Do teenagers with Down's usually have more difficulty making friends than teenagers without Downs?

When you have down's syndrome, it is a form of mental retardation. You only mature to a certain age mentally. People who have it are VERY friendly. She probably does hear things at school and repeats them. Even though she is mentally retarded, doesn't mean that she doesn't have feelings. She wants to be accepted, but doesn't have the maturity to know how. She has also probably been shunned most of her life because she is "different". Maybe you could help her make some friends by being her friend and including her in your circle of friends. Just because she is "different" doesn't mean she is not a human being and doesn't deserve to be treated like everyone else. You will be a better person and so will she. I grew up around a lot of people with down's syndrome and my mother worked in a home for retarded children when I was little. That's when people institutionalized children who weren't perfect. I went to work with her a lot. I found that these children were more perfect than the rest of the world. They didn't have the desire to tease other children, they lived only to love and be loved and even though the world treated them with disdain, they still tried to show love to everyone around them. What I learned is that it is us "normal" people who are "different" and some of us are the ones that should be shunned for our cruelty.