DSR Podcast

Have you downloaded the Down Syndrome Radio Podcast yet? It's a great podcast dedicated to Down syndrome from a dad's point of view. Mark and Jason take you through their personal story as well as bring in special guests on a variety of topics. Down Syndrome Daily is also a contributor to the podcast for current news stories and Rick is a guest commentator on a few episodes! This is valuable because it contains information that will always be out there for people to hear now and again in the future when the time is right.

DSR Episode #33 – Black Day: The Monster Rock Band!

Posted on August 24, 2015 by coletteg

There is a new book out that we think you should read.  It is called Black Day: The Monster Rock Band.  Not only does it have a great storyline and really cool art, but there is a cool song too.  … Continue reading →

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DSR Episode #32: Kayla!

Posted on July 16, 2015 by coletteg

We had a super special guest on the show for this episode – Princess Kayla herself!  Fresh from her appearance on the Today Show, Kayla tells us all about it! Some other recent highlights: Kayla travels to the White House … Continue reading →

Posted in Down Syndrome Radio | Tagged dads, Down Right Awesome, Down Syndrome, Education, kids | Leave a comment

DSR Episode #31: Ricki Sabia of NDSC

Posted on June 4, 2015 by coletteg

We spent a wonderful hour with Ricki Sabia, Senior Policy Advisor of NDSC, and got to hear about the following great topics relating to education: Universal Design for Learning – a set of principles for curriculum development that give all … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #30: LuMind Foundation with Dr. Michael Harpold

Posted on February 5, 2015 by coletteg

For those of you who have been living under a rock, there has been some REALLY exciting progress over the last few years in the area of DS research.  Who better to tell us about it than the Chief Scientific … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #29: Potty Training!

Posted on September 12, 2014 by coletteg

Believe it or not, we actually felt qualified to take this one on ourselves!  Between us we have SIX children successfully trained! First things first – We know how lucky we are that our three children with Down syndrome took … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #28: Special Guest Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson
This may sound complicated but Sara explains it all.  Oral Motor Therapy is basically exercise for your mouth to improve speech.  Oral Placement Therapy works on people with lower sensitivity in the mouth to teach them how to form the words correctly...  Continue reading → 

DSR Episode #27: Inclusive Practices with Michael Remus

Michael Remus is an expert on inclusion.  He is a parent of two children with special needs.  He has been a teacher and has written several books.  But most importantly (to me anyway), he took an entire school district into the world of full inclusion in 5 years.  Not only that, but it is showing great results and he has the data to prove it.  Michael was a super guest and told us lots of important information we can use to better the education of our children.  What a resource for the rest of us!...  Continue reading → 

DSR Episode #26: 321foundation!

Just a catchup episode here to keep you up to date.
First we did a quick wrap up on World Down Syndrome Day (March 21).  Then we jumped into the newest and coolest Ds Organization – the 321Foundation.  This new organization was started by a group of families in Delaware – One of which was our very own Rick Kosmalski!  Go Rick and friends!  Check them out at their site and go and like them on Facebook.  Check out the pictures of their kickoff gala on WDSD and while you are there, buy a T-shirt!...  Continue reading → 

DSR Episode #25: DS Connect with Lisa Kaeser The new DS Registry will provide huge opportunities to improve the lives of our children! We had the opportunity to speak with Lisa Kaeser about DS Connect which launched in September.  Just listen to the list of potential benefits that will come out of this important new registry...  Continue reading → 

DSR Episode #24: DS Achieves with Lito Ramirez We had the opportunity to speak with Lito Ramirez, founder of Down Syndrome Achieves.  DSA’s mission includes Research and Funding, Political Advocacy and Education.  They have a new initiative called ONE21.  ONE21 seeks to fund the development of a dedicated … Continue reading → 

DSR Episode #23: Dr. Kishore Vellody! Dr. Vellody is the Medical Director of the Down Syndrome Center at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. He has a podcast discussing Down Syndrome from a Dr.'s point of view - very helpful for all parents, he is a NDSC Board Member, and he has a brother with Down Syndrome. This guy REALLY understands the medical issues faced by our children! … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #22: Signing Time with Rachel Coleman!Rachel takes us back in time, telling us the story of her first child Leah and handling her deafness from diagnosis to the development of Signing Time.  Like our children with Down Syndrome, Rachel found that Leah was considered ‘different’ … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #21: Convention Roundup with Mac Macsovits of RMDSAThe NDSC Convention last month was fantastic!  And who would know more about it than Mac Macsovits of the Rocky Mountain DSA?  It turns out Rick and his family were also there.  The convention was very well attended with excellent … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #20: Current Challenges – Ages 2, 4 and 7In this episode Jason, Mark and Rick each give an update on their child and the current challenges they are facing for their age category. Continue reading →

DSR Episode #19: Happy World Down Syndrome Day!We got the band back together for a quick roundup of events happening in celebration of World Down Syndrome Day on 3/21.  Much like the podcast, this write up is going to be short and sweet. To celebrate, you can: … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #18: Buddy Walk on Washington with Sara Weir Advocacy Alert!!  The Buddy Walk on Washington is next week!  Advocates from across the country will be converging on our nation’s capital to advocate for legislation that will impact the lives of people with Down syndrome and their families. In … Continue reading →

Episode #17 – DSAIA with Deanna Tharpe!Remember last episode when we told you how great Down Syndrome Affiliates in Action (DSAIA) was as a resource a resource for you local DSA?  Well we went and got Deanna to join us for this episode to tell you more! … Continue reading →

Episode #16 – Your Local DSA (With Special Guest Kim Owens)That’s right, we finally convinced Kim to join us for an episode!  With her to make us legit, we have three DSA board members (Jason, Rick, and Kim) to help answer the question: What can my local Down Syndrome Association (DSA) … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #15: Teach Me to Talk with Laura MizeSpeech is such an essential element in our daily lives.  Obvious statement, right?  But have you ever really thought about how much coordination is required for us to be able to speak?  It is essentially the finest of all of … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #14: Call Your Members of Congress!! (with Susan Goodman)As parents of children with special needs, we tend to get consumed with day-to-day activities and advocating for our children in their everyday life.  Well, thankfully, we also have some wonderful friends in Washington, DC helping to shape national public … Continue reading →

Episode #13: Everybody Plays with Kelle Hampton and Colette CoskyThere is something special going on here in San Diego this week.  The seeds for true inclusion are being sown.  These kids may think they are just playing with some cool toys in a really nice house, but they will … Continue reading →

Episode #12: Chip Gerhardt and the Buddy Walk October is National Down Syndrome Awareness month and we kick it off with a bang.  We are very pleased to welcome Chip Gerhardt, Chairman of the Board of the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) to the show.  Chip is a … Continue reading →

Episode #11: Dana Halle and The Learning Program! Dana Halle has made HUGE contributions to the Down Syndrome community over the years.  She co-founded the Down Syndrome Foundation of Orange County many years back and more recently, she developed ‘The Learning Program’ which is accelerating education for people with Down … Continue reading →DSR

Episode #10: Apptastic! Rick from Down Syndrome Daily joins us again to talk apps.  In typical dad fashion, we quickly take a turn for the worse and venture off topic.  After trading bodily fluid stories, we get back on track and discuss our … Continue reading →DSR

Episode #9: The Jérôme Lejeune Foundation the mission of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation is a simple and concise summary of the reasons why we started this podcast:  Research, care, advocacy.  Seems like a perfect match! Dr. Jérôme Lejeune was a French pediatrician and geneticist who, in … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #8: Special Olympics In the short time that we have been recording this podcast, we have always stressed the importance of siblings in our kids’ lives.  In 1962 one sibling raised the bar for brothers and sisters everywhere.  Rosemary Kennedy’s sister believed that … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #7: NDSC Convention Download Running on fumes and adrenaline, we recap the highlights of the NDSC Convention from a very busy weekend in Washington, DC.  From advocating on Capitol Hill to dancing the night away – with workshops, exhibits, hallway and pool meetings in … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #6: Down Syndrome Daily and NDSC Convention PrepIn the first few installments of this humble podcast, we found ourselves continuously visiting one site for ideas for our “great/amazing/inspirational story” segment.  Down Syndrome Daily is an excellent resource for the Down syndrome community and we are very excited … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #5: D.A.D.S. A national organization comprised of dads dedicated to supporting the fathers and families of children with Down syndrome?  Heck, it’s even named D.A.D.S!  Sounds like a perfect match for our humble podcast about DS from a dad’s perspective! In just over 10 years, … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #4: Special Needs Advocacy IEP, IFSP, IDEA, NCLB….WTF?? Did you know that there are trained individuals who will help you decipher the acronyms and navigate the often confusing bureaucracy around special needs services?  Well there are, and these folks are called Special Needs Advocates.  … Continue reading →

Aint Seen Nothing Yet (the song – not a new episode!) Hey all, This is Mark from Down Syndrome Radio.  Papa Jason and I are planning on recording another episode on Tuesday evening.   In the meantime, I thought I would post the words/audio to the ‘Aint Seen Nothin Yet’ Song that … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #3: Essential DS Resources There are a ton of resources out there with varying degrees of useful information about Down syndrome.  We break down what we think are the most informative, helpful and enjoyable websites, books, blogs and podcasts (of course)!  See the big … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #2: Telling Family and Friends / Common Medical Conditions You may be thinking….two topics?!?!  Why not?  Yes, we attempt to tackle two topics in this episode. The second half of this episode picks up where we left off in Episode #1.  After we received the news, how did we … Continue reading →

DSR Episode #1: Getting the News Welcome to the inaugural episode of Down Syndrome Radio by the Down Right Awesome Dads, Mark and Jason.  In this episode, we introduce ourselves and share our stories about receiving the diagnosis. Being informed that your newborn or in utero … Continue reading →

Introducing Down Syndrome Radio! First, let me introduce myself.  I am Jason, father of the cute little guy floating over Times Square in the logo above.  Up until now this space was mostly filled with the wonderful musings of my lovely wife, Colette.  I … Continue reading →