New Parents
We reccomend the following resources to help you.
2009 Family Resource Guide
Suggested Reading List for New Parents
Road Map to Holland / Jennifer Groneberg
Montana wife and mother Groneberg traces in her tenderly moving account the life-changing realization after the premature birth of her twin boys that one of them, Avery, has Down syndrome. Utterly unprepared for the emergency C-section of the seven-week-early preemies, Groneberg and her writer husband, Tom, the parents of a four-year-old, are devastated by the news about Avery, and they must gradually alter their easygoing future plans about raising their kids. They reject the notion of adoption, suggested by a well-intentioned nurse at the hospital where the babies are ensconced in the neonatal intensive-care unit, and embark on an exhaustively trying, ultimately enlightening journey to care for the needy babies, especially Avery, and educate themselves about his condition. Rising from the shame of feeling that their family is broken, and letting slide hurtful comments by a grocery-store clerk or neighbor, Groneberg devoured books and information from the Internet, and began to foster their son's development by seeking out physical therapists and specialists. Small gains in Avery's motor skills were causes for celebration, and the beginning of speech the greatest gift the parents could ask for. Groneberg affectingly delineates these gradual, hard-won stages during Avery's first year toward love and acceptance.
Mr. Blue Sky / DVD, Blue Sky Magic Produstions
Mr. Blue Sky is a ground-breaking film that explores the romantic relationship of a woman born with Down syndrome and a "normal" male, as perceived by today's society. Mr. Blue Sky attempts to break down society's barriers, much like "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?" did in the 1960's, as it aims to "change lives" through "changing minds."
Coping with Down's Syndrome / Fiona Marshall. London, UK: Sheldon Press, 2004
The Down's syndrome handbook: a practical guide for parents and carers / Dr. Richard Newton, written in association with the Down's Syndrome Association./ Down's Syndrome Association.—London, UK: Vermilion, 2004
Down Synrome the first 18 months (dvd & videocassette)/ written, produced and directed by Will Schermerhorn. Vienna, VA: Blueberry Shoes Productions, 2003.
Down Syndrome: Visions for the 21st Century/ William I. Cohen, Lynn Nadel, Myra E. Madnick (Eds.). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2002
Down Syndrome Across the Life Span/ Monica Cuskely, Anne Jobling, Susan Buckley, London, UK: Whurr Publishers, 2002.
A parent's guide to Down syndrome: toward a brighter future- rev.ed./ Siegfried M. Pueschel. Baltimore, MD: Paul Brooks, 2001.
Down syndrome: issues and interventions (CD-ROM)/ Down Syndrome Research Foundation- Burnaby, BC: or Lower Mainland Down Syndrome Society, Surrey, BC.
An informational CD produced by the Down Syndrome Research Foundation covering the issues and interventions in the life span of a person with Down syndrome.
*You may order your copy through the Down Syndrome Research Foundation, or Lower Mainland Down Syndrome Society.
Babies with Down Syndrome: a New Parent's Guide - 2nd ed./edited by Karen Stray-Gundersen. Baltimore, MD: Woodbine House, 1995.
