Chanel Salley is a bright, bubbly six-year-old with an independent spirit and loving heart -- traits her mother says far overshadow the fact that she has Down syndrome.

Between playing in her mommy's hair and grabbing her cell phone to talk to Daddy, Chanel stays busy and admiringly clings to the woman who says she has had her youngest daughter's best interest at heart even before she was born.

Patricia Salley didn't find out that Chanel had a genetic condition that causes delays in physical and intellectual development until she was born one day after Christmas in 2001. She had refused to take an amniocentesis, which is generally performed between 12 and 20 weeks gestation as a diagnostic tool for Down syndrome.

"I refused because of the risk, and if the child did have a problem, having that test would not correct the problem at all," Patricia said, noting that abortion was not an option for her.

A single crease across the palm of the hand, a slightly flattened facial profile and an upward slant to the eyes were among the physical signs of Down syndrome Patricia's doctor found in her baby, who weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces at birth. Luckily, Chanel did not have low muscle tone, nor did she have the congenital heart defects that approximately 40 percent of the children born with Down syndrome have.

"Chanel has what they call trisomy 21," Patricia said. "It's caused by a faulty cell division that results in the baby having three copies of chromosome 21 instead of two. ... Ninety-five percent of the people with Down syndrome have trisomy 21."

Patricia is currently trying to establish a support group for parents of children with Down syndrome.

"I think it's necessary in Orangeburg County," she said. "I've met a couple of people who have had children with Down syndrome. I know when I had Chanel, it would have been good to have had someone in the area who could ide.jpgy with what I was going through. I would like to be that person for folks ... and try to help them through it. It's like your world has been turned upside down."

"Initially, I didn't have anybody who understood. I want to educate and build a combined voice. Actually, teachers and parents need to know more about the learning habits of children with Down syndrome. Just like any other child, they can learn. It's just tapping into the area that interests them to they can learn," Patricia added, noting that monitoring programs and respite care are among the other services into which she hopes to expand her support group.

Patricia and her husband, Carlton, are the parents of two other daughters: Christina, 11, and Cadra, 9. Patricia said the morning of Chanel's birth was unusual.

"I just had an uneasy feeling," she said. "Her birth was different in a way that I kinda felt something was wrong, but I didn't know what it was. My husband actually got sick that morning. So, it was really, really weird."

But Patricia said her belief in God assured her everything would work out fine.

"We were blessed because many children with Down syndrome have heart problems and have to have operations as soon as they are old enough," she said. "They can't be trained to use the bathroom sometimes. But with Chanel, she learned to walk at 15 months. She has speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and it all started at five months."

Patricia said early intervention through the Orangeburg County Disabilities and Special Needs Board and the state Department of Health and Environmental Control were helpful in Chanel's development.

The National Association for Down Syndrome, of which Patricia is a member, reports that early intervention services, including physical, speech and developmental therapies, should by provided shortly after birth. The Salleys are also members of the Columbia-based Family Connection group, which helps families impacted by children with Down syndrome.

"Sometimes it causes stress in marital relationships. Some people can't handle it," Patricia said. "So, we've been a part of that, and we have gone to couples' retreats that are specifically for families with children with disabilities."

Today, Chanel is a thriving student at Mellichamp Elementary School in Orangeburg.

"Chanel spends an hour a day in a regular education class," Patricia said. "The rest of the day, she's in a self-contained class. She has very good social skills. She does have a learning delay, but I feel she learns whatever it is she wants to. She's bossy and tries to rule the house and the school.

"At the school, they say she's the celebrity because everybody, including the older children, know her. That's what's good about her being included. Once they get used to her, they don't look at her differently. She's just another child."

Patricia said Chanel's disability has sometimes had a negative impact on her other children's lives, but it has positively changed her overall perspective on life.

"My other children have to deal with friends staring. They have to cope with the fact that their sister has a disability, but, in a positive way, it makes you realize things aren't all that serious," she said. "One thing about Chanel is she's one that shows a lot of love, and it helps you to not take things for granted."

For more information about Patricia's Down syndrome support group plans, call 803-531-7499 or 803-614-0629.

T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5534. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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