How being around special needs kids such as those with Down syndrome can change your viewpoint of life and what is really important.

How to Transform Your Viewpoint: Learning from Special Needs Children

by Jim Alexander

Every day we are bombarded with facts and opinions coming from experts about what we should do and how we should think regarding ourselves, our friends, and our children. One day you hear that drinking coffee is bad, and then the next day you hear that it contains powerful antioxidants that fight cancer and can prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. We are obsessed with looking good to the point where we even take our pets to get Botox treatments. There always seems to be an expert lurking in the wings ready to tell us how to improve ourselves or to make millions just by walking to the mailbox. What about the rest of us who meet up on the line of scrimmage to just block and tackle? Sometimes it seems that if our lives do not involve hair-raising adventure we are just boring peasants stuck on the lowest rung of the social ladder. Thank goodness there are people out there who are immune to some of what the world wants to inflict.

Down syndrome children are fully aware of most of the things going on in the world. Just like most kids, they love to play video games, shoot pool, bowl, and watch sports. Some of them are even athletic to the point of being competitive with anyone. But there is a difference they have which is something the rest of us can learn from. Down kids are not controlled by what is happening in the stock market or the media fear that comes across our televisions or the Internet. They have a cheerful, optimistic outlook about life and care more about the simple pleasures in life.

I am not advocating that we all throw up our hands and say, “Why bother?” and sell everything we own and migrate to the local happiness farm (although some days I wish I could). We still have a responsibility to support others, especially those who cannot support themselves. For Down children, we need to continuously strive to make them independent through learning. Along the way, there is adventure in every sunrise, every sunset, and everything that we do. A Down syndrome child would find excitement in watching a praying mantis on a blade of grass or in going out to eat with the whole family. Going to Grandma’s house for Thanksgiving might be boring to some of us but definitely not to them.

For a child with Down syndrome, joy has no price tag. Being around friends and family carries the most wampum in terms of fun. There is adventure in shooting a basket through the hoop. If you have never been to Special Olympics, then go sometime and you will see it for yourself. Kids of different ages participate in running, jumping, and throwing events and do whatever they are capable of doing. To them, winning happens when you show up and participate. The smiles are big and they stay around a while.

At the age of twenty-seven I was not completely sure I was responsible enough to have a child, period. Then Lindsey was born to us with Down syndrome and severe heart defects. I believe that when I first held her in my arms I acquired all the motivation I needed to be responsible in any way I could to help her, and that was before we knew that she had any health issues. Along the way through my associations with other families, I had the privilege of meeting many other children with Down syndrome. There are some common traits between them, and they are not all weaknesses. One example is their ability to socialize and be friendly to others.

My daughter Lindsey taught me many things about perseverance, hope, and how to change my viewpoint. Every second we are alive is an adventure. Don’t take pity on yourself, but focus on your relationships with others. See the value in what you have and be grateful to the one God in this world, no matter what your language or skin color is, or what nation you live in, or what name you have for him.

Realize that the blood that flows in every human being is red and that real adventure is helping someone in need, even in small ways like donating blood to the American Red Cross. It may be fun to watch someone shoot bionic robots off a steel structure two thousand feet up on some video game, but take time to play it with a friend. Enjoy things with your whole family. In fact, the most important lesson to learn from special needs children is to change your viewpoint—to not to let anything rob you of spending precious time with your family. This is the most significant thing that Lindsey taught me. Because one day you will wake up and be eternally grateful for the times you did. One day the opportunities to do so again will all be gone.

The book Riding with Miss Lindsey and other articles by Jim Alexander can be found at www.american-book.com. All profits are being donated to charities for special needs children and children with heart defects.