When we initially found out about Leo’s diagnosis prenatally, most of my thoughts went to Isabella, Leo’s sister. She was two at the time and I couldn’t help but worry for her. In fact, the first thing I googled after receiving the news about Leo was ‘babies with down syndrome and their older siblings’. I worried that she would feel neglected if we had to pay more attention to Leo. I worried that her care-free personality would disappear and that she would have to mature quicker than other kids.
I’m happy to say that I worried for nothing. Having Leo as a brother has made her internal beauty shine even more. We haven’t explained to her yet what Down Syndrome is. It’s not that we are avoiding it, but more that she has never really noticed anything different about Leo and we love that. She may see the things that are associated with Down Syndrome, but she doesn’t associate it to this diagnosis. She sees him as her brother, and that’s it. She’s never asked us why Leo is a little different from kids his own age. She gets frustrated with him sometimes when she is playing with her dolls and he comes over to be destructive, but to her, it’s just her brother being her brother. Simple and true.
We do have a few books we’ve begun reading to her that explain how everyone is different. These books are: He Gave Them Something Extra, Down on the Farm, and Eli, Included. They either talk about Down Syndrome or have pictures of kids with Down Syndrome. As Leo gets older, I know she will start asking more questions and we will be ready and excited to explain to her what having that extra chromosome means, but before the time comes, I thought it would be an interesting idea to ask her some simple questions about her brother. It is a way of seeing the perspective of someone who does not have the term “Down Syndrome” in their vocabulary yet.
Q: Who is Leo?
A: A person. My brother.
Q: Who do you think Leo looks like?
A: A boy. My Papi (Dad).
Q: What’s your favorite thing to play with Leo?
A: We like to play tag-your-it and hide-and-seek (what she means is, we like to scream and run around chasing each other).
Q: What’s your favorite thing about Leo?
A: He gives me a lot of hugs and kisses. He plays and loves to jump with me.
Q: All kids have things that make them different and unique. What do you think makes Leo special?
A: He is a boy who loves me. His eyes are like a greenish-brownish like my mom.
Q: Do you think Leo is cool? What makes him cool?
A: Yea. He goes to the bathroom and does pee every time in the toilet.
Q: What do you think Down Syndrome is?
A: I don’t know.
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