The Politics of Down Syndrome by Kieron Smith

This book arrived in my mailbox right on the heels of my recent post about prenatal screenings and Down syndrome (which was picked up by Yahoo! Voices here), and it is right in line with my own views about prenatal screenings that have evolved over the last three years since Finn was born.

I was originally notified about this book by George Estreich, author of The Shape of the Eye.  Subsequently, Kieron Smith sent me a copy of his book to read and review, and it really resonated with me.  I began reading it, and then quickly realized that there was so much the author had to say that I wanted to remember, so I started over, going through it with a yellow highlighter.

Like The Shape of the Eye, The Politics of Down Syndrome examines how Down syndrome has been treated by the medical profession and society historically, and how our attitudes today are still very much shaped by old prejudices and outdated ideas about Down syndrome.  While the author has a young daughter who has Down syndrome and he does say in the book that having her has definitely influenced his own evolving views, this is not a memoir.  It’s more a sociological study.  In it, he covers three main areas:

• Prenatal screenings and how pregnant women are manipulated by a medical profession lacking in a genuine understanding of Down syndrome;
• Education of children with Down syndrome; and
• Inclusion and society’s views