Down Syndrome, Disabled & Differently Abled Persons - Biography, Patient Narratives - General & Miscellaneous

Count Us in: Growing Up With Down Syndrome

Name: Count Us in: Growing Up With Down Syndrome
Author: Mitchell Levitz, Jason Kingsley
ISBN: 9780151504473

by Mitchell Levitz, Jason Kingsley

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Overview

In this ground-breaking volume, Mitchell Levitz (22) and Jason Kingsley (19) share their innermost thoughts, feelings, hopes, and dreams, their lifelong friendship - and their experiences of growing up with Down syndrome. While scores of textbooks and "as-told-to" accounts offer secondhand descriptions of people with developmental disabilities, none enable such a direct understanding of their perceptions. Count Us In draws from more than fifty conversations Mitchell and Jason had with each other, as well as with family and friends, over the course of three years. With wit, intelligence, candor, and charm, these two young men speak about what matters most in their lives: careers, friendships, school, sex, marriage, politics, finances, and independence. Their concerns echo those of most young people at the cusp of adulthood, yet they also reflect the special challenges of growing up with a disability. In telling us about themselves in their own words, Mitchell and Jason make a powerful and inspirational statement about the full potential of people with developmental disabilities. Jason: "Somehow when I get older I can overcome my disability, but right now I have to adjust to it. I have to do the easy parts and the good parts of this whole life." Mitchell: "I was born with Down syndrome and I said to my parents that I have overcome my disability. I believe that I've come so far . . ."

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Editorials

Denise Perry Donavin

Kingsley and Levitz write about education, employment, ambitions, families, sex and marriage, and their disability--Down syndrome--in a dialogue format. At Jason's birth, the obstetrician said that he'd never learn anything and should be institutionalized. Fortunately, the Kingsleys ignored this advice, and their son has since attended school, written poetry, registered to vote, and memorized scripts for appearances on "Sesame Street" and "The Fall Guy." Mitchell is an equally successful young man whose mother was one of the founders of the Parent Assistance Committee on Down Syndrome. Hearing about Down syndrome directly from these young men has a good deal more impact than reading any guide from a professional or even a parent. Their comments are eye-opening and heartening.