Hello, fellow parents of the cutest children in the world! I am a Mom
of three children who have Down syndrome (yes, you read that right!).
They are 14, 14, and 13. Adopted around a year old from Brazil, twin
girls and a boy. We have lived in C'ville for 7 years, and have found
both the best places (doctors, dentists, orthopaedists, orthotic-
makers, restaurants), and the not-so-great places to take our kids.
I am currently a C'ville City Schools Teacher, teaching children who
have
special needs, including those with Down syndrome (K-grade 4).

Dr. Jennifer Dixon is the best dentist we have found. We used to go
to Kluge, and had to switch dentists due to our health plan's
coverage. We had great recommendations from two dentists for her, as
well as a glowing recommendation from a parent of a child who has
special needs, and we have been very happy there. She is patient and
kind, and sang with our kids! Any dentist that sings while working
is worth their weight in gold.

Regarding Inclusion, C'ville City includes children as much as is
possible, so even if they are in a separate classroom, each day
includes as much time with a child's typical peers as is beneficial
for the child. So, the city has mostly separate little classrooms
with a good staff:child ratio, and has vastly different inclusion
plans depending on a child's needs. Currently Jackson-Via and Johnson
are the schools that serve kids from K-grade 4, and Clark and Burnley-
Moran serve preschoolers with special needs. This changes
constantly, as the needs in our area change. I can be more specific
over the phone or in person if you need more information. Our home
number is 973-6261, and you can talk with me, or my husband Eric.

We would love to be a resource to other families, so feel free to
pass our name and contact information along to others who have
children with Down syndrome. In Massachusetts, where we lived before
moving here, we were on the First Call list, so parents like Cathleen
didn't have to hear only negative news after just giving birth. We'd
call and talk with parents (doctors called the MA Down syndrome main
number, and they called us with the new parent information). We
checked into that when we moved here, and were disappointed to find
there was
nothing like that in Charlottesville. We would be interested in
being a part of
the beginnings of a more organized support system here. We are
active in many Special Olympics sports, and Challenger Baseball, and
have many contacts. We are also currently on the mailing list for a
rather large NY state Down syndrome organization called Aim High, and
they do wonderful activities together for their kids and for siblings
of kids who have special needs, and I have been wishing for more time
in my day to do something like that here. Last weekend they had a
family dinner and dance with a band. I don't know how often you get
to dance out at a function of some kind with your kids, but our kids
LOVE to dance. We don't get to go out and dance all together often
at all. So, that would be very fun.

Look forward to hearing from you all (two at this point, but you know
there will be more!).
Holly, for Eric, Maggie, Mollie and Samuel