They don't 'suffer'

As the mother of a 7-year-old son with Down syndrome, I'm writing in reference to the article written about Dan Mellott. I take offense at the implication that our children "suffer" with this condition.

Suffering is what a cancer patient does in the last days of his life ... not what happens when a little boy lives his life to the fullest - not even aware of his condition. As the columnist George Will (who also has a Down syndrome child) writes "one must mind one's language when speaking of people like my son. He does not 'suffer from' Down syndrome. It is an affliction, but he is happy."

Hopefully as a new generation of people are exposed to people like my son, whatever stigma is associated with them will be removed.

I do appreciate people like Dan and Cindy Mussard, because it's through their struggle with acceptance that my son is now able to actually play ball on a T-ball team, attend regular classes in school and not be secluded from other children his age.

Amy Holcomb

Sheffield