T.C. Rears has gone further in his martial-arts training than even his mother expected.
By:Laura Toto
T.C., 16, of Southland Drive in Hillsborough, has Down syndrome, a genetic abnormality that retards normal growth and development.
T.C., whose full name is Thomas Charles, demonstrated his martial arts skills during a practice session and interview last week.
He proudly showed off the six belts he has earned in tae kwon do at Somerville Martial Arts Academy and spoke about some of his other interests: artistic, athletic and academic.
"Even when I signed him up, I didn’t think he would go this far," Mrs. Rears said. "There aren’t many other kids with Down syndrome in this discipline at all."
As T.C. practiced his form for many different moves in the martial art, T.C. said the workouts help him concentrate because they require him to memorize the moves.
T.C. has studied tae kwon do, a modern Korean martial art, for almost four years, since February 1997. He takes classes at the academy for an hour every Tuesday and Thursday evening.
Tae kwon do practitioners use kicks and punches but no weapons. Though its origins go back some 2,000 years, the name and the rules were born in 1957.
T.C.’s mother, Pat, said her son "has to do as much as everyone else does" in his tae kwon do classes and that he is "very dedicated in what he’s doing, very proud."
Instructor Pat Mertens, owner of the Somerville studio, agreed. Mr. Mertens made T.C. do just as many push-ups, laps and other exercises as everyone else during a session Nov. 14.
T.C. joined 14 other students ages 12 to 30 in the tae kwon do class at the studio on South Bridge Street, just off Route 206, that evening.
Mr. Mertens said T.C. is his only student with Down syndrome, though he also has taught children with attention deficit disorder.
"I think some people don’t want to put those challenges in front of their children. That doesn’t mean they can’t do it," he said. "It’s our job to recognize that everyone has different abilities. What matters is (how far) they’ve come."
For some of the evening, T.C. was paired off with Randy Jasinski, a 12-year-old from Somerville.
"They partner with different people all the time," Mr. Mertens said. "It’s usually someone closer to their rank and size, for safety."
Thomas Raymond Rears, T.C.’s father, said he enrolled T.C. in the program in part to stimulate his mind by having him remember all the kicks and other moves he needs to master to advance in tae kwon do.
"Instead of sitting home watching TV tonight, he’s doing something constructive," Mr. Rears said.
T.C. and the other students learn by his participation, Mr. Rears said.
"It gives him more of an awareness of what’s going on around him," Mr. Rears said. "It allows all of the other students to see what someone with Down syndrome does."
Jack Needleman, a pediatrician and partner of the Somerset Pediatric Group, said most children with Down syndrome can do well in karate and other forms of exercise and activity.
About 10 to 25 percent of Down syndrome patients have unstable cervical vertebra and should not do such activities, he said.
"In most of the cases, the kids do OK as long as they’ve been screened ahead of time," Dr. Needleman said.
He said he encourages children and adults with Down syndrome to go to church and synagogue and join activities to make them part of a community.
"Most of these kids feel better when they are doing things involved with other people," said Dr. Needleman.
Because many Down syndrome patients achieve mental development no higher than that of a fifth- or sixth-grader, some doctors find it difficult to care for treat adults with Down as patients, and it’s common for people in their 30s and 40s to continue to see pediatricians, Dr. Needleman said.
T.C., an 11th-grader, attends a special-education program at Bridgewater-Raritan High School with some 4,000 students, as opposed to the much smaller McAuley School in Watchung, where T.C. attended grade school. McAuley which has an enrollment of about 45 students, his mother said.
Though T.C. will graduate with his class in 2002, he is expected to stay in high school for academic and life training until he turns 21, his mother said.
This year T.C. has a full academic schedule, which includes instruction in "life skills," where T.C. helps the school system recycle paper and collate and distribute newsletters.
This spring or next fall, he will start sampling jobs, possibly at a grocery store, hospital or movie theater.
At the high school, T.C. has learned to survive in a larger world, not just in a small family, his mother said.
"It was large enough so he would have to know how to go from class to class, how to mingle with other students, how to get along with them, which he has no problem doing," she said. "He would have the opportunities to get into sports, to go to a prom, to do high school activities."
His mother called T.C. "pretty much an all-around kid."
T.C. also swims and bowls, and took a medal in June in swimming at the New Jersey Special Olympics at the College of New Jersey.
He also races quads, or four-wheeled motorcycles, and placed fourth in a Pennsylvania competition in that sport seven years ago.
He likes the cartoon characters the Power Rangers, and he proudly shows off the masks he painted with the characters’ likenesses. T.C. also enjoys basketball, and has managed the wrestling team at BRHS.
He is also an altar server at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in East Millstone.
T.C. has two older siblings, Jim, 34, in Hillsborough, and Tricia, 30, in Neshanic Station.