Bus Loads of B&S

There's lots of talk and information about the individual workshops and sessions at the NDSC conference, so I thought I'd take a minute to tell you about the Brother/Sister conference instead (you knew that's what I meant, right?!)

Last year we attended the conference in Washington, DC.  We took our 4 children with us.  We just couldn't pass up the opportunity to let them see our capital.  We also signed them up for the Brother & Sister conference.  We weren't quite sure what to expect, but they enjoyed themselves a LOT and couldn't wait to tell us what they did.

There were sessions for the kids to break into groups and chat about their own experiences and/or concerns they have with their sibling that has Down syndrome.  Sometimes, it seems like that kid just gets ALL the attention, doesn't it?  Older kids sometimes feel insecure about how to stand up for themselves and their sibling with Ds in tough situations at school or on the playground.  The Brother & Sister conference gave the kids a chance to talk with their peers and eased their feelings of isolation.  Although we know lots of families with children that have Ds, we don't seem to have many other sibling groups with kids the same ages as ours.

Abbie's brothers & sister

The Brother & Sisters conference was run like a camp, with leaders and counselors with the kids every step of the way.  Our oldest son has Autism, and the counselors were patient and handled things well when he became overwhelmed and needed a break.  We were impressed and thankful for their cool heads and understanding.  Each child is given a numbered ticket, and throughout the day tickets are randomly drawn for prizes.  Our younger son was thrilled to get a pair of Ear Candy head phones.  The kids also got drawstring back packs with the "Rock the Cap" NDSC logo.

It's not all workshops and talking, though!  The Brothers & Sisters got cool t-shirts, and even got a field trip to the Spy Museum (our kids LOVED it!).  I was kind of jealous; it sounded pretty cool.  There were 2 buses full of Brothers & Sisters. They were served excellent meals (better than we had, sometimes!) and were safely and productively occupied while we attended the grown-up workshops.  Yes, it was well worth the additional expense to have them attend.

The last night in Washington, they tried something new for the conference, and had a good bye, send-off gathering.  During that last goodbye, they invited all the older kids & teens with Ds and the brothers and sisters to join in an impromptu performance of a popular song.  All the kids got up on 'stage' and sang and did the motions and had a blast. It was a wonderful experience for our kids to feel involved and understood.