Sun-Beams is a collection of links to stories, articles, photos, or videos I have come across that I believe will inspire, inform, or encourage you, as well as my favorite photo posted on my other blog, Violet Film, from the past week.
A Letter to My Son About Autism – A poignant look into one family’s life with autism
Utah Mom’s Plea: Let 12-year-old daughter into first grade – I’d love to hear your thoughts; I understand the mom’s position, but my question would be, “What’s next?”
This Girl Will Stop People From Aborting Babies With Down Syndrome – Kurt and Chloe Kondrich strike again…and what they’ve accomplished will save lives.
Meet Ben Jackson: The 21-Year-Old Athlete With Cerebral Palsy Who Defied All Odds – Great story and even better images!
Photo of the Week:
Yes, I am kind of a slacker again – this photo was taken not this week, but the week before, but it’s so sweet and I forgot to share it last week!
I was shocked by the statistic that 60-90% of parents choose abortion when faced with a Down Syndrome diagnosis. I love reading your posts, Andi, because they’re not only heart-warming, but I learn things! In the last 6 months two of my children became parents and in both cases, they chose not to have the testing. Their question (with horrified looks not their faces) was “Why do we need know? It’s not like we’re not going to keep our baby!”
It really is a shocking statistic – it was one of the first things I learned after Nathan was born and it upset me tremendously. We were split on testing with our two kids – with Sarah Kate I did it because I wanted to “be prepared” (HA! How naive and foolish I was…) but with Nathan we refused.
I’m so glad you’re reading! One of these days when I decide I want to try to get published, I will drop you a line!
Please do. It’s a crazy, wonderful business.
I had testing done with our 13 year old (so we could be “prepared”) that ultimately resulted in a false positive, intense emotions and an unnecessary amnio. He later was diagnosed with Autism, so guess what? We still weren’t prepared!
When the next two came along, we declined anything further than routine ultrasounds.
That was exactly our rationale the second time around – there’s no test for premature labor and cerebral palsy, which is what we had with Sarah Kate, and we managed!