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Living with Down Syndrome - Tadhg's Story
"Tadhg was born on December 15, 2006 at 11:55pm, one of the best days of our lives. I knew immediately when the midwife handed me my baby that he had Down Syndrome.
Tadhg McConville's family are from Haggardstown, Dundalk. He is two-years-old. His mother is Edel and his father is Derek.
Here is their story.
"I'm not sure how I knew, maybe it was a mother's instinct and that is probably why I accepted the challenge right away with joy.
"Derek, my husband and I sent text messages to all our friends, saying that "A very special little boy was born tonight and his name is Tadhg. He weighs 6lbs and 13oz and he has Down Syndrome. He is just gorgeous and we are over the moon."
Thankfully he had no other health complications and we were very grateful for that.
"Now two-and-a-half-years-on, life can be hectic with three children; Blake aged five, Tadhg aged two-and-a-half and Leona aged one. As with any mother of three, we spend a lot of time on the move.
"We have a lot of appointments to attend with Tadhg such as speech therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy, which we attend in Hamilton House. I don't look on these appointments as any different from bringing Blake to swimming, or taking the kids to the park. I actually look forward to each appointment as it's really exciting to monitor his progress.
"We are also very grateful to the Down Syndrome Louth/Meath branch, who send us a home teacher every second week for two hours. He really enjoys his time with her and the aim is to prepare him for school.
"We feel that these services have given Tadhg a great start in life. Tadhg was two years and four months when he started to walk which is a great achievement. Children with Down Syndrome are born with lower muscle tone than other children and so it is a greater challenge for them to crawl and walk.
"He is also able to use Lamh sign language which is so helpful for him to be able to communicate with, until his speech improves. Lamh signs are based on Irish Sign Language, speech is used along with the signs. It was developed for children and adults with intellectual disability and communication needs in Ireland.
"The next major milestone for Tadhg would be to go to mainstream school.
We hope that in today's society, people are a lot more accepting of all kinds of disabilities, so that Tadhg and all children with special needs can live a happy fulfilled life, just like anyone else."
This week and in the coming weeks the Dundalk Democrat, in association with the Louth branch of Down Syndrome Ireland, will bring you 'Down Syndrome, Our Story'.
In these special reports, we will chronicle the lives of three Dundalk families, all of whom have a child with Down Syndrome.
Through their words, they will tell us what it was like for them at the beginning, entering a world relatively unknown.
Ultimately, through their experiences, they will open our eyes to a a disability that perhaps some of us may not understand and show us that a person with Down Syndrome can be just as remarkable as any one of us.
"Naise Johnston-McArdle is nine-and-a-half years old. When she was born in December 1999 we had a lot of questions which were answered by a very positive paediatrician in Drogheda with one phrase. "Why not?"
Her story is in this week's Dundalk Democrat and will appear on the web next week.
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Thursday 17 May 2012
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