In the comic strip For Better or For Worse, April Patterson has a friend at school named Shannon who is a “Special Needs” student. The official FBoFW website says only that she has had surgery, will not be able to learn to drive, and is learning to read. She speaks with a stammer. What is supposed to be the nature of her disability? She appears to be of normal intelligence.
It always seemed to me that she had a mild form of Downs Syndrome. I never got the impression that she’s fully of normal intelligence, just that people shouldn’t think she’s a total imbecile because she’s not as smart as most folks.
I don’t know but Shannon looks like she’s drawn with Downs in mind.
On preview, I agree with cmk.
I agree, she seems to have a mild case od Downs syndrome.
Unfortunately, I see Lynn Johnston going down an all-too-familar road: “We have so much to learn from the disabled- why, look at this retarded person who’s really so much wiser than the rest of us in all the ways that count.”
That was a cliche long before Corky popped up on “Life Goes on.”
FBoFW is one of my favourite strips, but trust me, Lynn Johnston is no stranger to cliches…
I wanna know more about Lizzy and Officer Wright!
Lynn Johnston has a whole section on her website here about Shannon, and also about the real person she was based on.
D’oh! :smack: Never mind. I should really read the OP more carefully, shouldn’t I? 
Never mind…
The oddest thing is–I have an old friend, Amy, who I went to elementary school with, with Down’s syndrome, and it’s just now that I realized how much like Shannon she is in a lot of ways. Heh.
I suspect the real answer to “What is Shannon’s disability?” is “Whatever it needs to be to fit the current story arc.” Although I agree the symptoms overlap heavily with Down Syndrome.
I wonder if her peculiar way of talking is supposed to be a stutter? Not part of DS but an additional social disability that makes it even harder to fit in…
http://www.fbofw.com/char_pgs/shannon/index.php?page=stephanie
…apparently, the character is based on Stephanie, the authors neice.
I wanna know more about Lizzy and Officer Wright!
OP by Bibliocat
Me Too! And I want to know what’s going on with Michael and Deanna and the neighbors.
I’m also wondering if April will put her acne problems in perspective after spending time with Shannon.
I want to see someone bitch slap Becky. I did enjoy Shannon’s little fantasy about sending her to Mars! Too bad they can’t really do that!
Hey, at least she’s not writing more about April’s zits. Yet. :rolleyes:
Spoke too soon! See Sunday’s strip
Bit sad to see the Shannon storyline continue with the Gerald referring to the disabled students, not just Shannon, as retarded.
Wondering if Johnson is creating a way for April to dump Gerald? He’s certainly becoming a mean, ignorant character.
It was a welcome relief to have one story line that seemed to be “For Better” after all the “For Worse” story lines we’ve seen in the last year.