On the day of the recital, I was nervous. We had dress rehearsal in the early afternoon, w/ the recital 3 hours later. I got Lydia all dressed up in her costume, which she adored—sequins head to toe, & we took off for the jr. high.
Many individuals w/ Down Syndrome would be performing that day, but only one daughter of mine. It’s important to note, because people often forget, that not all individuals w/ DS are the same. While there’s no such thing as “more” or “less” DS, individuals may have different degrees of disability, different sensory needs, or different associated diagnoses cooccurring w/ their extra chromosome. All of this leads to a wide spectrum of the DS experience. Each individual is very unique & often needs their own adaptations in order to successfully participate in activities.
Lydia struggles w/ new environments. It takes her several exposures to become comfortable in a new space. Our son had a choir concert at the jr. high the night before her dance recital, & knowing Lydie like we do, we took her up on stage after his performance so that she could get that perspective & start getting used to it. I thought this would help her be prepared going into the dress rehearsal. It was nowhere close to enough.
The dress rehearsal was a disaster, putting it mildly. Lyds was terrified of the stage. She didn’t want to be up there & she certainly didn’t want to be abandoned & left standing alone w/ only her little teammates. The amplified sound system was terrifying to her. The lights I’m sure were disorienting. She refused to leave my side & tried to flee the stage multiple times. While other teams ran their numbers multiple times, our little ones were only permitted one run-through. I tried to dance next to Lydia & encourage her to do the steps she had practiced so hard & loved to do. To no avail. When the music ended & as I waited to see if we would be able to run it again, Lydia found the stage steps on her own, & literally fled up the aisle, past rows of seats, past aisles, past the complicated exit at the back of the auditorium, & did not stop, ignoring my calls, until she reached the doors at the back of the school where I finally caught up to her.
