THE Example of Down Syndrome

When Brennan was about 4 months old, my Mom and I took him and his big brother Parker for a walk. Parker had just turned 2 years old. We were walking along a path near the harbor and the only thing Parker wanted to do was to play by the water. He absolutely would not walk on the path. After many unsuccessful attempts to keep him away from the water - I finally put Brennan in the sling and put Parker into Brennan's stroller. Needless to say, Parker was not pleased with this arrangement and proceeded to scream all the way back to the car. People passing by would look at him, then look at me with that knowing smile - understanding how 2 year olds can be. My Mom and I wondered, in a couple of years, if the same situation played out with Brennan as the screaming child in the stroller, would people look at us differently? As if to say "so, that's what it's like to have a child with Down syndrome." My assumption is that they would. It seems that people will always attribute his behavior, good or bad, to him having Down syndrome rather than to his own unique personality. Given that he may be the only person with Down syndrome that many of our friends and acquaintances ever know - Brennan actually will be THE example of Down syndrome for them. Seems like alot of pressure for one little guy - don't you think?