WEBVTT

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I worried about what other people would think

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and how we would be treated.

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I worried about

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people not being nice to Emily

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or not being nice to us.

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But what we´ve seen

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is exactly the opposite of what I feared.

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Emily actually has brought out the good in people.

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We learned of Emily´s diagnosis

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after she was born, and we were surprised.

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Out of all the things I worried about,

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Down syndrome wasn´t one of them.

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Our biggest fear for us was the unknown

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because we weren´t familiar with this.

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It took a while for us to get adjusted to the new reality,

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but immediately Dave and I thought the same thing.

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We want her included in the community,

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we want her knowing her community and

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people knowing her,

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and we want her fully included in life.

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Emily is an individual like most kids where

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having models of normal development

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is very enhancing to her own development,

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not just from a language standpoint

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but from a social communications standpoint,

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from an interaction standpoint,

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from appropriate behavior and that sort of thing.

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To us that means walking to school

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with the kids in our neighborhood,

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getting to know our neighbors

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and shop owners along the way.

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We want people to know Emily

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and Emily to know other people in the neighborhood

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so they can help us and help her.

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There is something, I guess, about Emily.

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She gives the best hugs out of any kid I´ve every babysat

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easily, hands down.

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She´s very empathetic through touching and,

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you know, I think it really translates through her hugs.

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I think the fact that they have really started to

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develop those community relationships

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very early on and continue to strengthen those is,

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again, only going to benefit Emily

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because she will see that this is kind of a

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normal way to interact.

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We didn´t want Emily in a special education classroom

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because we didn´t want her to learn helplessness.

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We wanted her to have good social examples to follow,

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and we wanted her to learn to function in the real world.

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She really understands what she´s to do,

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you know, how she´s to do it, and,

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you know, if she´s with another little girl,

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sometimes, you know, they´ll help her with some of the

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words because a lot of the writing stuff

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is a little bit more difficult than the verbal stuff.

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But she understands everything you tell her.

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She has friends. She´s invited to all the birthday parties.

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She learns appropriate social behavior,

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which will help her next year when

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she goes to her neighborhood school.

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Getting her into the school in which we wanted

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to have her at has been a challenge,

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but we´ve learned a lot from it,

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and she´s going to be going where we want her to go

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and where she needs to go.

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So we fought really, really hard

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to have her mainstreamed,

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and it was a tough road.

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When you bring up the law,

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I believe certain administrators,

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the ones who don´t believe in what you believe in,

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realize that you mean business.

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So once we mentioned that,

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which was pretty early in the process,

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she could not have been put in a better situation.

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When it comes right down to it, what makes anybody

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more successful in their community

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is their ability to be socially appropriate

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and to communicate in a more socially appropriate way.

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And I think for Emily and a lot of kids like her,

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that being in that mainstream environment

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is the best way to enable that to happen.

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And so far this next year´s

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placement has been smooth as can be.

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She´s going to her neighborhood school

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with the neighborhood kids and fully included.

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She´s going to school next year with her big sister, Allison.

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It´s going to be nothing but beneficial

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for and also for her sister, as well.

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If they understand what she has,

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then they might become better friends with her.

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And if they really get to see her

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and spend more time with her,

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then they might understand her more.

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Allison teaches her a lot

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and Emily learns a ton from Allison.

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Allison will work with her on certain things,

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whether it be schoolwork

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or whether it be certain activities.

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It´s a phenomenal thing to watch and be a part of.

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When she was first born, it took me a while

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to get used to the fact that we may have

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a dependent living with us for life.

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It just changes our image of what retirement may be.

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Now that Emily´s grown, I understand that she

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very well might not want to live with me past

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the age of 16.

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So we want her to have

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the most typical life that she possibly can.

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I can picture us all being together and that being a very

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rich, fulfilling, wonderful life.

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I also have to be open to the fact

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that she might want her independence.

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She shows me that every day.

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She´s a blessing to us.

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Our life is richer because of Emily.

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She brings us in contact with great people.

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We´ve really seen the best of the world

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through having Emily.

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Music