Toys, cars and pizza! Jesal is a little boy like many others.
But he is also uniquely himself, and doesn’t let his extra chromosome define him.
Jesal doesn’t let his chromosome define him
Mum Priya tells us about their wonderful son and his important place in their family:
How did you feel when Jesal was born?
We didn’t know Jesal had Down’s syndrome until he was born.
All the misconceptions and fears entered our minds: Will he walk? Will he talk? Will he be able? Will his health be ok?
There were so many questions, so much fear and worry too…
Jesal’s personality defines him
Tell us about Jesal?
Fast-forward to today and Jesal is a happy boy, but not afraid to show his emotions. He loves watching the iPad and imitating what he watches and he has learnt a lot of words in context from watching YouTube kids.
Jesal wears a hearing aid. His hearing aid helps him hear the words clearly which helps him pronounce words clearly. He wears glasses and it is a huge help to him. He will not do anything without his glasses on. They really do help.
The family use Makaton with single words to communicate with Jesal, but he is aiming towards combining words to make sentences. As Jesal grows up he becomes more aware, but still has a sense of not understanding fear. We continue to teach him and try to make him understand, but this can be extremely difficult at times. However, we persevere! He makes us happy, but some days stressed.
What does Jesal love?
Pizza! He will help put the pizza in the oven and patiently wait for it to be cooked and enjoy every bite of it!
He loves to play with all toys which make a sound, and cars! The love of throwing a ball still continues!
Our Family
Jesal is a part of the family like any other child. His being doesn’t change the dynamics of our family, but adds more fun and a different way of viewing the world! Jesal is happy and content but will get frustrated very quickly, but which child won’t? Having Down’s syndrome doesn’t define him, he and his personality defines him.
‘Jesal has taught us not to take life for granted. He is special, and we are blessed.’
You can read Priya’s post about her son Jesal when he was younger here.