31 for 21 - beauty, again

Goes well with this post:

http://www.bringingthesunshine.com/2014/10/many-faces-syndrome

31 for 21 - "disability", again

And again, another article pointing out that "disability" is a social construct.  We all have strengths and weaknesses, and some of those get labeled a "disability" while others do not.  Which weaknesses are socially stigmatized is dependent on the social context.  A few hundred years ago, my severe nearsightedness would have been a debilitating disability, since effective optometry was not generally available.  At the same time, "learning disabilities" did not really exist, since there was not a universal expectation of literacy and schooling.  Someone who did not function well in an academic environment simply pursued other endeavors which were better suited to his/her strengths.

31 for 21 - Smashing stereotypes

Teacher Born With Down Syndrome Breaks Stereotypes from ZespolDowna.Info on Vimeo.

31 for 21 - person-first language

http://thesqueakywheelchair.blogspot.com/2014/10/i-know-im-person-thanks-for-reminder.html

31 for 21 - discrimination

Looks like this year, my participation in 31 for 21 will mostly be limited to linking to other bloggers....  Here is a piece by my friend Jisun, examining the real-life consequences -- in some cases, life-and-death consequences -- of "othering" people with disabilities.  In any situation where we try to justify treating people with disabilities differently, would we use the same logic to justify racial or gender discrimination?

Down syndrome stereotype

People with Down syndrome are often seen as "happy, loving, and sweet".  As anybody who knows actual people with Down syndrome, they have a full range of emotions and dispositions.  So where does the stereotype come from?

My husband suggested the following hypothesis:
Because children with Down syndrome are disproportionately aborted (or, in some cultures, institutionalized), the parents who choose to keep and raise these children are probably endowed with greater compassion and kindness than average.  And this parenting translates into children that grow up to be compassionate, kind people, regardless of genetics.

This is not a complete explanation.  Children with other disabilities are also vulnerable to abortion and abandonment, and yet children with spina bifida, blindness, or physical deformity do not have this reputation.  I think there is a feedback loop, though.  Children with Down syndrome have characteristics which elicit a different kind of parenting.  And this parenting does seem to encourage the stereotype.