Perseverance: A Toddler's Journey with Down Syndrome

Upon entering the world on the 25th day of June 2014 — brown skinned Asha Rose 's little slanted eyes, toes with gaps in between them, and distinct face shape led her doctors to believe she had Down Syndrome. She was diagnosed with a chromosomal condition in which babies’ developmental milestones and overall health is grossly affected. Expressly, as a result, Asha Rose has a congenital heart condition called Atrial Septic Defect. Considerably, several doctors have stated she may need surgery to remediate the effects of this defect. However, the two year old Asha Rose has proven perseverant. As an illustration of her tenacious spirit, at she walks like a boss and even says two word sentences.

Asha is a member of an extremely large family.

More importantly, Asha Rose has also been attending the Bell Center Early Intervention Program in Birmingham, AL once per week since she was about 6 months old. At the Bell Center her team includes a teacher, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist, a speech therapist, and others. Each week the team members rotate to focus on promoting Asha 's development. Chiefly, they assist Asha 's parents in identifying and correcting problems early in order to facilitate Asha’s growth. To explain, Asha 's parents have made decisions out of comfort and convenience that aren 't helpful her development but the Bell Center team stands as an encouraging accountability partner that suggests shifts in directions. As an illustration, Asha Rose appearance and actions resembled those of a small baby for longer than normal. Considering this, her parents were often inclined to give her a bottle beyond the time that was suitable for Asha. However, the team at the Bell Center discouraged that practice because they noticed that she was regressing in her developmental abilities and the muscle tone in her jaws was weakened. They identified that issues like those would ultimately affect her cognitive development, especially concerning areas like speech. Considerably, it was determined that even though Asha was getting older in age, her ability to suck was becoming more like that of a newborn. In order to promote efficacious development for Asha, the team gave information and directions to the family to help Asha Rose improve in that area. Nevertheless, Asha Rose is growing up in a Christian family where prayer for prosperity and light regarding to her health is encouraged. Thus far, her family’s faith has been a key part in the advancement of her