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Mom's Facebook post on Down syndrome strikes chord

Mary Bowerman
USA TODAY Network
Caroline Boudet, the mother of a four-month-old with Down Syndrome, posted on Facebook what you can and can't say to the parents of a child with Down Syndrome.

Don't refer to a baby with Down syndrome as "it" or tell the child's mother that the baby belongs to her "no matter what."

These are just a few of the comments that parents of a child with Down syndrome often hear, according to Caroline Boudet, the mother of four-month-old Louise, who has Down syndrome.

On June 8, the mom from Alencon, France, posted on Facebook a guide on what you should and should not say,CBS reported.

"This is my daughter. Louise. Who (is) four months, (has) two arms, two legs, good big cheeks and an extra chromosome," Boudet said.

Since Louise was born, Boudet said she has received endless questions and assumptions. She said people ask whether she knew about the birth defect during her pregnancy, and if she doesn't answer, they assume she knew but decided to "keep the child."

Boudet said she posted the Facebook status for the other mothers of children with Down syndrome who are subjected to insensitive questions and remarks.

"The words matter," Boudet said. "They can comfort or hurt."

Follow @MaryBowerman on Twitter.

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