Choices

This is part two of a four part series on "My issues" with the Republican VP nominee.

The definition for a "Special needs" child is the individual requirements (as for education) of a person with a disadvantaged background or a mental, emotional, or physical disability or a high risk of developing one — special–needs adjective.

The definition Down Syndrome is a congenital condition characterized by moderate to severe mental retardation, slanting eyes, a broad short skull, broad hands with short fingers, and trisomy of the human chromosome numbered 21 —called also Down's syndrome.

I wonder if a child with "special needs" would require special care or special attention or extra care and attention? From the definition it sounds like a baby born with Down Syndrome would really need some extra special care or I could just look back into my past with my "sister" Libby. She was born with that trisomy of the human chromosome numbered 21. She required extra special attention and she was fairly high functioning.

To be fair, Libby became my sister later in my life. She was my mother's first cousin and when my great aunt died, my parents adopted Libby. When I think about it now, the process was actually pretty smooth. But it wasn't as if we hadn't know Libby her whole life. I never recall a Christmas or summer vacation without Libby. While the loss of her mother was hard on Libby, once she was adopted, she adapted. It almost felt seamless. There was one absolute with my new sister and that was that she could NEVER be alone. This part was not so seamless and it really did take the whole family to help care for her. Why am I pouring out all this minutia... bottom line is this - A Down Syndrome baby is such a special gift but as it is with special gifts, it requires more of you and more from you than Sarah Palin seems to gather. Down syndrome babies deserve to have the full attention and support of their family and the job Sarah Palin is running for requires and deserves as much or more... this requires a choice and as my husband and I tell our kids... Make good choices, make good decisions - they say who you are and they are yours forever.