'Ambassador ofLove'

This article from newsminer.com just blessed my heart.This man, Aaron Shaw, has so many wonderful accomplishments.Thank God for parents who wouldn't listen to the 'experts'and kept their children out of institutions.
I hope you are blessed by this article ,too.

Nenana man with Down syndrome an 'ambassador of love'
By Chris Freiberg
Published Monday, February 16, 2009
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FAIRBANKS - Those who know Aaron Shaw best call him “an ambassador of love.”
Shaw, who has Down Syndrome, celebrated his 40th birthday Saturday with a reception in Nenana.
“I like birthday candles and birthday cake,” he said of the celebration.
Shaw is well-liked in Nenana where he is an assistant manager at A-Frame, and has worked there for five years, but that is just one of many jobs he has held during the years.
Shaw was schooled in Anchorage because there were no adequate classes for a child with Down Syndrome near Nenana at the time.
“When he was first born, they were still telling us to send him away, and that just seemed crazy,” Shaw’s mother, Nancy, said.
Shaw excelled in school, and even took a few college cooking classes, but while learning how to make doughnuts was a great experience for him, it was difficult for him to find a ride to work early in the morning.
He ended up working at Burger King in Anchorage, and appeared in a political TV commercial for the owner. Eventually his mother became concerned about him living so far away, so he returned to Nenana to live in a small house next door to her.
A natural salesman according to his mom, Shaw has worked at several Chevron stations, a greenhouse and as a page in Juneau. He has his own business selling herbal shampoos.
“I’m pretty good at it,” he says proudly.
Shaw’s mother said he is a very hard worker.
“He kind of pushes himself, we don’t have to,” she said. “He really wants to do everything.”
Penny Forness, a friend of Shaws since he was born, said he is a remarkable person.
“Sometimes it is hard to tell just what Down Syndrome is because he is so spot on and then he will say something that brings the reality back,” she said.
Shaw is a big fan of medical drams like “ER,” possibly because of his interactions with doctors growing up, his mother said. He also makes sure to tune in each week for new episodes of “24.”
He’s no couch potato, though. One of his favorite hobbies is photography.
“I love to take pictures of everything in the house and stores,” he said. “It’s just terrific.”
He also makes baby clothes and quilts and has won embroidery prizes at fairs.
“I just love to make ’em,” he said.
And though he didn’t make the clothes himself, he did bring some baby clothes to Gov. Sarah Palin when she visited Nenana last year. Palin’s infant son, Trig, also has Down Syndrome.
“I tell you this, I think that kid with Down Syndrome, I think he’s a very smart kid,” Shaw said, adding that he thought the governor was very nice as well.

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