Just a little sister

Patrick is, in many ways, a typical 4 year old boy. He likes Transformers and superheroes, has to get to places either on wheels or running and makes almost anything his personal climbing frame. His sister, Trudy, is very much a typical little girl but for one slight imbalance in her DNA. She has one extra 21st chromosome: Down’s Syndrome.

Having Trudy comes with its injustices and frustration but, for the most part, we are a little family unit which operates in much the same way as other family units. I want to tell their story through the incredible photos taken by a friend of ours. She has captured the normality of family life, which represents life for a lot of families of children with disabilities. It is often when we step outside the protective doors that we get the extended looks, the averted eyes, the awkward questions. Patrick and Trudy’s story will hopefully encourage more positive and understanding attitudes towards disability because, when you see life through Patrick’s eyes, Trudy is just his little sister.

But we do ask that you stick to a few general principles:

• Don’t be surprised that she can’t walk or talk yet, or that she is small for her age. She has Down’s Syndrome and this means developmental delay.
• Her name is Trudy. She is not ‘Down’s’.
• She is not always happy. She can be a pain sometimes.
• Be respectful or our children. We are doing this to raise awareness for disability and families living with Down’s Syndrome.

I am Trudy’s mum first of all, but I have learnt a great deal along the way and have a desire to share this awareness and knowledge with families of people with Down’s Syndrome and professionals, being a teacher myself.

You can find links to my publications above and my blog posts below. These are updated whenever important and informative things happen in our lives, and written with the help of professional colleagues and parent friends. There is information on different stages of development as we see it, anecdotal but researched.

If you would like to get in touch for training, consultation or talks, see below.