Mothers from the Down Up North moms group in Duluth shared their thoughts about some of the misconceptions about children with Down syndrome.
* One of the biggest misconceptions people have is about the developmental delays of children with Down syndrome, Lisa Faust said.
For example, most children without special needs walk between 12 and 18 months, but the normal range for children with Down syndrome is 1 to 5 years, she said. Her son, Erik, is 3½ years old and started walking about four months ago.
People ask her when he will start kindergarten or start to read and she doesn't know, she said. Children with Down syndrome go through all the developmental stages that other kids do, but at a different pace, she said. "They are so much like other kids," Faust said.
* Another misconception is that children with Down syndrome are happy all the time, Laura Plys said.
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Kimberly Birman said that when she tells people she has a child with Down syndrome, they say she must be so sweet. "They haven't met Princess Avery," she said and laughed. "When I describe who she is, I say she's a diva. She has an attitude."
