Mom inspired by her own struggle raising a child with Down Syndrome launches playgroup to help support parents in need right here in Centurion.
Centurion, Gauteng – When a child is born with special needs, the best thing a parent can do is find a great support system. Sometimes this can be family or other parents facing the same life challenges.
This is what Joy Cronje found when her son was diagnosed with Down Syndrome at the age of 2 months old. She decided to do something that would help build a community for moms experiencing the same thing as her.
She now wants to encourage parents to join a playgroup in Centurion for children aged 0 to 2. Together, they can do so much more for their children.
“In partnership with the Down Syndrome Association of Pretoria and C3 REVO Church in Centurion, we started the Brave play and support group for babies aged 0-2 with Down Syndrome and their parents. We started this group because having a child with special needs is not an easy journey. Our son was diagnosed with Down Syndrome when he was two months old, and since then, our world has changed forever. We want to support other families going through the same thing and give them a place to connect with other people doing the journey.”
Joy told us that a Down Syndrome diagnosis always comes with challenges that vary from child to child. As an example, she says as many as 50% of children with Down Syndrome are born with heart defects. Most also have hypotonia and a host of other challenges. This is where the term “special needs” comes from. They need more support or specific things to help them overcome medical obstacles.
“For our son Brave, these challenges include two heart defects, partial deafness, a rare form of epilepsy called infantile spasms, hypotonia, feeding challenges, sleep apnea, laryngomalacia, brachycephaly, and a whole lot more. He had two surgeries in March and fought pneumonia until last month, when he could for the first time breathe without an oxygen machine. Unfortunately, he is now back in ICU on a ventilator. These kinds of medical challenges put a lot of pressure on the families, as does the stigma and preconceptions around Down Syndrome in our country.”
“In the Brave Play & Support Group, we hope to educate parents about how best to support their little ones with the huge variety of challenges they may face and to spread awareness about what Down Syndrome is really like. At our get together last week, Brave’s Orthotist Yovanka Torrente from Grant Monaghan and Associates was gracious enough to come to speak about how to identify whether your child needs a cranial helmet or orthotic support for their feet and legs.”
Since launching the playgroup, they have received helpful donations of toys and also been gifted presents for each child that attends the group. The C3 REVO Church also offered their premises as the place for the playgroup to meet up.
“It’s inspiring to encounter the generosity in our city and to see how many people want to give extra love and support to the families raising these heroes. If you want to get involved and help support our play and support group, please message us on Brave’s Instagram account (@bravetumelo).
If you are a parent whose child was diagnosed with Down Syndrome and you feel like you are alone on this journey, please know you are not. Please contact us. We want to support you and connect you with the resources you need to raise a child with special needs.”
The playgroup is changing the lives of the parents involved. They now have an extensive support system to lean on through tough times and can learn new ways to offer the best care to their little stars.
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