Our world was forever changed when our son, Noah, surprised us by being born with Down syndrome; shortly after we started this blog. Let tell you why.
1. Give the World a Window Into the Life of a Family Raising a Child with Down Syndrome
Since I didn’t personally know anyone with Down syndrome, and I wanted some idea of what our life was going to be like, I went online to try to learn more. I found lots of great blogs about Down syndrome, but being a visual person, what I was really interested in was videos about Down syndrome. I wanted a window into the life of a family raising a child with Down syndrome. I wanted to know if my son was going to play with me one day. I wanted to know if he was going to run and jump and skip like most other little boys. I didn’t just want to read about these things or see pictures; I wanted to see videos, and I had a hard time finding them.
I figured other parents would come along and want to see what it was like raising a child with Down syndrome in the United States. What were therapy visits like? What was our family’s day to day life like? What it as scary as some people made it out to be? So I decided to tell the story of our son’s life via one minute daily videos, and in turn create an online narrative. My hope is that as people watch our son grow up, they’ll see there our story isn’t nearly as scary (or sad) as many people believe.
2. Help Exchange Inaccurate Information Down Syndrome With Truth
There is a lot of misinformation in our culture about Down syndrome. Some people are led to believe by their OB/GYN that raising a child with Down syndrome is going to be a sad story. We hope to show the world that raising a child with Down syndrome isn’t a sad story, it’s just a different story. And different stories aren’t sad, they’re just, well, different! 🙂
We hope as people stay connected to our son’s story, they will see that our family’s life has much more in common with a typical family, than many people would think. And in doing so we can help people lay down false and inaccurate stereotypes about people born with Down syndrome.
3. Provide Hope and Encouragement To Parents Who Have Received A Down Syndrome Diagnosis
Shortly after his birth we were shocked to learn that 92 percent of children diagnosed with Down syndrome through prenatal testing were aborted. Yes, 92%! This means that for every once Noah you see, there’s nine more you don’t see simply because they have Down syndrome. And that breaks our heart. This site isn’t meant to be religious, or political. Not by any means. But we do love little babies, and we know how scary it can be to receive a parental Down syndrome diagnosis. Our hope is the story we are telling about our son, as well as the thousands more telling their story on our Facebook page, takes away some of that fear. And as fear get chipped away, hope takes its place. And hope can give you the ability to move forward with bringing your child to full term.
My hope is that by making some of the unknown, known; the unknown becomes less scary for you. My hope is that by subscribing and watching our one minute daily one minute videos that you’ll see our life is much more normal then “un-normal.”
In addition to the daily videos will be posting resources that will help you learn more about Down Syndrome. I welcome you to leave comments on the site so I can learn more about you and your story as well!
Some Posts You’ll Definitely Want To Check Out.
If you are new to our site, I encourage you to check out the archives to see every single post we’ve ever written on this site. You’ll also find a search box to the right of this post. If there’s something your interested in reading more about, I encourage you to use the search box located to the right of this post. We’ve written about a lot on this site, and odds are we’ve written something on the topic your interested in learning more about.
And if you’re looking for a starting point, below you’ll find a few of our favorite posts to get you started!
- Noah’s Birth Story
- Noah’s Milestones
- What Is Down Syndrome?
- What To Say To Someone Receiving a Down Syndrome Diagnosis
- Did I Cause My Child To Be Born With Down Syndrome
- Top Down Syndrome Resources For New and Expecting Parenting
- A New Parent’s Guide To Down Syndrome
- Characteristics of Down Syndrome
- 12 Things I Wish I Knew When I Found Out My Child Had Down Syndrome
- 10 Qualities To Look For In A Pediatrician For Your Child With Down Syndrome
- Top Gifts For A Baby With Down Syndrome
- 7 Fisher Price Learning Toys To Help Your Baby Develop
Thanks so much for visiting NoahsDad.com, and please let me know if you have questions, or comments!
Here are a few other places where Noah’s Dad is on the internet. We hope you will join us there as well. And be sure to say hello. We would love to meet you and learn about your story.
And here’s a quick video Noah and I put together for World Down Syndrome Day. It will tell you a little more about what we are doing around here. I hope you enjoy.
