So, I often see articles where persons speak about how much of a blessing it is to have a sibling/child with Down Syndrome (DS). Honestly, I struggle with this sentiment. Do I love my sister? Absolutely. I think sheβs a fabulous chick. I also think what makes her fabulous has nothing to do with DSβ¦itβs …
Sex and Down Syndrome…for some reason, it is believed by some persons that people with Down Syndrome are “forever children”, thus, sex, sexual desires, sexuality is a non issue. Ha! That’s what you call Fake News. Persons with DS develop physically just like everybody else. Females deal with their periods and body development, males deal …
Happy Siblings Day to those brothers and sisters known as “Sibs”. You are a “Sib” if you grew up with a brother or sister who has a disability. We are sometimes called “The Others”. We are our parents’ other children…and some of us really had experiences that led us to feel as if the attention …
Down Syndrome is what I call a visible disability…as they see the person, they see the disability, and of course every preconceived notion presents itself. Something happened the other day that reminded me why it’s important for all of us to focus on the ability of a person and not the disability that they happen …
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month in the US and the theme for 2019 is ‘I Ask’. This year’s theme is all about consent…why it’s important to ask for someone’s consent, how to ask for consent and respecting if someone says “No”. What Is Consent? Consent is basically asking for someone’s permission to do something …
MURDER – The crime of intentionally killing a person (Cambridge Dictionary). The International Disability Day of Mourning (DDoM) is recognized worldwide every year on March 1st. People across the globe join to remember persons with disabilities who were murdered by their parents/caregivers/family members. Yep…you read right…murdered…and apparently this happens often enough that there’s an actual …
What can I say? Shit happens…literally. Bathroom woes are an all too common occurrence for a caregiver. I know this is not a topic that anybody really wants to address, but as caregivers, this is a constant battle for us. How do we get our loved ones to wipe their butts properly after they use …
In a matter of weeks, my sister and I will be moving in together…and so it will be just us two. Sigh. I am so not ready to live with my sister. In all of my adult life, probably three out of those many years I got to live by myself and thus had a …
So today I went to my first counselling session…to deal with the issues that I am having because I am a caregiver. All along I have been trying to hold everything inside and “deal with it”, which honestly meant just ignoring and pretending my issues don’t exist because who has time to think about me…it’s …
It’s one of those days…a day when I feel like I cannot be bothered anymore. I am tired of my sister not being the adult that her age says she is. I am tired of her not understanding social situations and therefore what’s appropriate behaviour and what’s not appropriate. I am tired that I have …
