3rd World Down Syndrome Day Conference, 3/21 UN Headquarters NYC

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN AND FREE OF CHARGE – REGISTER ONLINE HERE TODAY

We urge you to come along in person to the 2014 WDSD Conference to show your support and to help us to represent people with Down syndrome with a single global voice at the United Nations!

Down Syndrome International is delighted to announce that the 3rd World Down Syndrome Day Conference, based on the theme "Health and Wellbeing - Access and Equality for All" will take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA on 21 March 2014 in the Economic and Social Council Chamber from 1.30pm-6pm.

Confirmed speakers include:

Dr William Mobley - United States - Distinguished Professor, Chair of the Department of Neurosciences and Executive Director of the Down Syndrome Center for Research and Treatment at UC San Diego and the Florence Riford Chair of Alzheimer Disease Research.

Dr Yvonne Maddox - United States - Deputy Director, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health and Chair of The Down Syndrome Consortium.

Dr George Capone - United States - Director of the Down Syndrome Clinic and Research Center (DSCRC) at Kennedy Krieger Institute and Member of Down Syndrome Medical Interest Group- USA.

Dr John Mayer - United States - Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Past Chair, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Cardiac Surgeon, Boston Children’s Hospital.

Special Olympics/UNICEF - "Healthy Athletes" Health Screening and Intervention Program for Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Professor S Suresh - India - Chief Medical Director, MediScan Systems, Chennai, India.

Sheila Heslam - United Kingdom - Services Director, Down's Syndrome Association, presenting with self-advocate Sara Pickard on new Adult Health Book for people with Down syndrome to use with their medical practitioners, prepared in consultation with people with Down syndrome, their families and doctors.

NDSS Spring Luncheon honoring Hoda Kotb, Jordyn Dannenbaum, & Mikayal's Voice

Please join us! We are excited to return to 583 Park Avenue in New York City to celebrate the NDSS mission, the accomplishments of individuals with Down syndrome and those who contribute to the Down syndrome community.

NDSS Spring Luncheon
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
11:30 am – 2:30 pm
583 Park Avenue
63rd Street and Park Avenue

New York City

Honoring
Hoda Kotb
Co-host, Fourth Hour of Today; Correspondent, Dateline NBC; Author, TenYears Later: Six People Who Faced Adversity and Transformed Their Lives

Featuring
The Melissa Riggio Voices Award
Presented to Jordyn Dannenbaum, a 20 year old Self-Advocate from Villanova, Pennsylvania.

Celebrating
Mikayla's Voice
An organization that develops and supports inclusive programs that educate, inspire and empower kids of all ages and abilities.

Click here to learn more and register for the event.

Click here for a printable invitation.

Thank you for your ongoing loyalty to NDSS and the Down syndrome community,

Pamela Sandonato

Vice President of Development

National Down Syndrome Society

666 Broadway, 8th Floor

New York, NY 10012

212-763-4365 direct

World Down Syndrome Day 2013 - JOIN US!

World Down Syndrome Day 2013 is nearly upon us and we hope that you are all looking forward to observing 21 March in all the great ways you have chosen to. Everyone at Down Syndrome International is ready for another truly global celebration!

Here are 6 ways you can help us to raise the profile of people with Down syndrome worldwide and promote their right to be included in our communities:

1.       Watch and Share the 2013 WDSD Global Video Event http://www.ds-int.org/let-us-in-i-want-to-work

2.        Read and Share the worthy awardees of the 2013 WDSD Awards http://www.ds-int.org/release-wdsd-awards-2013

3.       Watch and Share the live UN Webcast of the 2013 WDSD UN Conference on 21 March from 10am-6pm U.S. Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -4) http://worlddownsyndromeday.org/wdsd-conference-2013

4.       Read about and Share with us details of your WDSD events on the WDSD Website Events pages http://worlddownsyndromeday.org/world-events

5.       Join our campaign to wear “Lots of Socks” on 21 March to raise awareness worldwide http://worlddownsyndromeday.org/lots-of-socks

6.       Join WDSD on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/World-Down-Syndrome-Day/148478055264021 and Twitter https://twitter.com/WorldDSDay to keep up with activities on 21 March.

Thank you so much for your support and we hope you enjoy your day.

Regards

Andrew Boys

Andrew Boys

Director

Down Syndrome International

T: 0044 (0)20 8614 5124 F: 0044 (0)0845 230 0373

M: 0044 (0)07810 153294

Email: andrew.boys@ds-int.org Website: www.ds-int.org

Join us and celebrate World Down Syndrome Day on 21 March each year.

www.worlddownsyndromeday.org

Player with Down Syndrome wins team $25,000 and a trip to New York

by Jonathan Oosting from MLive.com:
The Ishpeming High School football team, which capped an improbable run by winning the Division 7 state championship last weekend, isn't headed to Disney World.
Instead, the team is headed to New York City for the annual Sports Illustrated Sporstman of the Year ceremony.
The Hematites wouldn't be heading there without Eric Dompierre, a 19-year-old kicker with Down Syndrome who was almost kept off this year's team due to age limits set by the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
His father fought the inflexible rule all summer, and in August, the MHSAA finally approved a waiver allowing Eric to play this season as an extra-point specialist.
Sports Illustrated documented his inspirational story -- from the off-field drama to on-field bonds with teammates -- for its annual "underdogs" contest, allowing viewers to vote for his or other stories online.
Earlier this month, just days before they won a state championship, Ishpeming won the magazine contest, earning a trip to New York and a $25,000 grant.
Instead of flying 10 players to the December 5 awards ceremony, as originally planned, Sports Illustrated reportedly agreed to pay for a charter bus from the Upper Peninsula to New York so that the whole team can travel, and local boosters are raising additional funds for the full-team trip.
"The town has really behind this team and behind our efforts for Eric to play these last few years," Dean Dompierre told SI. "We needed signatures. We needed letters written and the town not only recruited other people from the state, but people around the country."
Eric's age-waiver wasn't the only adversity that the Hematites faced en route to their championship. Coach Jeff Olson lost his son to suicide over the summer, and the brother of starting quarterback Alex Briones died last year.
But Ishpeming overcame those hardships -- not to mention a size mismatch -- to defeate Detroit Loyola in the state championship. So much for "underdogs"

Moms say their children with Down syndrome are ‘gifts’

from rosevillept.com:

On her blog, Christine Sheffield references a poem called “Welcome to Holland,” a place she’s never lived.

The poem was written by a mother about having a child with Down syndrome, an experience Sheffield can relate to since the birth of her son Braden. The poem likens having a baby with a disability to making big plans to visit Italy and ending up in Holland. You buy guidebooks, learn Italian phrases — it’s your dream destination.

So how did I get to Holland?

It’s a question asked by many parents once they find out their baby has Down syndrome. But, it turns out, Holland is a beautiful and majestic place, Sheffield writes. And she wants others who will never go there to know that, too.

“I want to show people that a Down syndrome diagnosis is not the end of the world,” Sheffield, 41, said. “It’s not something to be feared. The more we show we’re a normal family living a normal life, the more acceptance we’ll have in society.”

The Antelope resident has a blog about the joys of raising her 10-month-old son Braden. He has brought lots of surprises, including a trip to New York City Thursday. Sheffield, Braden and her 19-year-old daughter Ashley are attending the annual Buddy Walk event that kicks off October as Down Syndrome Awareness Month.

The family was invited to attend after a photo of Braden was chosen as part of a video that airs in Times Square during the walk.

Both raised in Roseville, Christine and her husband Danny Sheffield graduated from Oakmont High School and have been married 21 years. They already had five children — one died as a baby from sudden infant death syndrome — and Braden was a surprise.

Before learning she was pregnant, Sheffield read a magazine article about a local family adopting a Ukrainian baby with Down syndrome. She and her husband considered adopting a baby with a disability. Then she had her own.

“It’s not much different than being a mom of a baby without Down syndrome, or as we say, a ‘typical’ baby,” Sheffield said.

About 50 percent have a heart defect and Braden has a small hole that doctors expect will close. Some people with Down syndrome will develop vision and hearing loss, and thyroid problems.

Down syndrome is one of the most common genetic birth defects and affects about 3,400, or one in 800, babies in the United States a year, according to the National Down Syndrome Society.

Sheffield said some parents worry about the potential burden of raising a child with Down syndrome, which does involve extra trips to the doctors, extended care when the child ages and lots of future planning. Braden has low muscle tone and is developmentally delayed.

Sheffield says all these challenges are manageable, which doesn’t mean the times have never been tough.

“I don’t want to be negative,” she said. “But to some extent you become ‘that’ family. It’s not a blatant thing. You just feel a little isolated. But you realize you have the same life you had before, just with a new person in it, and it’s really no big deal.”

Sheffield got involved with Reece’s Rainbow ministry and joined The Sisterhood, a support group for moms of kids with Down syndrome in the greater Sacramento region. Another mom involved is Beth Herrington, of Roseville, who has a 13-month-old daughter named Chloe. She also has four other kids, ages 9 to 14 years old.

Chloe was a surprise — Herrington got pregnant at 42. The chance of having a baby with Down syndrome increases with the mother’s age, but 80 percent of babies with the condition are born to women under 35.

“It was this great gift,” Herrington said. “I was excited. I didn’t mourn the loss of the quote-unquote perfect child.”

She describes Chloe — who has a small hole in her heart — as beautiful and larger than life.
“I always compare it to being in public with a celebrity,” Herrington said. “Chloe gets so much attention.”

A few months ago, Herrington convinced her husband that they should adopt a baby with Down syndrome. They found Olivia from Ukraine, who is 7 months old. They hope to bring her home by January.

Herrington also blogs and wants people to realize that babies with Down syndrome are “more alike than different.”

“What an unbelievable joy they are,” Herrington said. “Even for parents who think their world has ended, weeks later they see it’s the best child in the world. It’s not a scary, horrible thing. It’s wonderful.”

Times Square Video Contest Info

from NDSS:

Contest Information Celebrate the 17th anniversary of the Buddy Walk® by entering the Times Square Video Contest. The video, which showcases individuals with Down syndrome from all over the world, will air in the heart of Times Square on September 24, 2011 at 10:15 am ET.  The New York City Buddy Walk will immediately follow the video at the Great Hill in Central Park. Each year, NDSS receives thousands of photo submissions for the Times Square Video Contest. The winning photographs represent the diversity of the Down syndrome community.  ONE photo per individual can be submitted to the contest. If you send more than one photo, NDSS will only use the first submission.  All individuals in the photo sent to NDSS must sign off on a consent form to be considered for the video. If more than one person is in the photo, please indicate which individual has Down syndrome.  Click here to submit a photo and consent form online for the 2011 Times Square Video Contest. If you prefer to send a photo and consent form by mail, please use following address: NDSS Attn: Call For Photos 666 Broadway, 8th Floor New York, NY 10012 To download a copy of the consent form, please click here. The deadline for submitting a photo is July 15, 2011 at 11:59pm ET. Final photo selection will take place on July 27, 2011 by an independent third party and winners will be contacted by a representative from NDSS via email or telephone starting the week of August 1, 2011. NDSS will notify you ONLY if we accept your photograph for the video, and we are unable to return any photos. Affiliates and others interested in spreading the word can click here to download the 2011 Times Square Video flyer, which has all of the information necessary to encourage members and friends to participate! Be inspired! Click here to view the 2010 Times Square Video.