and her escape artist

[Guest guest]

It does get better.

When Zack was just under 3 my neighbor from across the street (which means a long walk down the driveway, and across the street) returned Zack to me in his Blue's Clues pajamas, seems he had rang their doorbell! Needless to say there was some sort of thing going on at home and he had wandered away, I couldn't sleep with all the "what ifs" but I had to let that go because he was safe and sound. We immediately put his siblings on alert and put those locks that slide across and hang down up at the top of all exit and entrance doors! We never had an incident again, but he is not a wanderer like some of my friends kiddos w/DS! Actually now at 9 he is the moct cautios of my kids when we cross the street he looks each way like 5 times and he stays with us, but that was a long road, safety and wandering were definately on his IEP and any behvior docs.

In your case the girls can double team you so you have 2X the work ahead of you, but you will do it and then you will sit back and reap the rewards too. A letter to the neighbors is a wonderful idea. Good luck. Irene

Down Syndrome Message to Neighbors

Hi,Our little Haley was able to get out of the house, down our driveway, on a state road and up over a hill before a neighbor was able to get her back to us safely. Needless to say, we are still in shock and horrified about what could have happened to our first born daughter. This occurred when there was a mishap I was attending to and a babysitter was "watching" the kids.Our twin girls, both w/DS, are both constantly trying to run away - no matter how much you board up the doors, there's always going to be an opportunity that they will find to take and get away. I didn't dedicate my life to my family to have one of them get killed because it's not humanly possible to provide 100%, 1:1 direct, close monitoring at all times with each of my children, at the same time.Anyway, I don't think this neighbor understands what Down Syndrome, high impulsivity, distractibility, and cognitive delays really mean. It is important to send out a flyer to each neighbor that introduces our family, explains what Down Syndrome & the above symptoms are, and have situational awareness if they happen to see one of the girls out of the house again without an adult present. (Maybe this would encourage the neighborhood to start a neighborhood watch, etc.) I'm hoping you all can help me come up with something. If any of you have already done one, I'd love to see it if that's ok...Thanks for any advice you have...Regards, GranataMom to Haley & Nikki, 5 yr identical twin girls, both w/DS, and , 3 1/2 yr sonLeesburg, VA