The Conversation

The other day, we had our new neighbours over for dinner. It didn’t occur to me until half way through the meal that I would have to have the conversation. You know, the conversation in which I give some explanation as to why Ella is speaking at a level lower than their two year old. It’s the conversation that inevitably happens whenever we meet new people with whom we intend to become friends, or we move, or….we start at a new school….

Oh right….Kindergarten – supposedly starting in BC on Tuesday (of course because of the Teacher’s strike who knows how long it will be before Ella gets into a classroom, but I suppose that is beside the point). To be honest, even after five years, I always struggle with how to bring it up…or if it even needs to be brought up. I don’t know if people even notice that Ella has Down Syndrome but I saw many parents creating “Get to know me” books for their children to take to class and began to wonder if it was something I should be doing too. So I put it to my most reliable source for public opinion (insert facetious tone here) Facebook. I asked educators and parents of typical children if they thought it would be useful to have an “information book” about Ella and what makes her special, or if they thought it was completely unnecessary.  Of the people that responded, it was an unanimous yes!