My Story

HI!

My Name is Andrew Start. I am a young man who is a self-advocate who happens to have Down Syndrome. And I want people to START THINKING!

I started this website to help people understand more about people with Down Syndrome and others with disabilities and to provide information that you may find interesting, startling, happy, sad, and motivating.

My objective is to get you to START THINKING! 

I chose to launch my website today in honor of WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY which always falls on March 21---because having Down Syndrome means you have a 3rd copy of the 21st chromosome. Get it? 3-21. So here are some things you should know about people with Down Syndrome. I want you to be ready to celebrate with me!

In the United States, one in 700 babies are born with Down Syndrome.  It affects people in different ways, depending on their health, their genes, their upbringing, and education---just like most people who don’t have Down syndrome. It is the most common chromosomal abnormality in the US. 

Typically, people with Down Syndrome have a special zest for life, they are joyful, and fun to be around. Some are crazier than others just like everyone else. And that’s part of my message. We are just like everyone else, including you. 

On the other hand, we are slow learners, may have low muscle tone, and have a bigger space between our big toe and the second toe. Many of us are born with a hole in our heart. Sometimes it might close on its own, like it did for me. Other people may have to have surgical procedures to close it. Not that long ago, it required open heart surgery to close. That’s pretty tough on anyone! My friend Elsie was born only a few years earlier than me and she had to have many surgeries. So we’ve come a long way!

BUT WE ARE JUST LIKE YOU! We have the same feelings as you---we laugh, we cry, we feel pain the same way you do, we love the same as you do, perhaps just a bit more---we are great huggers! We want the same things as you---we want to be accepted, we want to be treated with respect, we want to have a special person in our life to love and be loved, we want to have a job, we want to have our own home, get married, and have a beautiful life. 

So, I hope you will visit my Facebook page for more information to stay updated on tidbits of information you might find interesting about being me. 

Until then, 

START THINKING! 

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