As part of Down Syndrome Awareness Month, I’ve created a series to expose some myths about Down syndrome. I hope that you’ll find it helpful and informative.
Myth: People with Down syndrome are always happy.
I can assure you that this widely-held myth is absolutely not true. I even have proof. 🙂
People with Down syndrome experience a full range of emotions, just like chromosome-typical people do. They experience joy and heartache, happiness and frustration. They can be stubborn and sweet, sneaky and charming. Even at the tender age of eighteen months, Nathan experiences all of these emotions and more (especially “sneaky and charming”).
The Origin of the Myth
I’m voicing my personal opinion, based not on facts but on my experiences and anecdotal evidence. What I’ve witnessed in my interactions with people who have Down syndrome is that they seem to be predisposed to being pleasant – it’s like happy is their default setting! A woman named Julie that I met several months ago who has Down syndrome described it as having the “the love chromosome.” My belief in a God that doesn’t make mistakes tells me that she’s right, but a little part of me wonders if the perception of “always happy” is more of a reflection on the rest of us – maybe we aren’t happy enough, because we’re jaded, or too driven, or we spend too much time dwelling on disappointments and imperfections in our lives to embrace what we’ve been given.
What has been your experience in your interactions with people with Down syndrome?
Other Posts in this series:
Do All People With Down Syndrome Look the Same?
Lauren is having a tantrum of some kind 90% of the time that she is awake. The only time she is in a good mood is at school and gramma’s. When she’s home, she does her best to get into trouble and push buttons. She is rarely “happy”.
Great example! Many 2-, 3-, and 4-year olds are…challenging. 🙂 Even though “terrible twos” is the expression, most of my friends and I agreed that age 3 was actually much worse because they know more and are able to communicate more, but you still can’t reason with them.
I’d say Lauren’s emotions are pretty “typical.”
I think his shirt is hilarious. And he’s just so wonderfully Nathan.
Hope you don’t mind, I mentioned Sarah Kate and her bike on my blog yesterday. (Go Sarah Kate!!) : )
I saw the pingback – thank you!
And I wondered if anyone would notice the shirt…
I have never thought people with DS were always happy we are human after all and no one is happy 24/7 that being said me having Cerebral Palsy doesn’t make me sad all the time either 🙂
Amen, Nisha! Sarah Kate is rarely ever sad!
I nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award !
Thanks, Dawn!
A thought provoking perspective! Thank you for sharing it. I just want to give him a big old hug in each of those photos!
It didn’t last long, I promise. The dog barked and startled him. 🙂
When Ethan was little, people woud ask if he was always so happy. I would respond “yes, except when he’s not”. Just found your blog and looking forward to following it. I don’t have a blog but am doing 31 FB posts for Down Syndrome myself.
Fantastic, Mary! It doesn’t matter what medium you use to bring about awareness, just that you are doing it!