I remember doctors asking me if her coloring was always like that, and I even remember one of them remarking about her palms, but it was just Paige...I didn't realize that it meant she was ill. Looking back at it, I kick myself...having gone through it myself, I should have recognized it right away.

Paige was now 4 years old, and about 20-25 lbs. She was not walking, and although she could stand holding on to things, she did not start to walk independently until well into her 5th year.

Although eligible to start school that September at 4, we decided to keep her at home for one more year, to help her fragile health improve, and to allow her some more time to get mobile. Instead, we enrolled her in a "head-start" school readiness program, that she attended for one afternoon a week. At this program, she practiced things such as circle time, following simple directions, getting used to being somewhere with out me, etc.

Paige worked hard at what she was doing, and we settled into a nice routine of speech, physio and occupational therapies at home, with a bunch of doctors visits stirred into the mix. As she still does today, she flourished with the continuity of therapies in which she understood what was expected of her. A delightful little girl, she loved praise, and would clap her hands excitedly and yell "yay! yay!" whenever she knew she was pleasing one of her therapists.

That spring, we signed Paige up for therapeutic horseback riding. It was love at first sight for Paige. She immediately loved the horses, and learned to sign the word for "horse" faster than she had ever learned to sign anything! To this day, though, she still uses the same spoken word for horse as she does for cow, which comes out as "tow" (rhyming with cow).

Paige is never happier than she is when she is on her favorite horse, Ginger. She is so comfortable on her, and will ride her any which way she can--forward, backward, sideways.

And horseback riding proved to be one of the greatest therapeutic strategies that we could offer Paige. When she started riding, she could barely keep her balance on the back of the horse, relying on a safety strap and side-walkers around her to hold her up as she rode.

At the end of each session, she would be so exhausted that she would just lie right down on the back of the horse, with her head on her hands and drift off to sleep.

Horseback riding did amazing things for her muscle tone, and within a few months, she was sitting proudly and strongly on the horse all by herself. Her stamina improved, and she was able to last a whole session without collapsing.

And amazingly, despite all the predictions from all of the experts...Paige started walking. Her PT and Orthopedic Dr. are still astounded that she was able to get up and walk. Never say never...

Paige is so happy on her horse that she hums and laughs and giggles for the entire ride. She has an infectious laugh that no one can resist.

I cannot say enough about how wonderful her experiences have been at the farm. And as I've learned a million times already, she brought us other blessings as well. We came to know the owners of her riding club, and the many volunteers that helped to make it run, and learned again how many kind-hearted generous people there are in the world.

In September 2002, Paige started school. In our board, there is a Junior Kindergarten and Senior Kindergarten program, in which the kids go to school every other day.

Paige was the first child with special needs to enter her school. Thankfully, I was fortunate enough to have a great team of helpers when I enrolled her the February before that, and I was able to go to them with a complete package of reports from therapists, doctors, etc, so that her transition into school was a smooth one.

As is often the case, some of the evaluations take months and even years on waiting lists to be done, but somehow, everything fell into place.

Because of this, Paige entered school with a full-time aide. She still has the same aide today, three years later. They have a great relationship, and have grown together into a team. I cannot see a time when Paige will not need an aide full-time, as she has so many issues with choking and such. And, she continues to be quite developmentally delayed, even for a child with Down Syndrome.

Paige's school amalagamated with another school in 2003, and now there are a number of children with special needs in her school.

Paige's experience has been nothing short of wonderful at school. She is totally the school "mascot"...everyone there knows and loves Paige. Everywhere I go, I hear "Look! There's Paige's Mom!" Dakotah loves being the big sister of one of the most popular kids at school.

I know many families worry about how their child with DS will adapt at school, and one of the biggest worries is how he or she will get along with other children. Trust me, other children will embrace your child, and you will be amazed at the friendships that they form; how protective they will be of your child, and how easily they see your child as just another kid.

When Paige started school, she was not walking yet, and got around mostly by crawling. We had a walker at school for her, but she had a hard time using it. We had an adaptive chair that helped her to keep good posture while she was doing her seat work. She was not feeding herself at all, and was not potty-trained. All of these issues are things that may make us hold our child back again, but they are all manageable if you have a good working team to take care of those needs.

Within a few months, Paige was walking short distances while holding onto someone's hand. She was doing well with routines, and would go and get her lunchbox at snacktime, her blanket at naptime, and would sit quietly during circle time, with her aide sitting a few feet behind her.

My initial plan was to keep Paige in the JK/SK program for 3 years, but that did not come to be. Instead, because she was 6 years old going into Senior Kindergarten, we were able to enroll her 5 days a week, so the 2nd year of school, she went one day to JK and the next to SK. She really flourished there, and was able to remain with the same group of kids that she started school with.

Paige now receives all of her therapies at school, although we are still having trouble with Speech Therapy. SLP's are very hard to find, hire, and keep in our area, and the inconsistency of having a different SLP every few months does take its toll on Paige.

Paige has very little speech, and relies on a combination of a great many things for communication. Primarily, she uses Sign Language, as well as some picture cards for her communication. Its hard to identify much of her communication skills, as it seems as if we communicate very well with her, but we cannot really explain how we do it. She definitely is an active part of our conversations, and makes her needs met one way or the other. Its strange as her Mom for me to say that she is "non-verbal," because she is so animated, and so social that we hardly even notice that she isn't talking!

Paige is now in Grade 1, and still doing very well. She is eating more independently, with a bit of assistance in opening things, spooning things, etc.

She is potty-trained during the day now, although not to perfection just yet. She still has an accident or two, but its been really incredible to see her do so well at it. We use a method called "habit training" which basically means that we have a schedule for Paige that we stick to during the day...she goes on the toilet about every 2.5 hours, and as long as we stick to it, she goes then. Its quite an accomplishment for a little one that really can't communicate that she needs to go!

We've had to work hard on discipline, as its sometimes difficult to really assess the level of understanding that Paige has. When she started school, she used to tip chairs over all the time, and it was a real issue. It took a lot of repetition, and a lot of firmness to make that stop.

We started using the 1,2,3, time out method, but soon discovered that Paige has figured out that it meant that she was able to get away with bad behavior 2 out of 3 times! She didn't get the concept of the first two warnings, so we abandoned that and used the no warning method. That really helped curtail the behavior better.

Another thing we've discovered is that she tends to find a bad behavior (like tipping chairs, throwing things, etc) and stick to that behavior for a long time. Pretty much until we are at our wit's end to fix it, and then, suddenly, she abandons it. I guess she's testing our patience, because just when we are frustrated and really to throw in the towel, she's done with it.

Of course, she often just finds another thing to work on for a while!

Paige has a really outgoing personality, and is a social butterfly. She loves going to her gym class, and playing ball with her classmates. She still loves music, and every night after her bath, and before bed, has a "jam session" in our living room. She gets all of her music toys going at once, and dances and spins and hums and laughs for an hour or so. After that, she is ready for bed!

Paige has a mellow personality, and we have to work hard at keeping her stimulated. Unlike some of her friends with DS who are busy little beavers, she is quieter and more placid, and is happy sitting and watching people or t.v., or looking at books for a long time. Its funny, she's abandoned all of the children's t.v. she used to like in favor of The Game Show Network!

Its sometimes hard to keep her entertained, as it really means being conscious of getting right down on the floor and playing with her. As with all kids with developmental delays, she sometimes needs a lot of guidance to get started on playing with a toy, or working on something that requires attention and concentration over a period of time.

Developmentally, Paige is quite far behind. I know lots of kids with Down Syndrome, and I have to admit that she is probably the most developmentally delayed of all of the kids that I know. She has very little speech, and is probably still functioning at about a 2-3 year old developmentally. But, as any of you with a child with DS knows, its really so unimportant to who Paige is as a person. Its of very little relevance, because we are still able to watch those milestones happen, and we are happy to cheer and jump for joy at them whenever they arrive.

Paige is still not a strong walker, and was recently diagnosed with hip dysplasia. Her joints are so loose and lax that her hips literally go in and out of place dozens of times a day. Her ankles turn in quite a bit, and there is some deformity in her feet because of it.

Because of the way her hips slip in and out of joint, she has worn away a good deal of bone in both hips and will have to undergo surgery in the next year or so to correct that. It will mean a full body cast for her for a couple of months. She will need to learn to walk, and probably potty-train, all over again afterward. We are a bit concerned that she will not be able to follow all of the directions necessary to make her rehabilitation fast and easy, but we will find a way, as we always do, to get through it.

I wish that I could give the gift of this little girl to every parent...I wish I could offer the lessons that she has taught me to others. But, I know she will do that for me. As she grows up, and meets other people along the way, they will come to know and understand all that she has to offer as a person. I'm so glad to have been given the opportunity to learn that she is greatness...to understand that her greatness is so unique, and so wonderful, and so very, very important in this world.