Sara Stadem | Editor
As fall sports are nearing an end and while some may be getting ready to celebrate upcoming holidays, there are others that are focusing their attention in another area this time of year. October is National Down syndrome Awareness Month and one family shows how Down syndrome does not slow down their life.
Dalton Foster of Crooks, now 23 years old, was born with Down Syndrome and although his mom, Ronae, said she was scared of the news initially, she wouldn’t change it now.
“The doctor sat me down and was telling us all the things that we had to know and the doctor said in all the things in the world, this really isn’t that big of a deal,” Ronae said. “I remember thinking, ‘yeah, that’s easy for you to say’ but looking back now, he’s right. I wouldn’t change anything.”
Grandma Judi added, “At the time, it seemed like a sad day but now we would look back and celebrate it.”
When a child is born with Down syndrome, it means the child is born with an extra chromosome, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. The CDC also explained that generally a baby is born with 46 chromosomes so when a baby is born with an extra chromosome, this causes changes to the baby’s body and brain development, which can cause mental and physical challenges for the baby.
Children that are born with Down syndrome almost immediately qualify for services according to Ronae. Dalton started with Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy at six months old and eventually added Speech Therapy as well. Due to his Down syndrome, Dalton also started school at the young age of three years old. “The little bus pulled up when he was three years old,” Ronae said. “I cried the whole time. A little boy with his little backpack and I buckled him in and off he went.”
Ronae explained Dalton started attending the Tri-Valley School District at that time two days a week to get him started and he stayed until he graduated.
Dalton enjoyed school, according to him and his family. He was very active with friends and activities such as FFA (receiving a state award for FFA) and was homecoming King. When asked what his favorite part of his school was, Dalton was very quick to answer, “Oh, well, Mr. Grady, P.E. teacher and, of course, Mrs. VanderVliet were great.”
Ronae said, “He loved school and we never had a problem with him liking school and Tri-Valley always did great with the services and making sure things worked for him.”
Grandpa Ronald added, “The students were always great, always saying ‘Hi, Dalton’ and kind of always had him under their wing.”
Outside of school, Dalton continued to be active in events such as Special Olympics where he met his best friend, Ryker. Dalton explained, “My good part is the bowling.” Grandma Judi also added that those with Down syndrome don’t have friends, they make their friends into families. “A friend is a brother or sister-in-law, it’s never a friend and you can’t correct it,” Grandma Judi laughed.
Dalton also had success in the arts program which was something he could do through LifesScape, a program for children with Down syndrome. The LifeScape Center of the Arts Program was through the Augustana College Theatre Production and Ronae explained he was in several plays, and even the lead in one of them. “It was like 300 people that he did this in front of and he would not have a problem getting up in front of them. I would want to throw up for him, but not Dalton.”
After graduation, Ronae explained that Dalton was eligible for services through Pathways to Life with LifeScape which is a two-year program until Dalton turned 21 years old. Unfortunately, once COVID-19 hit, Dalton’s plans were altered and he missed out on the last four months of that opportunity.
Currently, Dalton does Day Services through LifeScape. Day Services, according to Dalton’s family, is through all different programs such as group home settings, or shared living. Dalton is currently under shared living which, Ronae explained is fairly new to the state, and allows family members or non-family members to help with Dalton, or Dalton can spend a few days working outside of the home.
Dalton keeps his weeks busy by working two days a week at the Hartford Pizza Ranch, works with his grandpa Ronald around the farm a day or two and goes to Day Services the other days while living at home with his family. Dalton also volunteers for the City of Crooks, helping Mayor Butch, and the Crooks Fire Department.
Ronae also explained with shared living, they get to pick and choose what they want, if they want to go into a group home setting and Dalton didn’t want that at this time. “Not that he won’t want it later one,” Ronae said. “But with COVID and his love for agriculture and outdoors, being here was what him and his team decided was best for him.”
“So, he’s an actor, a volunteer guy, a Pizza Ranch worker, he was in band, he loves band, he just does it all,” Ronae explained.
When he’s at home working with his grandpa, you can generally find them working on birdhouses, something Dalton is becoming infamous for in the community of Crooks. Grandma Judi explained when COVID-19 hit, Grandpa Ronald couldn’t go anywhere due to his vet disability and Dalton couldn’t go anywhere either. “Dalton started getting pretty quiet and bored, pretty remote. So, Grandpa and Dalton went to a rummage sale one day,” Grandma Judi explained. Dalton added, “We bought some bird houses. Her husband died so we bought 50 of them.” Mom laughed and said, “I’m not sure if it was 50 but it was a lot of bird houses.”
They continued to explain that Dalton and Grandpa started to fix up the birdhouses, creating themes such as a Harley Davidson one, a wine themed one, hunting themed birdhouses and more. Community members started to hear of Dalton’s birdhouses and what he was doing and started to donate different items that he could use to decorate them with such as old jewelry or bottle caps.
Dalton started to donate his birdhouses to the Thursday Night Thunders at Critters Bar in Crooks where they are auctioned off to help raise money for a specific charity of the evening. Dalton generally attends the event and Grandpa Ronald explained they have come to know Dalton well and look forward to him being there. “They really get into it when they see Dalton there. They usually have a beer in one hand and they are bidding with the other on the birdhouse,” Grandpa said. Mom added the winner of the birdhouse usually has Dalton sign it as well. Dalton has helped raise over $2,000 for charity with his birdhouses.
In addition to help those in need, Dalton also gives birdhouses away to some special people in his life such as Mayor Butch who he enjoys working with at the City of Crooks. Ronae explained, although they aren’t taking any orders right now, Dalton currently has a few orders he still needs to get out to those that have requested birdhouses from him. Around the farm, Dalton proudly displays over 100 birdhouses that him and his grandpa have done together.
Ronae said, “Dalton has been very successful in life with a lot of accomplishments but a lot of it is community. In high school, he worked for Rosenbauer, volunteered for the City of Crooks and worked at the grocery store in Colton.” She continued, “Now he’s at Pizza Ranch in Hartford and still at the City of Crooks so he gets a lot of opportunities getting to be a part of communities.”
Grandma Judi added, “As long as people give kids (with Down syndrome) an opportunity, they flourish into anything at their own level. We have been very blessed.” She concluded, “The community and acceptance has made all the difference and we just want to share that. Dalton wouldn’t be where he is today without all of that.”