A Sydney mother has shared her shock and outrage after a stranger made “rude” comments about her son.
Tori Boyadji and her friend Lyndal were walking through Collaroy Park in Sydney’s north with Tori’s two-year-old son Isaac, who has Down syndrome.
The friends were stopped by a woman who looked at Isaac and exclaimed, “Ohh is this a little downsie?”
Tori, 28, went on to recount how the stranger said she would “never want a kid with Down syndrome” herself.
Ms Boyadji told The Daily Telegraph that the stranger’s comments left her feeling very upset.
“Lyndal and I just looked at each other in disbelief – I’m not easily offended but this comment truly broke my heart,” she said.
“Why would you say that to two mums with their adorable kids right there?”
Tori said Isaac is just like any other toddler, as he loved The Wiggles and going to the beach.
“He also happens to have Down syndrome — but this is the least interesting part of him,” she said.
Rhonda Faragher, Associate Professor of Inclusion and Diversity at Queensland University, weighed in on the exchange, and shared her thoughts that the major issue lays with the fact that people believe those with Down syndrome need to change in some way.
“In my view, it’s not the language itself, it’s what’s behind the language,” she explained to Yahoo News Australia.
“That somebody in the community would feel [a child with Down Syndrome] would not be a child they’d like to have in their family without even knowing the child.”
“I think it’s [disappointing] that other people don’t understand that this is not a tragedy,” she added. “Having a person with Down syndrome in your family, in your life, is actually a terrific blessing.”
Image credits: Instagram
This article first appeared on Over60.