I had two precious Down-Syndrome grandchildren. One born naturally to my son and daughter in law. The other adopted from the Ukraine.
Of course there are frauds as well...in this country there are many,*many* frauds.
The National Socialists in Germany thought so ...
I have a daughter who is on the low-function end of the autism spectrum. She can’t talk, is only partially potty-trained, and has the reasoning abilities of a 1 1/2-year-old. She’s almost 15.
We’re currently in a search for housing that’ll accommodate her and our family.
It’s really disheartening to see people who look askance at us when they see her in her transport chair (if she isn’t in the chair, she can take off running and keep going until she runs into something like a two-legged pinball).
God has given us the strength to keep going, but it sure is hard sometimes.
The Disabled ,the largest minority in the World
I realized when I had my first kid in a stroller that “the disabled” is one category we all belong to, at one point or another in our lives.
Our family sits in the second row at church, behind old people with walkers, oxygen tanks, etc. This was a deliberate effort on my part to get my kids used to thinking of people with disabilities as a normal part of our community. And, yes, it has had a positive effect on our kids, who have gotten to know a couple of the regulars.
More needs to be done, though, I have heard some otherwise very nice kids say awful things about the “kids on the short bus”. That has to be nipped in the bud.