Your Stories

Down’s Syndrome. What images does it bring to your mind?

The girl or boy with Down’s Syndrome being taken somewhere by their parents? A man or woman with Down’s Syndrome sitting alone on a bus with a ticket, saying nothing, travelling, who knows where?

It may surprise you to hear that one baby in every 1000 born in Britain has Down’s Syndrome and the number of people in this country with the condition is almost as great as the population of Scunthorpe.

In the spring of 2007 the Crees family from East Yorkshire made an audio diary for us. 

Joe and Veronica Crees’s first child Charlotte has Down’s Syndrome. We gave her parents an audio recorder and asked them to record what Charlotte did during the course of a normal week.

The aim was to shed some light on what its like to have Down’s Syndrome and what its like bringing up a child with the condition. Charlotte’s brother, Michael, and her sister Catherine also helped in the making of the diary.

Click on the links to listen to Charlotte’s Diary.

Veronica and Joe Crees wanted to share their experience and advice with us.

This is what they told us …

Charlotte and her family

- When we had out first child we were over the moon. Then we were told Charlotte had Down’s Syndrome and our world shattered. We couldn’t believe what had happened to us.”

- If a friend of yours has a baby with Down’s Syndrome, don’t tell them you’re sorry. Just congratulate them. They won’t want people to feel sorry for them.

- If you have a child with Down’s Syndrome, take one day at a time. Learn all about your baby, then find out later about Down’s Syndrome.

- If you have a child with Down’s Syndrome. Its ok to do things your own way.

- Contact the Down’s Syndrome Association ( see link ). They can give you lots of advice.

- In the future we want Charlotte to get a job, have lots of friends and have a good life.

The Down’s Syndrome Association put us in touch with the Crees family. Mrs. Veronica Crees and Debbie Edwards, a teaching assistant at Charlotte’s mainstream primary school, came into Radio Humberside where we showed them how to use the recorder and advised them what sort of things to record.

They did a brilliant job, which contributed to the success of the diaries which were broadcast on Radio Humberside in July 2008.

If you want to find out more about Down’s Syndrome, click on the links.

The BBC would like to thank the Crees family, especially Charlotte, and the Down’s Syndrome Association in the preparation of this feature.