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C2 - The Oakville Beaver, W ednesday N o vem b er 6, 2002 own Syndrome girl surprises family, doctors Integrated in regular school By Shelly Sanders Greer SPE C IA L T O T H E BEAVER When Yolanda and Steven Kostecki were expecting their daughter, it appeared they had nothing to be concerned about. Yolanda was young, just 27, and the routine blood tests had come back normal. There were no problems with the pregnancy and when Julia was bom five years ago, everything seemed to go according to plan. But five hours after the birth, doctors were concerned about mucus on Julia's lungs and put her on an antibiotic. At this point, they told Yolanda and Steven they were worried Julia might have Down Syndrome. "Julia didn't have the facial features you see with Down Syndrome," said Yolanda, who was in shock. "Normally Down Syndrome babies are premature and small, but Julia was full-term and weighed 7 lbs., 8 oz. It just didn't make sense." Down Syndrome is a chromo somal disorder that occurs in about one in 700 births in Canada. Although it is not known for sure, it's thought that an error in cell division causes an extra chromosome. One myth about Down Syndrome is that it occurs primarily with older mothers. G a r d e n G a lle r y , Y o u r Even though the risk does increase with age, 80 per cent of babies with Down Syndrome are born to mothers under 35, like Yolanda, as these are the prime child-bearing years. In the beginning, the Kosteckis were prepared for the worst by doctors and by the liter ature they read. "When I had Julia, the litera ture written in the 1970s said that the life expectancy for people with Down Syndrome was 34 years. I was devastated. Doctors told us not to expect too much, that she'd maybe walk by the time she was three, but she sat up at five months, could point to Bert from Sesame Street in books when asked, and walked at 14 months. She was full of surpris es." Along with these milestones, however, did come some health challenges that are common to kids with Down Syndrome. Julia has continued to battle recurring respiratory problems. She's had tubes in her ears, and has faced pneumonia a few times. "We do everything we can to help her," explained Yolanda. "We make sure she's dressed properly for outside and she gets a flu shot every year." Julia's speech is delayed as well, and she is currently under going speech therapy. But she is attending a regular public school in northwest Oakville in senior kindergarten, and she plays piano. Her parents love the fact that she is integrated and feel that this alone is crucial to her success in life. "Attending regular school gives her that much more of a chance to be treated as equal," said Yolanda. "She has friends at school and gets along very well. She does have an educational assistant for 50 per cent of the time. At one point they thought she didn't need an assistant but she's very quiet and shy and can get lost in the classroom." A strong support for the Kosteckis has come from the Halton Down Syndrome Association which helps educate new parents, provides meetings every other month with guest speakers, and runs a speech pro gram for kids in need, like Julia. "Speech is one of the most common challenges with Down Syndrome kids," said Kevin Whyte, its president and a father of a 13 year-old boy with Down Syndrome. "The better they can communicate, the better they can integrate into the community. This program is paid for by Bingos run by parents and dona tions." Barrie Erskine · O akville Beaver Julia Kostecki reads an activity book with her parents Yolanda and Steven Kostecki. The Fiveyear-old has Down Syndrome and is integrated into regular Kindergarten. The Kosteckis continue to be amazed, not only by Julia, but also by new milestones set by other people with Down Syndrome. "I see from newspapers that people with Down Syndrome are working at Winners and other places. They can hold jobs but it's hard finding people who will give them a chance," said Yolanda. "And there are people with Down Syndrome who have graduated from university. The message I would like to portray is that individuals with Down Syndrome, at their own pace, can accomplish anything. "Instead of mourning the fact that you have a child with a dis ability, take a deep breath and enjoy it. After Julia was bom, I thought why would anyone abort a child with Down Syndrome. I can't imagine not having her in my life." For more information about Down Syndrome, visit the Web site for the Canadian Down Syndrome Society www.cdss.ca. For information about the Halton Down Syndrome Association, call Kevin Whyte at 905-825-8632. Nov. 1 - 7 is Down Syndrome Awareness Week. H olland P ark Garden G allery boasts one o f the largest Christm as showrooms in the country! We travel the world to bring you the m ost unique holiday trees, decorations and accents to help yo u transform y o u r home into a C hristm as W onderland. V isit Garden G allery fo r personal assistance and solutions fo r all o f y o u r C hristm as needs. · Custom. Bow M a k in g · H ow to L ig h t a n d decorate y o u r C h ristm a s Tree · H o lid a y D ecorating T echniques · D ressed P o in settia s & C om plete Care T ips · O utdoor H o lid a y D ecora tin g · L ive Trees · F ull F loral Service Local a n d W orld W id e Delia Christmas Store Dynasty SMm Everlasting Memorial Wreaths A vailable in a wide assortm ent o f sizes & colours. Custom wreaths available. Library book sale With so many donations, the Friends of the Oakville Public Library has extended its Fall Book Sale to five days. The sale runs Nov. 6 - 10 in the Oakville Central Library Audi torium, 120 Navy St. Because of the `bonus day', the Friends' Exclusive Members' Sale is tonight, Nov. 6 from 6 - 9 pm. A Friends of the Library mem bership card acts as your invitation to the Exclusive Members' Sale. D idn't renew your membership or wish to join for the first time? Memberships will be available at the door for $10. The public sale is Nov. 7, 12 - 9 p.m. Nov. 8 and 9, 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.; and Nov. 10, 1 - 4 p.m. An exceptional number o f chil dren's books, par ticularly picture books, are for sale for $1 a pound. Books for adults fiction and nonfic tion - are also $1 per pound. On Sunday, all books are 50 per cent off. All sales are cash only. If that isn't enough, checkout the assortment of coffee table books and a gently viewed video tapes. Coffee table books are individ ually priced; videos cost $1 per pound. The Friends of the Oakville Public Library is a volunteer advoca cy group dedicat ed to increasing awareness of the library's programs and services, and the enhancement of those services through a variety of community events and fund raising activities. 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