Seeing this thread for the first time.

My younger sister has Downs. She's almost 30 and has been one of the great pleasures of my and my older sibling's lives.

Both of my parents had to work full time so we were very much involved in helping with her in the home. But I can assure you that we learned more from her over the years than she ever learned from us.

The love that people with Downs have for those around them is about as pure a love as you can find. As a child, anytime someone walked in our door, my sister was always the first to run up to them and greet them with a hug.

Definitely get involved with Families Helping Families. Lafayette has the Hopefest/Hopewalk. Your local ARC will be helpful as well.

Also, don't know if you've already applied for it, but there is a program through the state where the state will pay an aid (you get to choose who it is as long as they don't live under your roof) up to 20 hours a week to come to your home and assist with education or homecare needs. There's a list so you should try to get on it soon.

The program is called the New Opportunities Waiver: LINK

This post was edited on 8/11/20 at 1:31 pm

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Posted by OweO

Plaquemine, La

Member since Sep 2009

113972 posts

Posted on 8/11/20 at 1:42 pm to couv1217

If I can offer any advice it would be to raise her not as if she has DS, but as if she is a kid.. who just happens to have DS. In other words, prepare her for the real world. That might be really hard to do, but it will benefit her as she gets order.

People tend to act the way they are treated and people with any noticeable "disability" will be treated different. And when I say different, that means it varies from person to person.

The main thing is to help her be aware that people will take advantage or try to take advantage. And while it might sound like a harsh thing to say, its for her protection.

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