For a few years I worked in a mental health hospital which also operated a day care program for mentally disabled people including those adults or late teens with Down Syndrome. They gathered during the week for activities and developing learning skills and went on arranged field trips. Occasionally they raised money for their craft supplies by making dinner for the people in the hospital and the staff as well.
They had a memorable time serving spaghetti lunches to long lines of staff and patients (making a statement about the hospital food too I believe), and we all had a great time interacting with these people.
Know why? I have never seen such truly happy people. The patients were naturally unhappy and depressed in most cases, if not paranoid or out of it....and the staff were rushed, tired, cranky and all those things you encounter in a working environment which has a stress level of high proportions.
The most free, most accepting people were the disabled folk - especially the Down Syndrome group who were great communicators, enjoyed showing us their crafts at a moment's notice, and seemed to grateful to have a busy day ahead of them, enjoying life's simple pleasures. To be alive....and busy.
I often wondered which group was the "disabled" in our crowd.
I've read similar things, that people with Down's Syndrome are happy and bring joy to others.
True happiness is living in the moment, something most of us cannot do (always worried about the past or the future).
I have a nephew wioth Downs Syndrome. He is a very happy and joyful young man (he is 18). He has few language skills, and he has serious physical problems, but he loves his life.
The thought of not allowing him to live because he has Downs is monstrous.
One more thing -- because of him, the members of my family have experienced a joy they would not have known if he had not come into the world. My sister and brother-in-law, as well as their other children, have learned the joy of sacrificing self for another person.