AAI...WHAT?

      When becoming a parent, watching your child participate in sports, or activities is exciting! Watching them learn something new and being their biggest cheerleader or biggest fan to me theres nothing better! To me, this is what its about! Since my oldest son was 2 he has participated in Gymnastics, Soccer, Baseball, Dance, Track, sports camps and will soon be playing basketball and wrestling. Hes very active and has also learned to swim by the age of 4  both my husband and I have taken swim lessons and I competed in Swim team.
      When becoming pregnant with our second child we planned on him or her being involved in sports and activities as well. When Mason was born after knowing he was born with Downs I always said "He will do everything his brother does and we will push him like we do his brother unless the doctor tells me MEDICALLY that he cant."
      Mason turned 2! Lets get active! At the age of 2 there is a mommy and me Gymnastics class I couldn't sign him up fast enough. When I told Masons physical therapist he had been participating in Gymnastics she was worried. She asked me if I had his neck x-rays done. Neck x-rays? She started telling me that if Mason had AAI (Atlantoaxial Instability) I could expose him to a possible injury. First off, I wasn't aware of AAI or any x-rays that I needed to get done. So she told me that children with Downs should be screened by the age of 3. If they wish to participate in sports they should have a cervical spine x-ray done. His therapist also included that special Olympics restrict competition in some sports until an x-ray is provided.
      What? Now what? So theres a possibility my son couldn't participate in ANY sports if the x-rays showed he DID have AAI? I was CRUSHED with the thought of this. She made me promise I wouldn't let him do anymore somersaults (That he was obsessed with doing, after learning in Gymnastics) until I got his X-rays done. Well okay then. This wasn't something I was going to wait on so that following week I had Mason at the doctor to get these X-rays done.
      X-rays are never fun with little kids. Mason had to sit down while I wrapped my arms around him, holding his arms down and a nurse pulled his head up to stretch out his neck. He screamed. Now that the x-rays were done...we wait.
      I kept thinking to myself, what if he couldn't be in any activity or sports? I suppose it was something we would adapt to but It would take me a while to get used to the idea. A few days later the results were in. "Hi Mrs. Killion this is Dr. Marion, I just got the x-ray results and all x-rays came back fine. We didn't notice anything that will restrict him from any sport!" I cant even explain how exciting that phone call was to me. What a relief!
      When I was at the doctors office he pulled up on his computer that said  children with down syndrome shouldn't participate in sports until after the age of 5. But he couldn't give me a good enough reason as to why. So Mason is in gymnastics twice a week and that's where he will stay!

*****Approx 15% of people with Down syndrome will have a misalignment of the cervical vertebrae and in the neck this exposes them to the possibility of injury if they participate in activities that hyper extend or radically flex the neck or upper spine. If child Does have AAI there are restrictions that could posse as a risk for cervical spine injury in contact sports such as football, wrestling, rugby, boxing, recreational activities such as trampolining, gymnastics/tumbling and diving.*****