A Down Syndrome Boy Who Isn’t Disabled

One of the amazing things about the internet is the way it brings us all together. – You hear of people you never would have heard of before, you’re introduced to new things and new ideas continuously. The other day, I was surfing the web and stumbled upon a freely hosted website that had been created by a boy with Down Syndrome. When I looked upon all that was inside this website, I was amazed and impressed by this person. I got to read all about a boy who, by this world’s standards, was considered severely handicapped, and yet he speed skated, played tennis and soccer, and rock climbed. He had pictures of himself competing at sporting events with teams and numerous medals that he had earned competing in the Special Olympics. He didn’t hide his differences from the world, but instead embraced them, proudly displaying on his car a bumper sticker that read, “Powered by an extra chromosome!”

Here was a person whom everyone in the world would consider handicapped doing things that even I couldn’t do. He was a person with natural determination and resolve like I had seen in few people in my life. This kid literally knew how to do nothing but set goals and achieve them, regardless of how much work was involved. He worked hard every day to make sure no one thought he wasn’t capable or handicapped, proving that he could do anything that any other person could do.

Later that week I went in town to the local Wal-mart. I pulled into a parking space, and made my way to the store. On my way past the end of the Handicapped spaces, I saw a woman pull in with her handicapped sticker and tag. I watched as the woman easily got out of the car, closed the door, and walked straight into the entrance of the store. Once inside, she spent a few minutes searching for an electric cart. When she didn’t find it, she asked the greeter about it, and he had one brought to her. After standing in wait for a few minutes and commenting on a pain she developed if she wa son her legs for too long, she put her purse in the little basket, sat down on the electric cart, and shot on past me and into the rest of the store.

I have to be honest, something about this didn’t sit well with me. Before me was a woman who practically announced to the world that she was “disabled” in order to get a closer spot to the store and a little cart to ride around in so her legs wouldn’t hurt her. At the same time, however, there was a boy who was born with a condition that made everything he did more difficult, and he was probably splashing along in a kayak or something, and doing everything in his power to make sure no one thought of him as handicapped.

There is a massive attitude problem with the people of this world today. Everywhere I look, I notice more and more people acting as if they want to be victims. There are people out there desperately searching to find reasons that life should be made easier upon them just because they feel like they are “owed” it. It seems that more and more people are slapping handicapped stickers on their cars, at younger and younger ages. People want to be pandered to, and treated with a different set of standards because of their claimed “disability”. They want to be sympathized and pitied, and this completely blows my mind. I never in my life want to be pitied, and I never want to feel like I need anybody’s handouts.

I’ve come to the conclusion that there are very few truly handicapped people. The only handicap I see is a very poor mindset. That boy with Down Syndrome I believe is one of the very least handicapped people on the planet. There is nothing on this earth that isn’t available to him because he wants to earn things himself, and wants to prove to the rest of the world that he is an equally capable member of society. There is a lesson here that the rest of the world can learn. All of these people that want things handed to them, who try to find ways that make them less capable than everybody else need to wake up and get some dignity.

I am firmly convinced of the amazing things that people are all capable of. Average people do extraordinary things every day by doing nothing else but their best, pouring their hearts out into their jobs and their lives and trying to be the very best person they can. When people set their sights on goals and decide that nothing is going to stand in their way, truly inspiring things happen. One boy out there has inspired me to do my best and live my life with everything I’ve got. When people look at me, I want them to see my abilities, not my disabilities.

I charge the rest of the world to get off of their butts and be the people that God made them to be. Right now there is a kid with Down Syndrome overcoming the odds and doing things that people have for all his life told him he couldn’t do, so why can’t anyone else? If you really care about yourself, stop asking what other people are going to do to make your life easier, and start finding ways to work around your problems and overcome your obstacles. The world will look at you differently, and you will be surprised at who you’ll inspire.