In Newsweek Magazine

Life With Trig: Sarah Palin on Raising a Special-Needs Child

Feb 6, 2012 12:00 AM EST

He's nearing his fourth birthday. He has Down syndrome. And he greets every day with a round of applause.

Last week, Rick Santorum and his family offered us a reminder of what really matters. When his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, born with Trisomy 18, was hospitalized with pneumonia, Rick left the campaign trail to be by her bedside. In the middle of this very heated campaign season, many of us prayed through tears for Bella's health and added prayers of thankfulness for a public example of someone's sacrifice made with the right priorities.

It's a sacrifice every parent and caregiver of a child with special needs sympathizes with. Families of children with special needs are bonded by a shared experience of the joys, challenges, fears, and blessings of raising these beautiful children whom we see as perfect in this imperfect world.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, on rope lines at rallies across the country, my husband, Todd, and I met so many of these families and caretakers, and I'll never forget them. There was an instant connection--a kind of mutual acknowledgment that said, "Yes, these children are precious and loved. Yes, we face extra fears and challenges, but our children are a blessing, and the rest of the world is missing out in not knowing this."

Every parent struggles with juggling the commitments of work and family. Women, especially, know this well. Over the years, I've learned that women can "have it all," just not all at once. For me, it was a lesson learned through the school of hard knocks, but it was one my own mother made me aware of when she calmly told me that as a working mom in the rough-and-tumble political arena, I would have to make tough choices. We all do. In making decisions about my career, I've put my family first, and I've never regretted it, although it has meant periodically putting particular pursuits on the back burner.

When I discovered early in my pregnancy that my baby would be born with an extra chromosome, the diagnosis of Down syndrome frightened me so much that I dared not discuss my pregnancy for many months. All I could seem to muster was a calling out to God to prepare my heart for what was ahead. My prayers were answered beyond my shallow understanding of what true joy could be. Yes, raising a child with special needs is a unique challenge, and there's still fear about my son Trig's future because of health and social challenges; and certainly some days are much more difficult than if I had a "normal" child.

Many everyday activities like doctor's appointments and social gatherings and travel accommodations and even mealtimes and a solid night of sleep are that much more difficult, but at the end of the day I wouldn't trade the relative difficulties for any convenience or absence of fear. God knew what he was doing when he blessed us with Trig. We went from fear of the unknown to proudly displaying a bumper sticker sent to us that reads: "My kid has more chromosomes than your kid!" He may not be the next Wayne Gretzky, but our hearts are filled with so much pride watching Trig giggle with his sisters' puppies, or sway to the rhythm of his Little Angels DVDs, it's as if he were hoisting the Stanley Cup. Read more at

Newsweek/The Daily Beast.

Cali: You are beautiful

Blessed by the dozen

  For Barbara Curtis, raising 12 children--including three adopted ones with Down syndrome--was coming full circle | Alicia Constant

Patty Schuchman Photography

Would you be interested in adopting another child with Down syndrome?" Barbara Curtis immediately knew how to answer the woman from the adoption agency: "No way!" As the 52-year-old homeschool mother of 11 children--including one biological child and two adopted children with Down syndrome--she was exhausted.

But when Curtis hung up the phone, her 12-year-old daughter Sophia confronted her: "Mom, I can't believe you said no like that. That's not what you've taught us." Curtis called the agency back and told them she'd changed her mind. With the adoption of Justin Li, she became the mother of a dozen children.

"I have a very childlike and simple faith," Curtis said. "I don't worry about the future. I just do what God calls me to do now." A round-faced woman with a circa-1969 flower tattooed on her right hand and food stains on her black pants, she admits that neither she nor her family is perfect--but she says caring for children with special needs is "the best thing that ever happened to me."

For Curtis, adoption was coming full circle. She grew up in a broken home, spent time in foster care, suffered sexual abuse, and became addicted to drugs and alcohol. She was a radical feminist and antiwar protestor in Washington, D.C., and eventually moved to Marin County, Calif., where only 2 percent of the population was Christian.

Curtis then was a pagan herself, so when she aborted her baby in 1977 her conscience remained unmoved: "It was just like going to the dentist.?...?When you don't have any idea that your own life is sacred, there's no way you can imagine an unborn baby's life is either."

In 1980, she turned to Alcoholics Anonymous, secular therapy, and the New Age movement. She and her husband Tripp--also a spiritual seeker--began to believe they could create their own Norman Rockwell-style dream. For a while, that dream appeared to be coming true. They started a successful business and had five healthy children. But their marriage deteriorated into constant arguments.

In 1987, Curtis wanted a divorce. In a last-ditch effort, she and Tripp attended Family Life Ministries' Christian marriage conference. A picture of Jesus with a few other gurus hung in her house, but she had never considered Him the Son of God. When she heard the gospel, she and her husband began to weep. "The moment my politics changed was the moment I accepted Christ. I couldn't write a treatise on Christianity that day, but I found out I didn't believe in reincarnation, I didn't believe in abortion anymore," she said. "God opened up that dark, musty closet of my heart and let the light shine in."

Read more at World magazine

My Brother's Life: Very Valuable Despite Down Syndrome

by Cal Thomas | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 1/9/12 11:14 AM

How does one measure whether a life was a success, or a failure?

Some would measure it by recognition, that is, how many knew the person's name. For others, the measure of a successful life would be the amount of wealth accumulated, or possessions held. Still others would say a life was successful if the person made a major contribution to society -- in medicine, sports, politics, or the arts.

By that standard my brother, Marshall Stephen Thomas, who died January 5, was a failure. If, however, your standard for a successful life is how that life positively touched others, then my brother's life was a resounding success.

Shortly after he was born in 1950, Marshall was diagnosed with Down syndrome. Some in the medical community referred to the intellectually disabled as "retarded" back then, long before the word became a common schoolyard epithet. His doctors told our parents he would never amount to anything and advised them to place him in an institution. Back then, this was advice too often taken by parents who were so embarrassed about having a disabled child that they often refused to take them out in public.

Our parents wanted none of that. In the '50s, many institutions were snake pits where inhumanities were often tolerated and people were warehoused until they died, often in deplorable conditions. While they weren't wealthy, they were committed to seeing that Marshall had the best possible care, no matter how long he lived. Because of their dedication and thanks to the Kennedy family and their commitment to the rights, causes and issues related to the mentally and physically challenged, Marshall had a longer and better quality of life than might have been expected. He outlived his life expectancy by nearly 40 years. He lived his life dancing and singing and listening to music he loved.

Read more at LifeNews.

Hi Barbara,

I love your blog--yours is the only one I check regularly until recently when i found another that I love:  theblessingofverity.com.  It is a blog about a woman expecting her 8th child and found out the baby had Down syndrome.  She was mad/sad at herself for feeling sad so decided to write about all the blessings Verity gave to them, pre-birth and after. 

The most amazing blessing is her birth led them to adopt a little girl from a Bulgarian orphanage who also has Down syndrome.  The little girl is 9-1/2 years old and weighed only 10 pounds because of neglect and starvation.  Verity's family came in and rescued her about a month ago.  The transformation of this little girl--Katerina--is unbelievable.  She truly was ransomed from death's door and is a gorgeous little girl.  I know you will be blessed by Katie and her family's story.

Thank you for your hard work and thanks for letting me benefit from it.

Target Is 'Down' With Down Syndrome: 5 Things Target Said By Saying Nothing At All

January 2, 2012 

If you were browsing through this week's Target ad you may have passed right over the adorable little boy in the bright orange shirt smiling at you on page 9!  And if so, I'm glad!

The reason I'm glad?  Well, that stylish young man in the orange shirt is Ryan. Ryan just so happened to have been born with Down syndrome, and I'm glad that Target included a model with down syndrome in their typical ad!

This wasn't a "Special Clothing For Special People" catalog.  There wasn't a call out somewhere on the page proudly proclaiming that "Target's proud to feature a model with Down syndrome in this week's ad!"  And they didn't even ask him to model a shirt with the phrase, "We Aren't All Angels" printed  on the front.

In other words, they didn't make a big deal out of it.  I like that.

5 Things Target Said By Not Saying Anything

Even though Target didn't make a big deal out of the fact they used a boy with Down syndrome as a model in their ad, they said plenty.  They said the same things that Nordstrom did when they used Ryan as a model in their catalog this past summer.  I could list a hundred things Target said by running this ad, let me give you 5 that immediately come to mind:

1. They said that people born with Down syndrome deserve to be treated the same as every other other person on this planet.
2. They said that it's time for organizations to be intentional about seeking creative ways to help promote inclusion, not exclusion.  (It's no accident that Target used a model with Down syndrome in this ad; it was an intentional and proactive decision.)
3. They said that companies don't have to call attention to the fact that they choose to be inclusive in order for people to notice their support for people with disabilities.  In fact, by not making a big deal out of it they are doing a better job of showing their support for the special needs community.

Clearly it is the Holy Spirit that provides the inspiration, confidence and spirit of sacrifice. I am so filled with admiration for this family and many others who are doing what we once thought impossible - not just sending our money to people in need, but laying down our lives as Jesus did for us:

Hidden Angels: American Families Saving Children With Down Syndrome

By SARAH NETTER and ABBIE BOUDREAU
Dec. 26, 2011

Tucked away behind the white walls of an orphanage in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, Kareen had no inkling of the life that awaited her.

At 4 years old, her fate was seemingly sealed. Within a matter of months, Kareen was scheduled to be transferred to an adult mental institution, where she would live out her life with no hope for a family or an education.

But one picture on the Internet of the little girl with Down syndrome was all it took for a 30-something Utah couple with three daughters at home to fly across the globe to bring her home. They knew virtually nothing about her, except the life of neglect she likely faced if left in her native Ukraine.

"Her eyes were really what spoke to us first," Kecia Cox said of that picture she found on the Internet. "They just grabbed us, and we just knew that she was saying, 'You're my mom and you're my dad, and you're supposed to come get me.'"

Read more at ABC News

HT: Lisa

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Matthew 25:40

Children with Down Syndrome Bring Joy

by Crosswalk contributor Barbara Curtis

• Friday, December 16, 2011

"Wouldn't the world be a better place if every family had a kid with Down syndrome?"

I'll never forget my 9-year-old son Matt saying this one day - really less a question than a statement of how our family had changed since Jonny, our #8, was born with Down syndrome in 1992. We were all surrounding Jonny on the floor that day, alternating tickling and tummy-kisses with stretches, compression and massage to build his muscle tone, working to prepare him to walk independently. 

As I looked around at my children, my heart swelled.  There was no denying that we were different - individually and collectively.  Yes, indeed, the world was a better place since Jonny was born, and we were better people - more compassionate, tender, patient, sensitive, giving - with a truer perspective on what mattered most in life.

I thought of this recently when the news broke of the latest test for Down syndrome - a simple blood draw at 10 weeks - hailed as a vast improvement over amniocentesis, which involves a long needle into the belly at 15-20 weeks and carries a risk of miscarriage. While over 90% of prenatally-diagnosed cases of Down syndrome currently result in abortion, since only 2% of pregnant women opt for this risky procedure, many babies with Down syndrome have continued to make it out of the womb alive.

Read more at Crosswalk

Study:  Children With Down Syndrome Bring Joy to Home

            99% of parents say they truly love their son or daughter with Down syndrome; 88% of brothers and sisters say they are better people because of their sibling with Down syndrome. People with Down syndrome themselves spoke up, too: 99% are happy with their lives, and 97% like who they are. My sister with Down syndrome certainly does. (I often wonder: How many Americans can say the same?) (USA Today).  More on the study (Children's Hospital).  This follows yesterday's story (Daily Mail) about the remarkable percentage of parents who abort when they find their unborn child has Down syndrome.

Little Girl With Down Syndrome Takes Modeling World by Storm

by Steven Ertelt | London, England | LifeNews.com | 11/28/11 2:50 PM

The London Telegraph newspaper features a story on little Taya Kennedy, a 14-month-old girl who has Down's Syndrome but has taken the modeling world by storm. The camera loves her and she now has her own modeling agency that is booking her gig after photogenic gig.

Kennedy is just another example of the joy such children and people with Down syndrome bring to the world but who, tragically, see their lives snuffed out by abortion at a 90 percent rate.

From the story:

'Taya is an incredibly photogenic, warm and smiley child, and that shines through in her photographs,' says Alysia Lewis, owner of Urban Angels, the prestigious UK model agency that has signed her up.

'We only open our books twice a year and select just a few new children each season.

'The standard is high; the desire for places strong. Taya is one of 50 children we chose from 2,000 applicants.

'That she has Down's Syndrome did not enter the equation. We chose her because of her vibrancy and sense of fun. Not all children are comfortable in front of a lens and with a photographer looking at them -- especially when they are so young. But Taya was so relaxed and happy. She was just what we were looking for.'

Gemma Andre, Taya's mother, says she is offended when people come up to her and tell her they're sorry her daughter has Down syndrome.

'I always believed my daughter was stunning but I thought, "I'm her mum. I'm biased,"' she says.

'When people say "poor you" I find it offensive and irritating,' said Taya's mother Gemma

'When the agency rang me and said, "We want her on our books. She's absolutely beautiful", I was delighted.

'I asked them if they were aware she had Down's Syndrome. They said: "It's immaterial. We've accepted her." At that moment I burst into tears. I was overjoyed, not so much because Taya was going to be a model. More importantly, she had competed on equal terms with every other child and succeeded.

'People can be really negative about children with Down's. They say they can't do this and won't be able to achieve that. It's incredibly frustrating. Someone said to me the other day: "I suppose she'll never be able to live an independent life," and I said, "Why on earth not?"

'When people say "poor you" I find it offensive and irritating. The way I see it, some people cannot even have children and God has given me this special child.'

That's the attitude more people need to have about special needs children -- all of whom were born under a threat much bigger to their lives than any medical condition or chromosomal disorder they may face: abortion.

Gemma says her daughter will go on to experience a happy, productive life -- something 99 percent of people with Down syndrome say they have.

Researchers at Children's Hospital in Boston surveyed families where a member had Down Syndrome and found that Down Syndrome is a positive.

Among 2,044 parents or guardians surveyed, 79 percent reported their outlook on life was more positive because of their child with Down syndrome.... Skotko also found that among siblings ages 12 and older, 97 percent expressed feelings of pride about their brother or sister with Down syndrome and 88 percent were convinced they were better people because of their sibling with Down syndrome.

Read the rest of this touching story here.

Study:  Children With Down Syndrome Bring Joy to Home

            99% of parents say they truly love their son or daughter with Down syndrome; 88% of brothers and sisters say they are better people because of their sibling with Down syndrome. People with Down syndrome themselves spoke up, too: 99% are happy with their lives, and 97% like who they are. My sister with Down syndrome certainly does. (I often wonder: How many Americans can say the same?) (USA Today).  More on the study (Children's Hospital).  This follows yesterday's story (Daily Mail) about the remarkable percentage of parents who abort when they find their unborn child has Down syndrome.

Exclusive: Sarah Palin's Thanksgiving Message

Sarah Palin has sent The Brody File some personal Thanksgiving reflections. She talks movingly about her young son Trig. It is truly a heartfelt letter that gives God all the glory.

As for Trig, Palin is showing that while there are some people who just talk the talk when it comes to being pro-life she actually walks the walk too.

Enjoy!

A Personal Thanksgiving Reflection by Sarah Palin:

On Thanksgiving, my family's traditions will reflect the loyal, active, robust, big family life that shaped me. We're so fortunate to be together to share the making of another year's memory. In these late autumn days with temperatures dipping to 20-degrees below zero, we'll brave Alaska's biting cold to run and skate and ride - just because we can, and for that I am so thankful. Life in America's Last Frontier is not an easy living, but it's a good living. Here in Alaska, where I'm never without inspiration, an optimistic pioneering spirit still permeates, and harsh conditions force us out of self-centeredness and towards community - often in order to survive.

This need for selflessness - and the blessings that come with it - sharpened for me almost four years ago when I was given the gift of broader horizons, clarified priorities, and more commitment to justice and compassion for my fellow man who faces challenges and fears. I was granted this through a gift that arrived in a tiny, six-pound, awe-inspiring bundle. We named him Trig.

Shifting Perspectives at the Dublin Arts Council

HT: Dan

The end of Down syndrome

A controversial new test means disorder will become extinct from 'eugenics,' doctors say

By MAYRAV SAAR

Last Updated: 12:29 PM, November 13, 2011

A new, simple way to detect Down syndrome in a fetus means the condition will be virtually extinct -- but not without a great deal of controversy, experts say.

Last month, San Diego-based Sequenom released a test that allows doctors to screen for the most prevalent type of Down syndrome with only a blood test from the mother. The screening is available in 20 cities and is expected to hit New York soon. Two other companies have plans to release similar tests next year.

"What you end up having is a world without people with Down syndrome," says Paul Root Wolpe, director of the center for ethics at Emory University. "And the question becomes is that a good thing or bad thing?"

Because the current methods of screening for Down syndrome, amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling, carry a risk of inducing miscarriage, only about 2% of pregnant women in the nation undergo the screening, says Dr. Brian Skotko, of the Down syndrome program at Children's Hospital Boston.

The safer prenatal screenings will likely mean more women will be tested, and the number of women carrying babies with Down syndrome who terminate their pregnancies could increase, if not skyrocket. Today, 92% of mothers who get a definitive diagnosis of Down choose to abort, surveys show.

"It's a real conundrum," Wolpe says. "Human beings have always tried to fight and cure disease, and this tool, projecting it forward 50 years when it's powerful enough, will make a difference in eliminating those diseases in the world. It's a tough call."

Read more at the New York Post

$16,000 Tax Funded 30 Wk Down Syndrome Abortion

HT: Creative Minority Report, via Maeana