I’ll be honest, when Noah was born pretty everything I knew about Down Syndrome I learned by watching TV. I  knew very little about what life was like for a person with Down syndrome, and had a lot of fears and questions about my child’s future. I wondered if he would play like typical kids. If he would smile and laugh like typical kids. If he would go to college like typical kids. And if he would ever be able to drive a car like typical kids.

As I’ve mentioned before most of my fears were never came true, and the fact is there are people with Down syndrome that can do all of the things mentioned above…including getting their drivers license and driving a car!

Down Syndrome And Driver’s Licenses

From time to time I’m asked questions like, “Can people with Down syndrome drive a car?” or “Can people with Down syndrome get their drivers license?” and since I’ve heard stories of people with Down syndrome driving, I’ll typically answer “Sure, they can!”

I’m always on the look out for fun toys that serve a dual purpose. I’m looking for toys that are  fun and that help my child learn and develop. Whenever I find toys like this, I call that a toy win! And I’m sure as a parent you like hearing about toy wins, so sit back, relax, and let me tell you about this one. 🙂

A while back I came across the awesome Fisher Price Roll-a-Rounds Swirlin Surprise Gumballs machine (which also made our list of the best Fisher Price learning toys.) To be honest, I’m not sure where I first saw this toy, but I’m guessing it was at one of Noah’s many occupational therapy visits. (I seriously think we have bought this kid every toy we’ve ever seen any of this therapists use! Can any of you other parents relate to this?) 🙂

Today we took Noah to get his first real haircut. I say that because this was actually the second time we’ve taken Noah to get a haircut. I can’t really count his first hair cut as his first real haircut however since all he did was sit on my lap at the end of one of my haircuts and have my hairstylist give him a trim.

Oh and he wasn’t a fan, but really, what toddler really likes to get a haircut?

I’ve heard horror stories from other parents about their frustrating experience trying to get their child’s haircut, and I was worried how Noah would do when he had to actually get a real haircut. Thankfully, we found a place that specializes in giving kids haircuts, but not just that…they actually specialize in giving children with special needs haircuts! Pretty awesome, huh?

Check out the video below of Noah getting his first haircut from Snip-Its below then keep reading to see why we like this place!

A friend of mine sent me this picture of a billboard promoting Down Syndrome awareness. The billboard, located in one of the busiest parts of Florence, Italy features the very popular (and overused) phrase “Keep Calm It’s Only An Extra Chromosome” on an orange background with a picture of an adorable girl with Down syndrome.

I have to admit when I saw the picture I thought it may have been photoshopped (read: fake.) I even did some Google searches trying to find some mention of a Down Syndrome billboard going up in Italy, but found nothing (and I consider myself a pretty good Google-er!)

But the friend that sent me this picture assures me it’s real, and from the looks of it, I agree.

So here’s a picture of the mystery billboard.

Dear OB/GYN,

I’m the father of a two year boy named Noah who was born with Down syndrome, and whom we love very much. I understand that in the course of your day to day work you often have the difficult responsibility of telling parents news they never thought they would receive; that there’s a likely chance the little boy or girl in their mothers womb is going to born with Down syndrome.

My hope in writing you this letter is tell you some of the things I wish I would have known the day we found out our son was born with Down syndrome, as well as help you to deliver a Down syndrome diagnosis to your patients in a way that honors the child, and gives parents hope and encouragement.