206. A Pediatrician Answers All Your Down Syndrome Questions

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Mona Patel Gera from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and talk through the “laundry list” that comes with a Down syndrome diagnosis. We keep it practical, focusing on what families actually need to ask and what requires attention early on, drawing from the same appointments and evaluations we’ve navigated with Liam.

Dr. Gera also shares her connection to Liam through her son, Sejal, who was in his first grade class. She tells us about Sejal coming home talking about “adaptive PE,” describing how they worked on balance together and later insisting on “no dis-inclusion” after Lori visited the class. Those are moments we don’t always get to see, since Liam doesn’t come home and tell us his day.

We also get into IEPs and the need to move away from standard plans. Dr. Gera attends these meetings for her patients and we compare that to what we’ve experienced advocating for Liam, where the details matter and one plan never fits every child.

Episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi4R9dL4avnOh5T8VEejTmDL15gKp2i_u

Episode Transcript: https://ifweknewthen701833686.wpcomstaging.com/2026/07/23/206-a-pediatrician-answers-all-your-down-syndrome-questions/

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Summary

In this episode, we sat down with Dr. Mona Patel Gera from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and we opened with something every parent recognizes: that long list that comes with a Down syndrome diagnosis. We said it out loud the way we remember hearing it in those early days, a “laundry list” that can take the air out of the room. Dr. Gera didn’t rush past that. She walked through what that list actually means in practice, what questions to ask, and how to separate what needs attention now from what simply needs to be monitored. We’ve had enough appointments with Liam over the years to know the difference between urgency and noise, and this conversation stayed grounded in that reality.

What made this conversation different is that Dr. Gera knows Liam outside of a chart. Her son, Sejal, was in first grade with him. She told us about the day Sejal came home talking about “adaptive PE,