Something completely different (again)

By: François

Two and a half years ago I told you about my son Romain, who has Down Syndrome. Today he entered school, a momentous event for us!

Romain in the classroom

Back then I decided to talk openly about my son to the community, because he is a part of me and he takes part in defining who I am, in particular a developer of TYPO3. A few years down the line I wanted to give you some news of him again. I chose today because it was extremely significant: Romain became a schoolboy!

He will attend public school in the morning (with a supporting teacher one morning per week) and go to a specialized structure in the afternoon, where he will benefit from various therapies (speech therapy and psychomotor training). This first day in school was not very smooth. It was a big change for Romain and he was clearly troubled. It will take some time for him to adapt to his new environment.

It was a very emotional moment for us. A lot of joy, but also worries. Integration of handicapped children is not so well-developed in Geneva (integration varies from place to place in Switzerland) and we are not entirely reassured yet. One thing has already failed: Romain's class was supposed to be smaller, with a maximum of 18 children. There are 23. This is a typical case of nice words but no corresponding action.

No matter what we are still very happy that Romain was integrated into public school. He has made a lot of progress over the years, especially in the recent months. It takes a lot of effort and raising him is sometimes a burden. But it's also immensely rewarding and - despite everything - Romain has made our family happier.