Mine is Ben, age 12. He has Down Syndrome and a number of accompanying medical difficulties. Fortunately most of his big medical problems are reasonably repaired or under control. That situation of course only follows due to years of surgeries, medications, time in hospitals, wife and I becoming seat-of-the-pants medical experts, and so on.
Ben still has trouble speaking clearly enough to make himself understood, and he has some hearing loss. Developmentally he's about 4-7 (depending on what abilities you're looking at).
The big plus to Ben is his bright, happy, outgoing personality. And of course his indomitable spirit. This little guy can show love, give hugs, and smile through anything. I do think that his indomitability is largely responsible for him being alive. This is the kid who came out of open heart surgery and was immediately ready to get up and get on with life. We had to put boards on his arms and watch him just so he wouldn't pull out his tubes and wires and get out of the bed. What a trooper.