One of my biggest fears for Penny when she was diagnosed with Down syndrome was that she wouldn't have friends.

The other fears I had in the hospital all those years ago have dissipated. Some–like my fear that I wouldn't love her as she continued to grow up–seem laughable now. My fear that I wouldn't ...

My son, Samuel, died five hours after his birth; he had trisomy 18. The five hours my wife and I spent with him were some of the most significant of our life together. They were a gift to us at the end of difficult pregnancy and a peaceful entry into the long paths of grief.

I mention our story here, ...

This post is one in a series addressing the question of whether we should try to "cure" Down syndrome. Margaret (Gary) Bender reflects upon Flowers for Algernon and her daughter Alex, who has Down syndrome. 

I have a vivid memory as a fourteen-year old sitting on my parent's sunny front staircase reading ...

As a part of a series of posts in honor of Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and in response to recent media reports about a potential "cure" for Down syndrome, blogger and minister David Zahl contributes an essay today about bioethics, science fiction, and what it might mean for us all.

I'll lay my cards ...

I didn't think much, if at all, about Down syndrome before our daughter Penny was born. But in the seven years since her arrival, I have come to believe that disability, including Down syndrome, offers a window into the human condition that bears close attention. As I have written before, disability ...

Nine years ago, my daughter Juliet was born. She had ruby-red lips, dark eyes, and Down syndrome. While I haven't considered changing the first two characteristics, I have paid attention to possible treatments for the last one.

Earlier this year, researchers announced that that they had successfully ...

It was billed as an amazing breakthrough, a harbinger of hope, when researchers at University of Massachusetts managed to 'turn off'' the third copy of the 21st chromosome in a petri dish last summer. But the jubilation was not universal.

Many parents of children with Down syndrome feel that this line ...

There's a sign on the way home from our daughter Penny's school that reads: "Slow Down. Exceptional Children Live Here." When I first noticed it, it bugged me. I saw it as a disrespectful play on signs warning cars that a child with blindness or deafness lives in a neighborhood. And then, as I thought ...

When Amy Julia Becker asked me to write a post responding to the question "Should Down syndrome Be Cured?" I had a strong feeling of déjà vu all over again.

Haven't we debated that question already?

A few seconds on Google revealed that yes, we have.

In early 2010, Lisa Belkin wrote a Motherlode column ...

For some, this question holds an obvious answer. Down syndrome is an abnormal genetic condition that leads to suffering. It needs to be cured, plain and simple. For others, the question itself (not to mention any attempt at an answer) is offensive. It implies that people with Down syndrome can't live ...

On Sept. 22, Friendship House, a home that offers Duke Divinity School students and people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD)  the opportunity to live together in community, officially opened. In each of four apartments, three students live with one resident who has an I/DD. All ...

I was raised to achieve things.

I was a third-generation valedictorian of my high school class, like my mother before me and her mother before her. Both of my parents have master's degrees. Growing up, I was The Smart Kid, voted Most Likely to Succeed. I went to college, earned a bachelor's degree in ...

After Penny was born, people kept telling me about the "amazing" things people with Down syndrome could do. A part of me liked hearing the stories–of men and women who started businesses, completed serious athletic feats, sang in choirs, played instruments, and so forth. A part of me felt uneasy about ...

"This is what it means to be included."

The mother's words jumped out at me from the radio. Included.

Two year old Tatum Bakker had never been able to swing on a playground swing set until they visited Brooklyn's Playground on their way through Pocatello, Idaho. It's a playground designed for children ...

"Mom, everyone keeps using the word include, but I don't know what that word means."

I had just finished a gentle reprimand because William and his friend had refused to let another friend into their fort. "Remember, William? We always include our friends." I thought the ...

Readers who are familiar with this blog will recognize my friend and colleague Ellen Painter Dollar. She and I met through an online debate about whether or not disability should be cured (see my piece for Christianity Today and Ellen's response), and we've continued the dialogue for a few years now, ...

There's a new scientific discovery popping up on my Google alerts about a potential "cure" for Down syndrome. According to the Boston Globe (Scientists Hit at Core of Down Syndrome), "Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have shown that it is possible to do what had once seemed ...

Last week, the news came out about a pregnant woman in Maryland who discovered through prenatal testingthat her fetus had Down syndrome. She planned to abort—the same choice made by at least 3 in 4 women who receive this diagnosis—until a local priest intervened, offering to find a family to adopt her ...

Trayvon Martin was an African-American. He was walking home from the 7-11. George Zimmerman thought he posed a threat, and he ended up shooting him dead. Zimmerman claims he shot Martin in self-defense. He was acquitted of both second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. At best, this was a tragedy ...

Yesterday, I wrote about my concerns with the idea that "reading makes us more human." Today, my friend and colleague Karen Swallow Prior, who wrote a post for the Atlantic (How Reading Makes Us More Human) about this topic, responds to my concerns:

AJ: I resonate with your point that reading distinguishes ...