The “Big Bang” Theory and Down Syndrome

Abstract

I am convinced that some of the most joyful, life-changing conventions in our field are those that focus on families with children who have Down syndrome. Whole families come. Some appear with babes in arms. Clinicians named Pueschel, Crocker, Kumin, Falvey, Rosenberg, and many others hold impromptu clinics in halls, lobbies, and special session rooms. It all goes so well because these parents hunger to learn everything they can about their own child with this disability. There are sharing sessions galore for moms, dads, brothers, sisters, and grandparents. There are even sessions for persons with this disability who help one another to speak for themselves. Then come the banquets and the laughter; the awards and the cheering; and the dances, where all are dressed in their very best clothes. Many leave exhausted from these carnivals of hope, education, and comradeship, but they leave knowing that they are part of a powerful, expansive movement. One cannot help but wonder whether some earlier ‘‘big bangs’’ in history gave rise to such an expansive movement. I say yes. I can pinpoint at least two such explosions. These explosions were heart-ripping. Even so, the way the folks in this field gathered around these wounds and worked for healing was fantastic.