Re: Re:First Time-Debbie

[Guest guest]

Quoting Debbie :

>

> Wow! Thank you for taking the time to share your story and put some of at

> ease. Of course as parents we worry how our children will feel. Other

> children can be so mean. But knowing you are where you are and happy lets us

> know thank just because our children have a syndrome doesn't mean it has to

> change who they are. Thank you and best of luck in college.

Hi Debbie,

You're welcome. I have to say that I give 99% of the credit to my family and

the other 1% of credit to my teachers and the community that I was raised in.

I really believe that it is imperative for any parent of an RSS child to treat

that child their age and not their size (especially when they're young) and to

never put limitations on what they can or cannot due simply because of their

size. I was very, very fortunate to be raised by people who let me set my own

bar, so to speak, and never told me that it was too high or couldn't be done.

They also never let me use my size as an excuse - if something couldn't be done

one way because of my height, they came up with a solution to do it another way.

I also have to say that while I didn't get teased a lot as a kid, it did happen

sometimes, although the comments usually came from strangers on the street and

not my peer group at school; however, I think that the comments, teasing and

stares didn't bother me as much as they might have because my parents did such

a good job of helping to instill a good sense of self-esteem in me. I have a

tremendous amount of respect,gratitude, and love for my parents because I know

that it couldn't have been easy, but they helped give me a really, really solid

foundation to stand on when I went out into the world. I read the list and

think back on what my own parents went through with me, and frankly, most days

I don't know how they and you guys did and do it. Hang in there, though,

things do get better and I'm sure that every one of your children will become

the amazing human beings they were meant to be!

~Hillary

22, RSS