Adventures in the Mainstream: Coming of Age with Down Syndrome

I first read about Greg and Ned in Pacific Magazine in the Sunday Seattle Times. It was a brief but intriguing view into Greg and Ned's relationship and Ned's move into adulthood and the "mainstream". Both Greg and Ned, (father and son)seemed to be witty, talented, smart men learning to deal with each other and life as they moved into the next chapter of their lives. I wanted to know more, so I got the book. I could not put the book down. Greg is an honest, engaging writer. He captures the anecdotes of his life, his son and his family with warmth, respect and love. In this book Greg shares his hopes and fears for his son. He also shares his personal philosophies and pet peeves - I enjoyed that part immensely and did not find it distracting. Ned is by all accounts an incredible human being. He has his issues just like the rest of us. He also possesses certain gifts - incredible memory, love of music, and passion for history. It is a bittersweet experience for parents as their children leave the nest and find their place in the world. This book chronicles the good and bad of that experience. This is an excellent book and I recommend it to everyone who enjoys smart writing and a well-told story about family relationships.

An excellent true story of what it's like to be facing your child's pending adulthood when the child happens to have Down Syndrome. Extremely well-written, funny and informative. A good bet for families who know someone with Down Syndrome - which is just about everyone!!

I finished reading Greg's book and immediately sent him an email thanking him for his honesty in depicting the hopes, fears, concerns, and joy that we, as parents of children with disabilities, have in our day to day living. As the parent of Daniel, a 7 year old with Down syndrome, my husband and I worry about if we are doing the right things, if we are teaching the right things, how to prepare him for life after he turns 21 and ages out of the educational system. As Greg's book depicts-- sometimes we do a good job on some things, sometimes we do a bad job on some things-- but we are human and don't have the magic key when it comes to teaching a child with a disability what to do, what not to do, what to learn, etc. Loved the ending as I am a huge fan of "Inside The Actors Studio" and made us realize that our job is to prepare our child to the best of our(and their) ability and KNOW that someone will watch out for them when we are gone and they are on their own. Loved Greg's comments about being sensitive to 'slights'(perceived or real) and other things that we, as parents, become sensitive to throughout our child's life. He tells it like it is-- the good and the bad and doesn't sugar coat things because while there are good things about having a child with a disability, there are also bad things that alot of books won't talk about. Would definitely recommend this to any parent who had a child with a disability-- or anyone working in the field with people with disabilities because it gives a unique perspective.