ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author explores some of the major medical and therapy provider interactions her husband and explores the parents of a child with trisomy 21, discusses the experiences of several of the friends that she have made along the journey. Some are joyous experiences, others are infuriating, and others are heartbreaking for the parents. Though the interactions with medical professionals during the diagnosis period are formative, interactions with medical and therapy providers will continue throughout the child's life. Evaluations and therapy sessions are also a constant reminder, even barrier, to leading a "normal" life for many families. The contradictions, paradoxes, and/or competing demands that exist in interpersonal relationships. A term typically attributed to psychologist Ellen Langer represents a deliberate attempt to stress process over outcome and a conscious effort to open up one's mind to new information and alternative perspectives. Mindfulness is generally contrasted with mindlessness, the process of automatic, effortless thought.
