My name is Sophia, and I’m 15 years old.
I have a little brother named Wyatt who is 19 months old. My family adopted Wyatt at birth, and since the day he was born he has had many health issues. He has had 5 surgeries, one being open heart surgery. We have always tried to keep him away from germs to keep him from getting sick.
Wyatt and I have always been close, I do online school so I’m always home with him and he loves to play with me. Ever since the day Wyatt was born I have been impacted in an amazing way. I have learned that people that may act or look different are truly people too and they would like to be treated just like everyone else.
Wyatt has taught me so much about how to be more kind, loving, and accepting. Before Wyatt I always felt the need to “get a second look” or “look for a little longer” and people with special needs, but now that Wyatt is here and I realized I don’t exactly like it when people stare at Wyatt I realized I probably shouldn’t have treated people with special needs differently.
Since before Wyatt was born, my family and I have tried to do everything we can to help other people realize Down 
syndrome is not a negative thing. Wyatt has something more than most other people have.
My favorite thing about my little brother is that he is so loving and cute! We can’t go to a store without him making someone smile and giggle at him because he’s so social.
I love that Wyatt will come to me when he needs help with things like climbing up his slide. Wyatt and I have a really good relationship.
I am proud of my brother for many reasons, one being that he doesn’t let other people’s actions and opinions get to him. I love when I take him to the park and push him on the swings, that’s my favorite thing to do with him.
If I could change anything for my little brother, it would be other people’s opinions. Some people don’t know and may have questions about why he may not talk like typical 19-month-olds and instead of asking they wonder if it’s “normal”. I would also change the fact that people say the R word. Some people don’t know that that word is highly offensive and rude, and some people don’t care. I try to correct my friends when they say that word and a few times after doing that they started saying the same thing to their friends. My hope is that one day nobody says that word.
When people don’t know much about Down Syndrome and they talk about it to me, I try and correct them so they know. I try not to be rude because honestly, before Wyatt, I had no idea what Down Syndrome was, or how someone happens to have Down Syndrome.
I have never had to stand up for him because most people don’t say anything bad/rude about him, to most people he’s just a cute, silly baby. My family is so blessed that we have such a beautiful little boy in our family and I am so thankful I get to be his big sister:)
Sophia is 15 years old and enjoys spending time with friends and hanging out with her family. Sophia says she doesn’t play any sports and is not interested in athletics. Her favorite food is pizza with ranch and she will be 16 the day after Christmas.
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