We live in a culture where disability is celebrated as a mark of human diversity (think of Becky on Glee) and even, in some cases, genius (think of Stephen Hawking). We also live in a culture where disability is viewed as an obstacle to be overcome through prenatal testing.

Language is a living thing, regularly pruning words that once had benign meaning ("retarded", for instance, was a medical term for "slowed") after they take on connotations beyond their original point. This process is not just window dressing or political correctness but rather a chance and provides a regular re-evaluation of whether we are saying what we really mean.

We expected that our son's genetic disorder would leave him without some "normal" life experiences. We never guessed it would leave him without friendship.