets" one thing they move on to the next. Now I can see how detrimental this can be to her spirit because she may never feel like she's accomplished anything. I don't know that I can continue with things as they are, because I am no longer who I was.
Even my husband gets it. I have shared a lot with him and he came to me this week and said that because of this information he feels like we have been given permission to treat Emma as a four-year-old girl, i.e. normally!! We are moving ahead to replace PT with gymnastics and we are looking into swimming and dance. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Emma could look back when she was grown and say "Yes, I have Down syndrome, but my life has been much the same as my brother's. We went to the same schools, we spent time in the same activities, Justin learned karate and I learned to dance. We had our differences, but we lived in the same world!"
Thank you for walking the road ahead of us, for sharing your opinions and your years of experience. I am sure we will have many, many questions as we move forward, but I am confident we can navigate the waters ahead. I am beginning to read your book and we will continue to search out resources that will help us on this new journey.
NOTE: After Cheryl sent the first Email, we corresponded, and she shared a second wonderful experience:
I was thinking about you because of something that happened yesterday morning. It reminded me of the value of ensuring that Emma has opportunities to lead a "normal" life. We have discontinued Emma's OT, PT and SLT and started her in gymnastics as of last week. She has been to two gymnastics classes so far, and she seems to really enjoy them, but what happened yesterday morning leaves no doubt! I had driven Justin to school and Emma stayed home with Dad. When I walked in the door, Emma was there waiting for me with her shoes on and obviously ready to go somewhere. I asked her, "Emma, why do you have your shoes on? Where are you going?" and her reply was, "G'nastics mommy" : - ) She was ready to do MORE gymnastics!
Unfortunately she didn't have a class yesterday, but I recognize that she is really enjoying her new activity! It is immensely rewarding to see Emma living life and how quickly she is reaping the rewards of a "normal" life. Woo Hoo!! |
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