Preface: I decided to focus my attention on Down syndrome during class at the MOO. (Our virtual classroom) We were working in groups, trying to help each other develop a question that would address a topic of interest for each of us. My first topic of choice had been traumatic brain injuries, but one of my group members was also interested in traumatic brain injuries so I decided not to focus on them. But, we both decided to do something different. Anyway, one of group members asked me what else I was interested in and I instantly thought of Down syndrome. This came to my mind because I once visited The Open door School in Ironton Ohio and the kids with Down syndrome just stood out to me, I really don’t know why. Since that visit I have always noticed people with Down syndrome whenever I am out in the community. I decided this would be a good chance to find out more about Down syndrome.

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Mrs. McComas for the chance to learn new things in a new way and for the support and guidance that was available at all times from her during this new learning experience. I would also like to thank her for all her hard work that developing this project.
Many thanks to my group members, Jennifer, Summer and Laura. I appreciate the honest peer reviews and the excellent advice given in them. Jennifer, thanks for all the help on the webligoraphy. Laura, thanks for helping getting me started. Thanks goes to Frances for also helping getting me started.
I also want to thank Lekie and Christy for all your help with ideas, power point and clarifying instructions.
Thanks to all my classmates for answering my questions that I sent to the group.

About the Author: I am Melissa Cade and I am a 24 year old student at Marshall University. I am a senior in the Communication Disorders program and will graduate in the Spring of 2003. I hope to attend graduate school at Marshall. I began my college career at Ohio University went on the New Mexico State University and will finish at Marshall University.
I want to work with children of all ages with a variety of communication disorders. I want to work where the need is the greatest for speech language pathologists. Wherever that may be.

Journal Entry of Week 8

Well, this week has been lovely! Upon return from a 3-day family vacation, both my kids are now miserably sick. Does it ever end? They enjoyed vacation though. We took them to the Cincinnati Zoo, Kings Island, The Newport Aquarium and The Beach (a water park). I guess Daniel is to little (9 months) to really enjoy it, but he was good. Abigail had a blast. She’s not scared of anything. She rode all the rides in the Kiddy Park at Kings Island. The vacation part of the week was fun! But, I spent most of today in the ER at King’s Daughter’s. I fell last night and ripped a big gash in my leg, it was very painful and still is. It was late and my husband was at work so I didn’t go to the ER immediately. Today my mom, who is an R.N. took one look at it and sent me to the hospital. It needed stitches, but it was too late so now I’m going to have a lovely scar. For everyone’s info, you cannot stitch a wound that is more than 6 hours old. So, if you even think you need stitches, get to the hospital.
Hmm… I can tell my kids have been playing around my desk; my arm keeps sticking to it.
I have gotten a lot of good advice for my genre’s. I think the peer review has been A LOT of help. Unlike Andrea, I have not gotten any brilliant ideas as to what will work best at tying my project together. I thought I would use the pamphlet, but I think that would work better at the beginning to give people some information on what my project is about. But my webliography will do that a little. Could my poem be used to tie it all together? I’m just throwing things out trying to get ideas. I think I might add another genre, specifically for the purpose of tying the project together. Now, there is an idea.
This week while on vacation I got to see some kids with Down Syndrome in action. I could only watch from a distance and only for as long as they were in my sight. I realized once again that these kids are just kids, doing what other kids do, having fun and possibly not getting their way. My son and I were taking a break at KI while Abby and my husband were riding the rides. Here came a dad and a little girl (with DS) walking by. They were talking heatedly and I don’t think she was getting her way because she fell behind him and started stomping instead of walking.
At the Beach my son and I were sitting in the water and I noticed a little girl with DS playing in the water. She had this long plastic toy that she would throw in the water and dive in after it and get it. Every time she came out of the water with the toy she was smiling. Her mom followed closely behind, but not to close. Then the mom had to go find somebody so she told the little girls sister to stay with her. Well the sister tried to help the little girl, to much I think. The little girl would throw her toy in the water and her sister would get it and say “here you go”. The little girl kept walking away and throwing her toy in the water and her sister kept following and retrieving the toy for her. Finally, after the 6th or 7th time the little girl turned around and hollered for Mommy. It seemed to me the little girl wanted to do things her self and her way, not much different from other kids, huh?
That’s what I hope to get across is that kids with DS are still kids and we should look at the kid not the disability or label. It has turned out to be difficult, but I hope to handle it.

My Powerpoint

(application/x-mspowerpoint, 109 KB)

presentation is an attempt to convey that kids with Down Syndrome are just kids. They have the same wants, needs and fears as do other kids. Please remember this is rough and is still in the making.