Success with special needs: Rossville family seeks help to set brother up for independence

At 28 years old, Tra St. Pierre has set some goals for himself: Get his first apartment. Find love. Learn to drive a motorcycle.

While seemingly simple, achieving those goals will not be. Tra St. Pierre has Down syndrome, and still lacks many of the necessary skills – and, until recently, a relatable example of success.

“He says all the time now, ‘I am a man. I am an adult. Do not limit me.’ That’s what she says in ‘Born this Way,'” said his sister, Crystal St. Pierre, referring to the documentary series now in its third season on A&E. “[Watching that show] is how he learned he has Down syndrome.”

Tra attended Siskin Children’s Institute until he aged out in middle school, learning alongside students both with and without special needs. That type of inclusion is paramount, said Crystal St. Pierre, who has a bachelor’s in elementary education and started work toward her special education certificate. The general education system, however, was not set up that way. Students with special needs were separated and “told to focus on motor skills, not education,” St. Pierre said.

“Because of that, Tra suffered. He wasn’t able to reach his full potential,” she added. “They should be included; their expectations should be set the same. They may not reach it, but they will exceed what they would’ve gotten.”

She hopes that attending the upcoming National Down Syndrome Congress Annual Convention in Sacramento, Calif., will help her brother see what is possible and give him more of the tools he’ll need to reach his dreams.

“I want him to see other adults with Down syndrome and make friends; see other people achieving their dreams and goals and being an adult,” St. Pierre said. “He’ll be all by himself at the conference.”

St. Pierre and her wife, Donyell Stephens, will be taking classes of their own. St. Pierre said caring for her brother and trying to track down pertinent information and resources can be a full-time job, one which she juggles with her full-time position as the victim services coordinator for the Partnership for Families, Children and Adults, a Chattanooga nonprofit which offers professional counseling, crisis intervention and prevention services.

Since her and Tra’s mother died in 2014, the now-33-year-old Rossville resident has been his primary provider.

“It’s an uphill battle, and I’ve only been doing it for three years,” St. Pierre said. “Through the Chattanooga Down Syndrome Society, the Autism Center, Therapeutic Services and friends sharing ideas, I’ve learned a lot, but I have to look for it. It’s all over the place. Laws and rights change all the time.”

The conference should help to distill much of that information in a single location.

“I want to get information for things to plan for as somebody aging with Down syndrome the things I don’t even realize I don’t even know,” she said.

Since their mother’s passing, St. Pierre said Tra has come a long way. As his sister and not his mother, she has pushed him to get out in the world and experience it, she said.

He now volunteers with the Partnership’s thrift store and recycle program, and is in his second season of working for the Chattanooga Lookouts. He’s discovered a love of baking.

“I feel like he’s finally starting to plan his dream and focus on that,” St. Pierre said. “It’s not what he’s going to be able to achieve, but when he’s going to be able to achieve it. I told him, ‘You just let me know what you want to do and I’ll help you get there.'”