DR RADICA MAHASE
With us, not for us is the
theme for Down Syndrome Awareness Day 2023. TT citizens joined the rest of the world in “Rock your socks,” advocating for rights and inclusion of people with Down syndrome on March 21. This week I am happy to share one mother’s journey as she continues to advocate for her son. Rhoda Christopher is
the mother of soon-to-be 12-year-old Pedro.
“We are the Christopher family. I am Rhoda and Pedro’s dad is Anton. He has a younger brother, Benito. Pedro is 11 years old and will be 12 this year. He is a standard three student at St Patrick’s Newtown Boys’ RC School for the past six years. Pedro is a dynamic, fun-loving boy with a passion for life.
He is popular at his school among students and teachers alike and seems to have won the hearts of many. He likes the same things that many boys like such as football, Roblox, Minecraft and watching videos. He is an avid reader, and he loves being on stage.
In the past he has been involved in football, swimming, learning to play pan and gymnastics.
He is currently playing tennis at school, and is involved in dance and drama with Lilliput Children’s Theatre for the past seven years. We provided speech therapy for him from two-and-a-half years and he is currently in occupational therapy.
We have been part of the Down Syndrome Family Network (DSFN) since its inception. They have given him several opportunities in the past such as the visit to the past commissioner of police Gary Griffith – he advocated for respect for people with disabilities; at the tenth anniversary celebrations of the DSFN he escorted Sharon Rowley and presented her with a token; and at the 2022 Christmas dinner he led the opening prayer.
Before the pandemic, he was active at church and received his First Communion with other neurotypical children. He assisted in the collection and procession with gifts several times.
We are also involved in Bethesda for Persons with Disabilities, an NGO that serves not just people with disabilities but also their caregivers.
The biggest challenge we have faced with Pedro is in the area of education. In the year he was turning five, we applied to four schools and they all turned us down. In the following year, we re-applied to the same four and two others. All schools were in our catchment area. The responses from five other schools ranged from he is on a waiting list (last place), to straight refusals. One principal even told a school supervisor that it was because he has Down syndrome, and another told us they took children whose parents work in the area. The school furthest from us accepted him.
[caption id="attachment_1007782" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Pedro Christopher presents a token to Sharon Clark-Rowley, wife of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, at the tenth anniversary celebrations of the Down Syndrome Family Network. - courtesy Lisa Ghany[/caption]
While there, he had no aide until the end of his repeat of first year. The person sent was as an on-the-job (trainee) and during the pandemic, her
