Tuesday, March 4, 2014

The Tyrannical Train Conductor and her "Helper. When to use the Down syndrome Card



Em loves to hang with her siblings. And they love to have her around. But sometimes she can be , well... the annoying little sister.

Andrew loves trains. So does Em! The problem is that Em thinks that when Andrew breaks out the trains, it's an invitation to join in. Andrew on the other hand would much rather fly solo, or be the lone conductor.



He has a certain way to build his tracks and unfortunately Emmie always seems to want to make "improvements". She soon takes over completely and poor Andrew goes from Conductor to mere helper.. if that.
Em lives by the golden rule (hers) of, what's yours is mine and what's mine is mine.  Andrew's golden rule.. Stay away from my stuff!

I sympathize with the kid, I really do. 

Here's the thing. Andrew sees Em as his little sister.. period. He sees no disability, no challenges, no Down syndrome.

So when do I have to throw in the Down syndrome card for Em?   Do I throw the card at all? Or do I let them battle it out?

Granted , she's fresh at times. Not because she has Ds but because she has mastered being fresh.

Then there are the times when I know she is doing something, or not doing something, not because she is spoiled or fresh but because there is that gap in understanding or reason, that she just hasn't mastered yet. Like being a tyrannical train conductor. 

For now I just give Andrew a look and tell him to cut her some slack. And continuously redirect Em to playing "nice", or nicer because she thinks her way is really nice..

And I secretly really like that he doesn't often cut her that "slack". And sometimes it really makes her mad. But I guess we are a full inclusion family. LOL  

Tell me your thoughts!
I know a lot of you must face this on a daily basis too.


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