Positive Stereotypes

This entry is from Linc's dad, Sam.

When you hear that someone has Down Syndrome, a host of stereotypes fill you head. Right or wrong, like it or not, they just do. Now, as Lincoln's advocates in this world we (his family) feel compelled to break down the specter of those stereoptypes, because the prospect of anyone pejudging him makes most of us downright angry. The thing is though.. not all of them are negative stereoptypes.

One of the most pervasive beliefs about people with DS, and one of the things that Liz and I heard the most when we first discovered Linc's diagnosis, is that they are "just so loving," and "the sweetest people you'd ever want to meet." Well that just seems impossible to me. We all have our own personalities and life-experiences that shape who we are. People with Down Syndome are no different.

Lincoln is wonderful and sweet, but that doesn't mean that he's not a kid like any other. He still throws little tantrums, give us plenty of sleepless nights, and refuses to eat certain foods just like every kid out there without that pesky extra chromasome.

I have written before in this blog that Linc has a sort of aura about him, a calming presence. To attribute that incredible characteristic to nothing other than his diagnosis is to diminish its rarity and uniqueness.

Lincoln, and every other person with DS that you've ever met that had a special joy and wonderment about them weren't that way because they had Down Syndrome. They are amazing people simply because they are amazing people. When we stereoptype them and expect them to fit a certain idea, we steal some of the wonder we get from meeting someone who is impossibly sweet and truly joyful.

People are just people. Whether they be black or white, muslim or jewish, diagnosed with MS or DS, they're all just people. No one fits perfectly into someone else's stereoptype.

Even if its a positive stereoptype, its still not fair.