Meet Maddox, the star of the latest episode of Our Special Life. Maddox is a 2-year-old darling of a girl with Down Syndrome. Her mother, Jamie McClintic, introduces her to us in this sweet video snapshot of their lives together with dad Scott and new baby brother McGregor.
Jamie does a lot to enhance Maddox's life, from swimming lessons to 15 hours of therapy a week. But there are two especially important things Jamie does that could make a huge different in her daughter's life. She's surrounding her with a close-knit support group and she's setting high expectations for her daughter's life.
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I think it's amazing that Jamie has been able to gather this spectacular group of friends. I know she feels it's important that Maddox grow up with peers who will protect her in high school and "dance with her at dances." But it must help Jamie a lot as a mother of a special needs child to have such a strong network supporting her as well.
And I'm impressed by the high expectations Jamie has for Maddox. She wants her daughter to graduate from college, get a job, live in a house, have a roommate, drive -- and why not? These are all things we now know people with Down Syndrome can do. "She will only go as far as you and I push her," Jamie says.
Here's the video Jamie mentions she and Scott made with Maddox right after her second birthday. No wonder Jamie has such high expectations for her daughter -- she's already exceeded everything her doctors thought she could do. One more gamble for Maddox and Jamie: I bet you can't watch this without crying.
See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.
Is there a special-needs child in your network of friends?
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