I’m unsure of the correct terminology here, so let me start by saying that I mean no offense whatsoever. I wish there was a bit more information around the sev

I’m unsure of the correct terminology here, so let me start by saying that I mean no offense whatsoever. I wish there was a bit more information around the severity of the disorder in this person. Here’s what I saw from the article: > The pathology which this individual suffered resulted in highly disabling symptoms, including, at the very least, complete deafness, severe vertigo attacks and an inability to maintain balance In my own experience, people with Downs can have a wide range of life experiences. I have a couple of cousins with the diagnoses. While one seems almost infantile and requires constant supervision and care, the other is in her 30s, has an undergraduate degree, and lives on her own. She’s one of the sweetest, happiest, and most caring people I know - in fact, I’d say the biggest risk to her living independently as an adult is that she doesn’t seem to recognize when people are acting in bad faith or taking advantage of her. All of that is to say that if a person 250k years ago were able to function at a basic level, they wouldn’t necessarily need to be able to completely provide for themselves on their own. In a community of any size, someone like my cousin would be a huge help with caring for children and in some domestic tasks. What’s more they would likely enjoy it. This reminds of the thought exercises I’ve seen around the Internet over the past few years about autism in historical contexts. The idea that midieval monestaries were essentially self-organizing communities of people with various degrees of autism initially amused me, but the more I thought about it the more sense it made - to the point that now when I read about people entering monastic life in that period and having difficulty adjusting to it, I also imagine the other monks just not understanding their struggle.