When I read this story I was filled with joy and positivity. You don’t get to hear such stories often. A 17-year old girl, Anne Jennings from Chicago was no ordinary kid.

When she was named the ‘Homecoming Queen’ of her school – Libertyville High School – her joy knew no bounds. She was walking in air, and remarked, “Before, I was just plain me. When I was queen, it changed. It’s amazing. Everyone loves me. I love me.”

Jennings was suffering from Down’s Syndrome since childhood, and this occasion made a huge difference to her life. For years Jennings has struggled with questions about what makes her different than other kids, and so often her mother has no answers.

That’s because Down’s Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder, it occurs in around 1 per 800 to 1,000 births. Down’s Syndrome, which is caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome, leads to some impairment of cognitive ability, physical growth as well as facial appearance.

The condition varies from child to child, as some might lead a healthy life, while some can be seriously impaired. In Jennings case, she use to attend regular classrooms and after entering high school she spent more time in separate special-education classes. Nearly ten years ago I was introduced to Savio DSouza, on a family vacation in Goa.

Savio had Down’s Syndrome, but somehow that did not really make him different. He just had the mongoloid features but a good brain. Good enough for him to play the guitar and be a non-stop talker.

He use to get pissed off every time we had to walk on the beach because he hated the sand, he never let the sand enter his shoes. The short stay with him changed my entire attitude towards people suffering from Down’s Syndrome. Of course there are cases that could be much worse but miracles can happen when they are brought up with unconditional love and understanding.

I have a cousin sister who is mentally challenged, she use to go to a special school, and I had visited her school a couple of times. It was amazing to see how talented she was, really caring and good fun to be with.

Its important that each one of us in today’s society learns to appreciate them for what they are, its beautiful and inspiring to read such stories of Jennings. I remember horrid stories in my childhood days when kids would tease or show no compassion to people who suffer from disabilities like polio, and in this case, children showing this kind of understanding and love for Jennings makes me swell up with joy.

Here we have a video on children and adults with Down’s Syndrome who are living their life to the fullest!

Share and Learn:

Tags: Down's Syndrome