When I talk about Down syndrome (and other disabilities) in a classroom I use people first language... which is a way of saying I talk about the person and treat the disability like an attribute (blue eyes, Down syndrome). I talk about how much Gavin likes the same things most kids his age like... Disney, animals, books, playing, friends, adventures, and so on. One thing that Gavin really loves is animals, big ones, small ones, furry ones, slithery ones, creepy crawly ones, and even animals that are bigger than he is. He doesn't seem to be afraid of any animals either (I am the opposite) so he will reach right out and pet (or pick up) anything. When we were at my mom's recently he reached into a container where my mom had beetles and suddenly he had (what looked like a million) beetles crawling up his arm. Every time we are there we have to look for him because he will sneak off to rearrange all the turtles (he likes them to have company), pick up a bearded dragon and carry it around or go hang out with a huge tortoise.
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