Welcome, everybody!  (See what a hopeful note we start on?  I'm sure hundreds of new members will be reading this soon.)

 

My name is Jenny, and I have two children, including a three and a half year old daughter named Thea who has Down syndrome, and a nine month old son named Robbie.  We moved to Charlottesville from Blacksburg this past summer, and I was dismayed to find that there was no formal organization here for parents of kids with Down syndrome to communicate with each other and/or meet.*  There are, however, many people here who fit that description, and I've already met some fantastic people here, several of whom have already been working hard toward that goal.  Hopefully some of them will show up here soon, and you'll meet them too.

 

I am a former elementary school teacher who is also endorsed as a reading specialist.  I taught for seven years in NC and VA, but have been staying home since Thea was born.  My husband is an assistant professor in the statistics department at UVA.  Previously he taught at Virginia Tech.

 

We learned about Thea's DS when I was five months pregnant, through amniocentesis.  I am pro-choice in my political views, but found that I was already attached to my little girl, and I have never regretted our decision.  Thea is amazing, and doing very well.  She's had two surgeries, but otherwise is very healthy, with good hearing and vision and (now) a strong heart.  She's very verbal, and her greatest areas of need are in motor skills and motor planning.  She received early intervention services from two weeks of age until this year, when she turned three and switched over to public school system services.  She loves books, dancing, playing with her dolls, helping me cook dinner, and "writing" and mailing letters to her Nana and Papa.

 

I'd like to invite others to introduce yourselves to the group as you join, so we'll have some idea of who's out there and what age group our kids are.  However, if you're shy about committing to a group of strangers, feel free to participate in this group as a passive member until you feel more comfortable or have a specific question.

 

-Jenny Reid

 

*There are, however, groups for "special needs" in general, including a Yahoo! group called "Special Needs Kids of Charlottesville" that branched off from PNOC.