AlmostDisjoint

Hi -- I've been a reddit lurker for a few months, your post brought me to making an account. I am a 47yo man, have a 41yo brother with DS (we also have an older brother, 51yo). You seem to have already figured out, but I will reiterate: you and your family are in for a great ride. People have asked me many times what it's like having a brother with DS, and I never have an answer, because I don't remember much from before he was born, so having a brother with DS is what is normal for me. I usually turn the question around by asking what it's like NOT having a brother with DS, and no one has ever been able to answer me. He's family, that's the only thing that matters. My younger brother still lives with our parents, they are in their 70s now, and they have gone to great lengths to make sure my brother will be OK no matter what the future holds. If you have any questions, I would be happy to offer whatever insights I can.

I hope OP doesn't mind me horning in here, I can offer some answers based on living with a brother with DS (I made a comment a little while before yours). My brother has a developmental disability. It isn't a birth defect (I find that one particularly offensive), a disorder, a disease, even a syndrome. It's a disability. It is permanent, and he was born with it, but there are accommodations that make sense and work for him.