Letter From an Adult With Special Needs
The following Letter to the Editor was
printed in the Newport Daily News, Newport,
Rhode Island, on May 25, 1989. The writer has
Down Syndrome, a genetic condition that causes
mild to moderate mental retardation. This letter
is reproduced with permission.
The use of this letter does not imply that
its author, or the organizations and individuals
mentioned within the letter, adhere to any
specific views regarding abortion.
To the Editor:
My name is Bob Lanouette. I have Down
Syndrome. I am very smart and very bright. I was
born with Down Syndrome.
This story is about Down Syndrome, and how a
person with Down Syndrome learns differently. A
group of people who study Down Syndrome are
those belonging to an organization by the name
of The National Down Syndrome Congress. They
study such things as the amount of chromosomes a
person has. After reading such letters from this
organization I have developed many feelings
about Down Syndrome.
I do not understand what causes Down
Syndrome. It seems that a person is born with
Down Syndrome. A Down Syndrome baby is very
smart, they can walk, talk and have many
learning skills but as an adult it is very hard
for people to understand what it is like to have
Down Syndrome.
As a Down Syndrome adult I am able to learn
many new things and develop many new skills. It
seems as though people do not understand that.
People must learn to understand that the Down
Syndrome adult has much talent and they are able
to learn and grow as anybody else can learn and
grow.
The Down Syndrome person can learn so much in
life. They have special teachers to help them,
for example, those teachers who help in the
Special Olympics, or those teachers who help
with speech problems. There are also those
people who volunteer to help the Down Syndrome
person. An example of volunteers, are those at
Salve Regina College who help me develop better
writing skills.
Even though a person has Down Syndrome, they
are very smart. We are able to read newspapers,
work on computers and like myself write poetry
and stories. The Down Syndrome person has much
talent and uses that talent to learn and do many
new things.