Dalton Lohmann overcomes challenges at PECC

Dalton Lohmann is 3 years old. He loves Barney. He likes to build things with his wooden blocks. He loves to spend time with his grandparents, and he likes riding the tractor with Daddy.

Dalton is also a special needs student.

"When I was 28 weeks pregnant, doctors told me that the baby had a heart defect and with that type of defect, it was possible that he also had trisomy-21, or Down's syndrome," his mother Christi said. "Doctors thought that he might be born missing a heart valve and have a large hole in his heart. After that, we had no further testing because it wouldn't have changed anything. We didn't even learn the sex of the baby."

On June 24, 2008, Dalton Charles Lohmann entered the world. The doctors were correct -- Dalton does have Down's syndrome, a genetic disorder caused by an extra set of chromosome 21. However, his heart defect wasn't as critical as first suspected, Christi said, because he had both valves. But it was serious enough to require open-heart surgery for Dalton at just 10 months at St. Louis Children's Hospital.

"He had a hole in the top of his heart that they had to repair," his father David said. "But when they did the surgery, the hole in the bottom of his heart had closed or was small enough the surgeon couldn't find it. Afterwards, he was placed on a low-fat formula diet for a few months, but then he was back to normal."

And "normal" for Dalton is wonderful -- He is an energetic, inquisitive, loving little boy who melts hearts everywhere he goes.

"But don't let that fool you; he can be very mischievous," Christi said. "You can see it in his eyes when he's going to do something he's not supposed to. He is very independent."

Until this school year, Dalton attended an in-home daycare. He enrolled in the fall at Perry County School District 32 where he attends classes at Perryville Early Childhood Center. Karla Besand, who the students call "Miss Karla," is his teacher.

"Dalton is a light in all of our lives," Miss Karla said. "He's a sweet, sweet soul who loves hugs. He's smart and sometimes stubborn and a little mischievous."

On a typical morning, Dalton gets on the bus at 6:50 am for his ride to school from his home in rural Perry County. His sister Courtney, 12 and brother Clayton, 7, go to United in Christ Lutheran School in Frohna. Dad heads to the dairy farm and Mom drives to work in Cape Girardeau.

Dalton is greeted with hugs at school and then joins his classmates for breakfast.

"He only likes soft food," his mom said with a sideways glance at Dalton. "But we're working on that. Oatmeal is one of his favorites."

Dalton then joins Miss Karla and his friends on the rug, where they sing songs about colors and the alphabet, learn about the seasons and the weather and being fit. The Early Childhood Center serves special education students through age 5, so Dalton is one of the younger children in his class, but that doesn't slow him down. He dances with the students, sings the songs and follows Miss Karla's movements as she teaches them American Sign Language.

"We could tell a difference in Dalton as soon as he started school here," Christi said. "He is advancing, he communicates more clearly -- although he does more for Miss Karla at school than he does at home for Mom and Dad."

Dalton's parents say that watching him in class brings them great joy.

"There were things that we weren't sure that Dalton could do," Christi said. "We didn't really know what to expect. For instance, his First Steps therapists kept telling us he had to crawl, but he wouldn't. He just did a little butt-scoot thing until he was 2 years old. But right after he crawled, he started walking, and then running."

David added, "And there's been no stopping him after that!"

At school, Dalton receives physical, speech and occupational therapy. It's a busy schedule for a little boy.

"He usually falls asleep within minutes of getting on the bus to come home," Christi laughed. "He's just worn out."

At home, Dalton is just like his siblings Courtney and Clayton, whom he adores. "He loves them and wants to be wherever they are," his mom said.

Dalton loves to play outside, collects toy farm animals, gets spoiled by his grandparents ("It's terrible," his parents said. "He has his Grandpas wrapped around his little finger!"), and gets scolded for misbehaving. He loves Santa Claus, is mesmerized by Barney and Mickey Mouse, and loves to swing and go down the slide.

"We don't treat him any differently than our other children," Christi said. "And it's frustrating sometimes when other people want to treat him like he's fragile; he's not. He is just a regular little boy."

For more information about special services available through Perryville Early Childhood Center, visit the Perry County School District 32 Website at www.perryville.k12.mo.us or call the center at 573-547-7500 ext. 5.