A Special Kind Of Hero

Excerpts of Stories by or About Persons with Down Syndrome

Some people treat me differently because I have Down syndrome, but I just want to be treated like anyone else. And some people think that just because I have Down syndrome, I'm stupid or handicapped. I don't feel that way. My Down syndrome never kept me from doing anything I wanted to do. Everybody is born in different ways. I just happened to be born with an extra chromosome, but it doesn't make me feel any different. I don't like it when people say I am a victim, or when they say I suffer from it. It's not a disease. I don't like it when they show the pictures of the little chromosomes, because it's personal to me. But I think it's great to have an extra chromosome and I like talking about it. It doesn't make me feel "down." Actually, I call it "Up syndrome" because I am happy and excited about my life.