extra chromosome. I was terrified then, only because of my lack of knowledge. I’m not excusing your stare, but I do understand it.
Go ahead and ask me. I mean it. You can ask me if she has Down syndrome. You can even ask me why I hold her hand. I’ll probably answer and explain that she has some difficulty with sensory processing.
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For her, that means she can have a hard time interacting with people and her environment. Sometimes it means she has difficulty walking — hence the hand-holding.
You can even ask me if she can talk. I’ll probably tell you that verbal communication is hard for her, and she has a difficult time telling me her basic needs. I usually have to use my mother’s intuition to guess what’s going on. She does receive speech therapy, and my prayer is one day she will be able to say, “Mommy, I love you.”