When Rachel was born, the world didn’t just question her future—it questioned whether her mother was capable of giving her one. Laura, a young woman with Down syndrome, faced a storm of doubt. Doctors warned her. Social workers advised against it. Everyone seemed to have a reason why she couldn’t [...]
Growing up, Wil has loved boat rides with his Grandma and Grandpa. So when his sisters were invited on an impromptu trip around the lake with some of the neighbor’s kids, they jumped on — and Wil stayed back with his grandparents. My dad noticed a shift in Wil’s demeanor. [...]
I remember one day wearing a “Down Right Perfect” t-shirt as I marched up to the high school doors to collect Wil after school hours because he had run from getting on the bus. He booked it up the steps to the second floor and hid. Once he was found, [...]
A singular new word Wil calmly adds to his vocabulary, in a such a way that only I — or his closest educators — would hear stands out like a stacatto flashing me back in time to a movie reel loop when he was 5 or 7 or 10, working [...]
A look back at the history of our understanding about the elements that so mix to create a person with Down syndrome is both heartbreaking and hopeful as we see how it's possible for attitudes to change with knowledge and understanding. [...]
Wil has a very set — and happy — routine in the morning. His alarm goes off, I go to his room, sing him a song and give him a hug (definitely a daily stop and smell the roses moment for me — making time for songs and hugs are [...]
Our Human Services leader is telling us to be weak. To be devasted by a diagnosis. To feel damaged because our children are neurodiverse and may not pay taxes. I was devastated but I CHOSE to RISE! I CHOSE to love my child for who they were and to find [...]
When I was a very young child I remember asking my dad, "What IF this happens? And what IF that happens? Then what IF this happens?" He looked at me and replied, "There are no 'what if's.' You just do." [...]
He’s a 16-year-old kid. He wants to be a 16-year-old kid the way he is, just like any 16-year-old kid wants to do things the way they do. [...]
Someone once said to me about Wil, “ but don’t you want him to be the best he can be?” This was in relation to a claim certain supplements could help take some of his Down syndrome features away. [...]