Down but not out

by Vaibhav Shastry from The Hindu:

She watches the ‘Asku Laska’ song from the movie Nanban on her iPad and hums along. “Vijay is my favourite actor,” she says and immediately breaks into another song, ‘Vangana Vanakkangana’ from his latest release, Thalaivaa.

The mood is light hearted, as she opens up about her achievements. She has participated in the Special Olympics, acted in a movie, gone ice skating in Kuwait, plays basketball regularly and nurses ambitions of walking the ramp soon.

These may be aspirations common to any young woman, but for 28-year-old Archana Jayaram, who has Down Syndrome, these achievements have greater significance.

“I am a completely healthy, normal and beautiful woman,” she says as she does the catwalk, in her own style. Archana works as an assistant teacher at Sri Prashanthi Academy, a school for intellectually challenged children, and has become a role model even for able children and parents.

This confidence is largely thanks to her mother Annapoorna Jayaram, who runs the school. But the road has not been easy.

Annapoorna first noticed that all was not well with her daughter when she was three months old. Archana was not very responsive, did not have the normal curiosity associated with a toddler and would fall sick often.

“I was in Chennai then, and consulted a doctor for her recurring cold. As the doctor started probing for a few more symptoms, an entirely new revelation came out,” she says. Archana was diagnosed with symptoms typical of Down Syndrome. Annapoorna was shaken. “I was 21 at the time and had heard that this happens to older parents. But I had to start looking forward and look at the positives for Archana,” says Annapoorna.

A few years later, the family moved to Kuwait, where it was hard for Archana to get admission into regular schools. “There were hardly any schools for children with special needs. Working parents, who had children with disabilities, would lock them up in the house and completely isolate them,” she says. As she grew older, people would look at Archana strangely, and some would pass unsavoury comments about her appearance. “I always advised her to ignore those people, as they had no idea what she was going through,” says Annapoorna.

Annapoorna then started her own school in Kuwait, where Archana and other children like her could get together and play for a couple of hours every day.

She also started teaching them the basics of math, languages and fundamentals of other subjects. More crucial life skills such as cognitive, social, gross and motor skills, perception of time and personal hygiene were added to the curriculum as time went by.

Annapoorna then came to Coimbatore in 2006 and started the Sri Prashanthi Academy here. Her husband, P.K. Jayaram joined as a trustee and gives them technical support.

Archana participated in the Special Olympics in Athens in 2011 and bagged a gold and bronze in cycling, competing with 192 other athletes. She has also acted in a movie Indelible, which had inspiring stories of seven achievers with Down Syndrome. Her younger sister, Ramya, who is pursuing her Master’s in Early Childhood Unified from Kansas University, dotes on her and regularly chats with her over Skype. Archana has also been on the Skycoaster, an extreme amusement ride in Denver.

“She can whip up a tasty biryani, tomato rice and make soft idlis too. I have set up a store for her, where she sells nightwear to ladies. She can now recognise different patterns in each dress and calculate money,” Annapoorna says with pride.

Archana sinks into her iPad again, singing along to ‘Thaniye Thananthaniye’ and breaks into a dance. “My father will teach me how to ride a scooter next,” she says.

Coping with Down Syndrome

Go in for genetic counselling. This will determine through genetic test, if you or your baby are at risk of genetic disorders

Go through a systematic program of therapy, exercises and activities to address any developmental delays in children with Down syndrome. Do this when the child is between 0 and 2 years of age

Accept the children and include them into your daily activities.

Truman Cheerleader Brings Unmatched Enthusiasm

by Justin Sampson from St. Joe Channel:
(ST. JOSEPH) Fourteen-year-old Aliyah Hall, an eighth grader at Truman Middle School, enjoys staying active, like many teenagers, with things like swimming and basketball.
Also like many children, she was born with down sydnrome.
"I really can't explain it to you, but it was something that I just knew," Aliyah's mother, Laurie, said. "After she was born, it was more of a confirmation for me."
An avid dancer as well, Aliyah quickly took a shine to the Truman cheer squad when she got to middle school and wanted to be a part of it. It was something Laurie wasn't sure about at first, given that Truman had never had a special needs cheerleader before.
"I shared my concerns because not everyone deals with special needs children the say way. They were awesome. They really embraced her."

Life with Down syndrome is full of possibilities

by Liz Szabo from USA Today:

The lives of the 250,000 Americans with Down syndrome today are radically different than a generation ago.

Tim Norton was devastated when his daughter was diagnosed with Down syndrome shortly after her birth in 2006.He envisioned her growing up tragically disabled. The years ahead seemed filled with darkness.
A chance encounter on a ski slope, just a few months after his daughter was born, changed Norton's outlook on Down syndrome and the prospects for his daughter's happiness.
While skiing near his home in Massachusetts, a gifted teenage skier with Down syndrome, Melissa Joy Reilly, glided past him at the crest of a hill.
Norton had noticed Reilly earlier in the day but said nothing.
"Melissa stopped in front of me and said, 'Hello, how are you?' " says Norton, of Westford, Mass. "I said, 'Great. What a great night to be skiing.' "
And, just like that, Norton's life was changed.
"Without her even knowing it, without her even trying — it was quite remarkable — I got just the positive lift that I needed," says Norton, whose daughter, Margaret, is now 7.
"She opened my eyes to what the possibilities could be for my daughter," says Norton, a ski instructor. "It was like, 'Wow, this isn't a big black hole. This is a girl who can walk and talk and ski.' "Like Norton, many people are surprised to learn of the dramatic improvements in health and quality of life for children and adults with Down syndrome.
Advocates for people with Down syndrome feel a new urgency to spread the word about these advances, as more women undergo prenatal tests for Down syndrome and other genetic conditions.

Kung Fu black belt comes with very special visit

 

By Amy M.E. Fischer / The Daily News:

 

Dustin Bean of Longview punched and kicked at the air Thursday in perfect synch with the Bruce Lee movie fight scene on the TV in his bedroom.
Dustin, who is 33 with Down syndrome, knew every minute of the 1972 film "Fist of Fury." When Lee began fighting off his attackers with nunchucks, Dustin, who earned his black belt in Kung Fu in April, grabbed his nunchucks and began swinging.
The smiling woman watching the performance in the small bedroom took a step back.
"Wow. That's hard to do," the visitor said, clapping her hands.
"You are the Little Dragon," she said, touching Dustin's shoulder. "Well done."
It was no ordinary compliment. The woman was none other than Linda Lee Cadwell, who was married to Bruce Lee from 1964 until 1973, when the martial arts legend died unexpectedly of a cerebral edema. In the years since, Cadwell published the books "Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew" and "The Bruce Lee Story." Her son with Bruce Lee, actor Brandon Lee, died in a movie-set accident while filming "The Crow" in 1993.
Cadwell, 67, decided to visit Dustin after a friend showed her last month's Daily News story about Dustin's 13-year quest to earn his black belt, like Bruce Lee. Cadwell contacted Dustin's teacher at the Academy of Kung Fu in Longview and arranged a meeting at the Columbia Heights-area home of Dustin's mother, retired school bus driver Toni Wainwright. Hearing how her late husband continues to touch people's lives is incredibly rewarding, Cadwell said.
"I was just so impressed that anybody would have the perseverance to spend 13 years of getting a black belt," especially a man like Dustin, she said.
Cadwell and Bruce Cadwell, her husband since 1991, spend summers in Boise, Idaho, and winters in Southern California, but this week they were helping Bruce Cadwell's sister, Kerry Syverson, move from Vader to Centralia.
Thursday, Dustin was waiting in the driveway with TV news crews from Seattle and Portland when Cadwell's SUV pulled up at 1 p.m. Dressed in a black Kung Fu jacket with white frog closures and white cuffs, Dustin appeared stoic and calm as the polished woman with the perfect blonde bob approached.
Linda Lee Cadwell took Dustin's hands in hers. She was honored to meet him, she said gravely.
"I'm very proud of you, and you know Bruce Lee would have been very, very proud of what you accomplished," Cadwell said. "You look like him. He wore a jacket like that all the time."
Dustin gave her a card containing a letter he'd written the night before. Cadwell presented him with copies of "Tao Jeet Kune Do" by Bruce Lee, and "Bruce Lee — Wisdom for the Way," a book of Lee's proverbs compiled by his daughter, Shannon Lee.
"I want Dusty to soak this up because it really is all about him," said Steve Larson, his Kung Fu teacher and martial arts studio owner.
Inside the house, Dustin's sister, Kelso High School art teacher T.J. Frey, coached him to ask Cadwell the questions he'd harbored about his idol. Did Bruce Lee really make the cat noises during his fight in "Way of the Dragon" or were those sound effects added later? Yes, Bruce Lee indeed made those noises, Cadwell said.
"Those were our cats (in the film) — a little known fact," she said. "And Chuck Norris really is that hairy."
Dustin also had wondered what Bruce Lee's personality was like, Frey said.
Cadwell smiled.
"Dynamic. Like Dustin," she said.
Dustin showed her his bedroom. Above his Asian bedspread and display of samurai swords was a large mirror. He popped "Fist of Fury" into the DVD player and stood with his arms folded, reciting dialogue along with Bruce Lee. Then the fighting began and Dustin burst into a flurry of action.
Her late husband would have loved seeing Dustin act out his movie scenes, Cadwell said.
"It's a huge compliment to Bruce," said Cadwell, who met Bruce Lee when he gave a Kung Fu demonstration at her high school. She soon became one of his Kung Fu students.
"I'm experiencing a very big moment in my life, to honor his (Dustin's) achievement. I'm honored to be here," she said. "He touched a heartstring, for sure. He's so sincere, very sincere. ... It certainly gets to me to see him do those moves because he does do them with intensity, which is how Bruce would do them."
For Dustin, the meeting carried a deep significance — it brought him closer to Bruce Lee.
"I feel his presence," Dustin said.

Self Advocate Sheri Brynard's Accomplishments

From The Star:

During the 17th Annual Hamlet Foundation National Awards Ceremony held last week in Johannesburg, Sheri Brynard of Bloemfontein was awarded the President Award for her achievements and work she does in the field of mentally disabled South Africans.

The Hamlet Foundation was founded in 1954 by a group of parents whose children were exempted from normal schooling and today it runs a school for intellectually disabled children, a residential centre for intellectually disabled adults and a protective workshop for intellectually disabled adult workers. Annually, workers and people in the field of the intellectually disabled throughout South Africa are rewarded at a gala night, which also serves as a fundraiser.

Sheri has Down Syndrome and has excelled academically like no other person with Down Syndrome in South Africa. She received her National N3 Matric certificate and went on to complete her N4 and N5 National Diploma in Educare.

Her papers were set and marked nationally and nobody could help her in any way. She also received the highest prestige award from the SA Downs Association, for academic achievement by a person with Down Syndrome, from Hellen Zille.

Sheri has achieved culturally, by being the first person with Down Syndrome to achieve the highest honour in Provincial and National eisteddfods between normal learners.

She has done 90 motivational talks nationally and internationally. She changes people's perspectives of persons with Down Syndrome. She is the ambassador for all people with Down Syndrome in South Africa and serves on the international Down Syndrome board.

Sheri is the only person with Down Syndrome to have a National Educational Diploma where she can pursue her occupation. She is an assistant teacher at a special school.

She also facilitates the self advocacy movement in the Free State.

She has shown that with determination, a positive attitude and a very strong will, one can overcome many obstacles and still reach those goals you set out to achieve. “My mother and my father always expected me to do my best and they supported and helped me to stay motivated every step of the way,” says Sheri.

Sheri Brynard's Graduation Speech: