[tri-med] Carolyn & Mike

Since some people have asked about Mike I'll be happy to tell. We are from 
Chicago Illinois, Mike is 17 and I am 19. We started some units on Genetic 
disorders in my Bio class so I started looking into Mike's condition which is 
how I found the list. Mike is not verbal. He has worked with speech therapists, 
but is just unable to form any words. Mike communicates through a few different 
ways. His school has supplied him with what we call his "talker" a basic 
electronic device with a touch screen that speaks for him, he also uses some 
sign language, but only a few basic signs, please, hungry, thirsty, that sort 
of thing, He has trouble with his hands sometimes, his motor skills aren't that 
great. My mom and I can tell what he is saying a lot of the time when he 
uses his voice by his tone and inflection because we've been around him the 
most. He's a very friendly guy who often suprises us with how many people he 
knows. We get people who come up to us
 when we are out to say hi to Mike or sometimes when peole find out my last 
name they'll come up to me and ask "are you Mike's sister?" We are very 
involved in Special Olympics, Mike plays a dozen sports a year at least. He is 
in kinda a trade program at school. The kinda of program to gradually train 
special needs kids on how to operate at work and in other places. He gets to go 
through the graduation ceremony this year, but he is still going to go back to 
school and be a super senior until he's 21. And he's a typical teenager in some 
regards, at home he's my best friend wants to do stuff with me, but the minute 
his friends are around he pushes me away and is embarrased to be seen with me. 
And of course his favorite thing in the world is Pokemon.

      
                  Building ___ooOOoo__ Rainbows
                       www.trisomyonline.org
                  Families Helping Families On-line

Other related posts: