Police Make Video to Help Teen with Down Syndrome Battling Cancer Meet Taylor Swift

By Kathy Ehrich Dowd from People:

Taylor Swift, we hope you're reading.

A 13-year-old superfan who has Down syndrome and is battling cancer really wants to meet her idol, and a police department that knows a thing or two about the power of the Internet has made a video that they hope will make her dream come true.

Delaware's Dover Police Department made international headlines in January when Officer Jeff Davis was recorded jovially lip-synching to "Shake It Off" while driving his cruiser.

The viral smash earned the approval of the pop star herself, who re-Tweeted the department's video. Her record company even sent the department tickets to the upcoming Taylor Swift concerts in Philadelphia on June 12 and 13.

Fan letters poured into the police department from all around the world, but one standout note hit close to home: The mother of Victoria Marsh of Middletown, Delaware, wrote to the officers and told them about her daughter, a dedicated Swiftie who has Down syndrome and was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, in December.

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge takes ugly twist

from Ken Amaro from First Coast News:
This summer the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge went viral and now the ugly side of an ice bucket challenge is spreading on social media.
"I can't even look at it," said Leslie Weed, the parent of an autistic child and founder of The HEAL Foundation, which stands for Healing Every Autistic Life.
"There is an explosion of bullying among disabled children," she said.
It happened in Bay Village, Ohio. A 15-year-old autistic boy who was lured into taking the ice bucket challenge got a bucket full of urine, feces and spit dumped on him.
" (It is) very disturbing," said Weed. "This young man didn't even tell his mother she discovered it on his cellphone."
Weed said what parents and advocates for the disabled have come to realize is, traumatic events like this have long-term effects.
"Their sleep patterns are disturbed, their anxiety levels really rise, their behavior tend to get worse and worse," she said.
The outrage on social media is loud and clear.

321DanceChallenge! Donate or Dance!

321DanceChallenge

Register Now! Donate To This Event

Take the #321DanceChallenge!

If you've been tagged by a #321DanceChallenge! social media post,
you're being asked to Get Down for Down Syndrome by
deciding to either Donate or Dance!
You can either donate $21 to the National Down Syndrome Congress on this page
OR you can post a 21-second video of yourself dancing on YouTube

Be sure to use the hashtag #321DanceChallenge!

Tag Your Friends!

After you've danced or donated, tag at least 3 of your friends
through Twitter or Facebook (use the @ symbol).  Ask them to join you in
Getting Down for Down Syndrome by Taking the #321DanceChallenge!

Questions? More information?

Contact Rebecca Davis 770-604-9500.

Dancing for Down Syndrome:  See a Few of Our Videos

Adorable Girl with Down syndrome Gets Down	Little Brother Joins the Dance
Board Member Break Dances	Bruce Bennett Does the Hustle!

Campaign Viral Chart: Down Syndrome future mom ad doubles shares

by Ben Hall from Campaign Live UK:
The Coordown ad, created by Saatchi & Saatchi Italy, shows people with Down Syndrome offering advice to a mother who is expecting a baby that has been diagnosed with the syndrome. At the end of the two-minute video, the speakers’ mothers join them on screen.
This week, the ad was shared 516,589 times – almost double its total last week.
"First kiss", which was created by Tatia Pilieva, ranks seventh this week. The ad, which shows supposed strangers kissing for the first time, was shared 51,453 times in the past seven days.
Elsewhere, an ad for Durex, created by TMW, was shared 83,262 times this week. The ad promotes the condom brand's #turnofftoturnon campaign around Earth Hour, in which consumers are encouraged to turn off all electricity for one hour.
The video features couples in romantic settings being distracted by smartphones and tablet devices, before rediscovering each other and turning off their devices. They then retire to their bedrooms where the lights are turned off.
The ad then shows lights across famous landmarks, such as the Houses of Parliament and the Taj Mahal, being extinguished. It was shared 83,262 times this week and ranks fourth in the chart.
The chart is collated and ranked based on data provided by Unruly lists ads on YouTube by the number of shares across Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere. Ads older than 30 days are not included.

15 people with Down syndrome help pregnant mom

from Raquel Villanueva from 9News NBC KUSA:

On February 9, an expecting mother who had just learned her child would be born with Down syndrome reached out to an Italian nonprofit.

"I'm scared: What kind of life will my child have?" the worried mother asked the Coordown organization in an email.
To help answer her question, Coordown teamed up with Saatchi & Saatchiad agency. Together, they interviewed 15 people with Down syndrome from different countries across Europe.
They released the responses on YouTube, in honor of World Down Syndrome Day, which is March 21.
The sweet answers reassure the expecting mother that her future son will "be able to hug" her and that they will one day grow up and have a job and other responsibilities.
"Sometimes it will be difficult," they caution. "Very difficult. Almost impossible."
But then ask "isn't it like that for all mothers?"

Sixers honor Bensalem basketball star Kevin Grow

frome 6 ABC Action News:

PHILADELPHIA - February 18, 2014 (WPVI) -- Bensalem basketball star Kevin Grow made his debut as part of the Philadelphia 76ers, after signing a two-day contract.

On Tuesday night, Grow was introduced on center court with his new teammates.
Before the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the teen was outfitted with his own custom jersey and a stall in the team's locker-room.
It was another memorable night for an inspirational young man.
The Sixers announced Monday they were signing the senior to a ceremonial two-day contract.
Signing the two-day contract capped an amazing week-long run in the national spotlight for the Bensalem High School senior.
Last week, Action News' Jeff Skversky reported on the 18-year-old whose story garnered attention from around the Delaware Valley.
"We said two minutes and you take advantage of your two minutes of fame. His life will be changed forever," said Earl Grow, father.
The teen, who has Down Syndrome, was the high school team's manager for the last four years.
Then, his coach let him suit up for the final two games of the season.

Another reason I love Darius Rucker...

by Carol Hughes from KFDI FM 101.3:

I love him because of his big heart!
He totally surprised this boy who has Down Syndrome when he performed his song during a talent show.
Here's what The Boot had to say about the surprise:

"It was already a good night for 16-year-old Frankie Antonelli when he took the stage of his high school talent show to cheers from the audience. But his night was about to get a lot better — Darius Rucker was planning to join the teen, who has Down syndrome, on stage.

Antonelli’s friends and family can be heard cheering the teen on as he performs Rucker’s hit ‘We Still Got Time.’ The cheers get louder at the 3:10 mark in the video above, when Rucker appears on stage with Antonelli and shows that even though he is a huge country star, he has managed to stay down to earth.

Rucker and Antonelli finished the song next to one another, with Rucker’s arm around Antonelli’s shoulders, and the duo ended the song with a hug on the stage of Wando High School in Rucker’s native South Carolina.

Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a guy with Down syndrome feel proud

from YouTube: Arnold Schwarzenegger makes a guy with Down syndrome feel proud
This is resurfacing after a year ago. It's a 1 minute video of an interaction between a man with Down syndrome and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Despite being infront of the camera's it is a sincere interaction that is heartwarming.

Katy Perry contest: Verrado High School creates inspirational video for GMA contest

by Rudy Rivas from ABC 15:

Can you hear Verrado High School ROAR?

On Sept. 6, ABC's "Good Morning America" and pop star Katy Perry teamed up to challenge high schools across the country to create the best music video using Perry’s song “Roar.”

The school that creates the best two-minute video will win a live Perry concert at their school on Oct. 25.

Verrado High School in Buckeye saw this challenge and decided to create their own rendition.

A Verrado student told ABC15 their video showcases a senior born with a learning disability, who has become an inspiration on their campus.

She has been on the cheerleading team all four years and has been its heart and soul.

The contest ends Oct. 1, and the winner will be notified Oct. 10.

Podcast: Rachel Coleman of Signing Time

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’ but that when she taught the other children a few signs, she no longer seemed so different.  The parallel here is that advocacy and mainstreaming make our children seem more the same than different and that is how it should be.

 

Rachel and her family

Rachel’s struggles weren’t over.  Her second child Lucy was born with spina bifida and cerebral palsy.  Rachel found that signing was again a big help.  She also learned that all children (including those with special needs) can learn signs much earlier than speech.  She teamed up with her sister to create Signing Time.

We also got a lot of great stories about the actual creation – green screens, tape on fingers, the mythical orange vest, etc.  It was really great hearing the story of Rachel’s family.  Signing Time is a great show and who knows how many kids it gave the power to communicate…

You might ask how this relates to Down Syndrome.  As we all know, our children generally speak later than typically developing children and in some cases, this delay can be extreme.  Some of our children remain completely non verbal.  Rachel found that in many cases, these children can sign long before they have the oral motor skills, etc. necessary for speech.  As a testament, this was fairly successful with my son Luke and all of us (Rick and Jason too) still see signs coming from our kiddos.

Rachel is working on a new television show called Rachel and the Treeschoolers.  She is taking educational television to the next level by including a full preschool curriculum.  Apparently TV execs thought her shows would be TOO educational.  So, she decided to crowd source.  That means that listeners help fund the show.  Let’s stick it to the TV execs!  Check out at her Kickstarter campaign here.  You can also see all of the other stuff at www.signingtime.com.

Thanks for spending an hour with us…

Mark

Download Down Syndrome Radio, Episode #22.
Better yet…subscribe, rate us and leave a comment on iTunes!

10-year-old girl has dream come true, meets Justin Bieber

from ABC 10 News:
A 10-year-old girl from Hemet had her dream come true: meeting Justin Bieber.
Marisa Cox met Bieber backstage before his concert at the Valley View Casino Center on Saturday.
On Sunday, the singer posted a photo of himself, Marisa and her mother on Twitter with the message, "One of the best parts of the job. Nice meeting you Marisa. Stay strong for me!"
10News caught up with Marisa on Saturday afternoon at the Thairapy Hair Salon in Point Loma as she got all dolled up before the concert.
"She just keeps saying, 'Oh my gosh, so excited,'" said Adele Cox, Marisa's mother. "She doesn't know how to process it all. It's overwhelming."
Marisa was born with Down syndrome and suffers a life-threatening kidney disease following a kidney transplant. Her family told 10News the one thing that kept her spirits up during those long hospital stays was Bieber's music videos.
"I don't know what it is, but there's something about him that makes her feel better and happy, and when she's really, really sick in the hospital, I put this stuff up… it perks her up," said Adele.

Video helps build support for East High prom king candidate with Down syndrome

By Amy Renee Leiker from The Wichita Eagle:
Kurtis Tinius looks dapper in his suit and tie, passing out stickers promoting his prom king candidacy at East High School.
He’s not shy about spreading the word: He wants Saturday’s crown.
Despite speech that’s a little hard to understand, he’s a pretty smooth talker.
“Vote for Kurtis,” the 18-year-old chimes. “Kurtis for prom king.”
Like seven other senior boys at East, Kurtis this spring was elected to the school prom court. Saturday night he’ll know who gets the crown.
But there’s something different, besides his dress, about the teen who wears a suit and tie to school every day: Kurtis has Down syndrome, a genetic disorder of the chromosomes that causes delays in cognition and growth.
School officials say he’s the only special education student at East they can remember who has been given the chance to experience the flurry of prom in a way few others do.
And support for him has been overwhelming.

'Odd Socks' music video for World Down Syndrome Day by Agi and Magsi

'Odd Socks' music video for World Down Syndrome Day by Agi and Magsi
by Agnieszka Kolaczynska

Wear odd socks for world Down syndrome day!

To find out why go to my latest blogpost on www.agnieszkaproductions.co.uk

We make documentaries about our lives together and release them annually, here is the first one : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P61qn7aguJo and here is the second one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6jIVTEWBhQ 

The third one is out soon-subscribe to my facebook page agnieszkaproductions to get latest film & blog news.

Music is: "Beautiful Uncertainty" by Kuba Oms.starring Magsi & Agi.
Buy Song: http://VideoStarApp.com/BeautifulUncertainty Please share freely and comment below if you enjoy it!

Spread the Word to End the Word Video

This video was created by the Treasure Valley Down Syndrome Association in support of the Spread the Word to End the Word campaign, an on-going initiative from Special Olympics and Best Buddies to eradicate the derogatory use of the word "retard(ed)" from everyday use and promote the inclusion and acceptance of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Five siblings of individuals with Down syndrome in Idaho's Treasure Valley volunteered to help us spread the word that their brother or sister with Down syndrome is not defined by their disability. A big thanks to all those who helped us create this video by starring in it: Therese and Liam Murphy; Gabriela, Christopher and Mikaela Olmos; Tess and Isabelle Scott; Tegan and Madison Maestretti; and Austin Schaffer and Aaden Vranish. And a HUGE thank you to Sara Cox for producing the video, Alex Post who scored the original music, and our amazing videographer who volunteered his time to create this for us, Zach Johnson. Help us spread a message of acceptance and speak out against the r-word! idahodownsyndrome.org

Make your voice heard at the Buddy Walk® on Washington

Check out and share this great video to register for the NDSS Buddy Walk® on Washington. Advocate for people with Down syndrome in Washington, DC and make legislative priorities for people with Down syndrome a priority for members of the United States Congress too!

Boys 6 and 7, Stand Up For Sisters with Down Syndrome

Screen shot of the Facebook video: "Hollis Boys, 6 and 7, "Speaking up for our sisters" against hate"

 

by Derry London from WLTX:

Two young boys in Illinois took it upon themselves to stand up to bullies in a video that has gone viral on Facebook.

 

Posted to Facebook and YouTube in September of 2012 by Everyone Matters, at www.facebook.com/everyonematters, a "global inclusiveness campaign" that fights for equality, the video titled "Hollis Boys, 6 and 7, "Speaking up for our sisters" against hate," has spread world-wide. 

It stems from an April, 2011 vandalism of the family car and home, when hateful messages were spray-painted one night, because two daughters in the family have Down Syndrome.

Since the video was published online, has spread on Facebook through 365,000+ likes and over 150,000 shares.

(editor's note: video contains graphic language spray-painted on house)

teachmetotalk.com’s Christmas Therapy Guide is now for sale!

by Laura Mize from Teach Me To Talk:

I’m launching a brand new feature here on teachmetotalk.com with the release of our very first Therapy Guide just in time for Christmas.

What’s a Therapy Guide?

teachmetotalk.com’s Therapy Guide consists of two components for helping you learn to work with a young child with a language delay or disorder.

First you’ll receive access to an instructive video. In this 50 minute video I’ll walk you through many, many ideas for using 6 different toys and activities based on holiday themes. I’ll teach you exactly what to say to engage a toddler or young preschooler, target new play and cognitive skills, and teach new language skills. I’ll discuss and demonstrate several activities for each toy providing practical application tips to increase your effectiveness and make sure you know what you’re doing!

You’ll also get a comprehensive written treatment plan (This one is 16 pages!) to pair with the activities demonstrated on the video. In the written guide you’ll find a list of suggested goals, materials, instructions, and strategies to make this a productive learning opportunity for both the child and you! Each activity lists 5 to 10 goals for targeting social, cognitive, both receptive and expressive language, and perhaps even speech intelligibility skills in very young children.

This information is appropriate for use by speech-language pathologists, committed parents and grandparents, occupational and developmental therapists, early intervention and preschool teachers, and other professionals who work with toddlers with language delays and developmental concerns.

Like several of my other projects, the Christmas Therapy Guide is written in a homework format and may be copied and shared with families during sessions. It’s a fantastic parent and caregiver training tool for SLPs and other therapists who work in early intervention.

The Christmas Therapy Guide is $19.99.

To purchase now, select Christmas Therapy Guide from the product list by going to www.shop.teachmetotalk.com. PayPal is a payment option.

"Let Us In - I Want To Learn" video

DOWN SYNDROME INTERNATIONAL PRESENTS THE GLOBAL VIDEO EVENT “LET US IN - I WANT TO LEARN!” IN PARTNERSHIP WITH 68 COUNTRIES FOR WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY 2012.
PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO AND HELP US CREATE A SINGLE GLOBAL VOICE FOR ADVOCATING FOR THE RIGHTS, INCLUSION AND WELL BEING OF PEOPLE WITH DOWN SYNDROME ON 21 MARCH.
THANK YOU!

Our thanks to the following for their outstanding video contributions:

Jonathan Center - Albania www.downsyndromealbania.yolasite.com
Asociación Síndrome de Down de la República Argentina (ASDRA) - Argentina www.asdra.org.ar
Down Syndrome New South Wales - Australia www.dsansw.org.au
Down-Syndrom Österreich - Austria www.down-syndrom.at
Aywiña Sindrome de Down - Bolivia www.aywinasindromededown.wordpress.com
Život Sa Down Syndromom - Bosnia & Herzegovina www.downsy.ba
Instituto MetaSocial - Brazil www.metasocial.org.br
Association of Parents of Children with Down Syndrome - Bulgaria www.downsyndromebg.com/en
Kyle Sumrow - American School of Yaoundé - Cameroon
Canadian Down Syndrome Society - Canada www.cdss.ca
Fundación Síndrome de Down del Caribe - Colombia www.fundowncaribe.org
Down Syndrom Centar Pula - Croatia www.facebook.com/pages/Down-syndrom-Centar-Pula/165392440226282
DownSyndrom CZ - Czech Republic www.downsyndrom.cz
Asociacion Ecuatoriana Sindrome de Down - Ecuador aesd_07@yahoo.com
Jevgenia Jepifanova - Estonia janesh81@mail.ru
Downiaiset - Suomen Downin Syndrooma ry. - Finland www.downiaiset.com
Trisomie 21 France - France www.trisomie21-france.org
Association of Professionals and Parents of Children with Down Syndrome - Georgia www.downsyndrome.ge
Deutsches Down-Syndrom InfoCenter - Germany www.ds-infocenter.de
The Disablement Foundation of Ghana - Ghana www.dfog.org
Down Syndrome Association of Greece - Greece www.down.gr
Asociacion Guatemalteca para el Síndrome de Down - Guatemala www.downguatemala.org
Hong Kong Down Syndrome Association - Hong Kong www.hk-dsa.org.hk
Angyalszív Down Alapítvány - Hungary www.angyalszivalapitvany.hu
Down's Syndrome Care Association (DSCA) - India www.dscaindia.org
Ikatan Sindroma Down Indonesia (ISDI) - Indonesia www.isdijakarta.org
Down Syndrome Association of Iraq (Hiba Centre for Down Syndrome) - Iraq hibains@yahoo.com
Down Syndrome Ireland - Ireland www.downsyndrome.ie
Associazione Italiana Persone Down (AIPD) - Italy www.aipd.it
Werathah Forum - Jordan www.werathah.com/phpbb/index.php
Down Syndrome Kosova - Kosovo www.downsyndromekosova.org
Yousef Ahmad Almuhanna - Kuwait ny.92@hotmail.com
Lebanese Down Syndrome Association - Lebanon www.lebanesedownsyndrome.org
Sinolicka - Macedonia koleva.rosica@gmail.com
Kiwanis Down Syndrome Foundation - Malaysia www.kdsf.org.my
Mrs Gakou Aissata Diop - Mali gakoudiop@yahoo.fr
Down Syndrome Association Malta - Malta www.dsa.org.mt
Down Syndrome Association of Mauritius - Mauritius feroziahosaneea@yahoo.com
Fundación John Langdon Down - Mexico www.fjldown.org.mx
Oshana Down syndrome Group - Namibia - Hannah Kambowe hkambowe@yahoo.com
Down's Syndrome Association of Nepal - Nepal info@dsanepal.org.np
New Zealand Down Syndrome Association - New Zealand www.nzdsa.org.nz
Down Syndrome Foundation Nigeria - Nigeria www.dsanigeria.org
Pakistan Down Syndrome Association (PDSA) - Pakistan www.pdsa-pakistan.webs.com
Sociedad Peruana de Sindrome Down - Peru www.spsd.org.pe
Zespoldowna.info - Poland www.zespoldowna.info
Associaçāo Portuguesa de Portadores de Trissomia 21 (APPT 21) - Portugal www.appt21.org.pt
Downside Up - Russia www.downsideup.org
Werathah Forum - Saudi Arabia www.werathah.com/phpbb/index.php
Down Syndrome Association Singapore - Singapore www.downsyndrome-singapore.org
Sekcija za Downov sindrom, Sožitje Ljubljana - Slovenia www.sekcija-ds.si
Down Syndrome South Africa - South Africa www.downsyndrome.org.za
Asociación síndrome de Down de las Islas Baleares (ASNIMO) - Spain www.asnimo.com
Ranjith WM. - Sri Lanka ranjiman2000@yahoo.com
Sudan Center for Down Syndrome - Sudan ds.sudan@yahoo.com
Svenska Downforeningen - Sweden www.svenskadownforeningen.se
Insieme 21 - Switzerland www.insieme21.ch
Penny Aika Pettit Down Syndrome Foundation - Tanzania mteripettit@yahoo.co.uk
Good Child Foundation - Thailand www.goodchildfoundation.com
Association des Parents et Amis des Personnes Encéphalopathes (APAPE) - Togo www.apape.wahost.org
Down Türkiye Down Sendromu Derneği - Turkey www.downturkiye.com
UAE Down Syndrome Association - United Arab Emirates www.uaedsa.ae
Down’s Syndrome Association - United Kingdom www.downs-syndrome.org.uk
Ukrainian Down Syndrome Organization - Ukraine www.downsyndrome.org.ua
National Down Syndrome Society - USA www.ndss.org
La Asociación Venezolana para el síndrome de Down (AVESID) - Venezuela www.avesid.org
Zanzibar Association of Down Syndrome (ZADOC) - Zanzibar www.zadoczanzibar.org
Zimbabwe Down Syndrome Association - Zimbabwe zdsabyo@ymail.com

And very special thanks for the generous and continued sponsorship of:

Down’s Syndrome Association - United Kingdom www.downs-syndrome.org.uk and,
Down’s Syndrome Federation of India - India www.downsyndrome.in

without which DSi's global WDSD initiatives would not be possible.

swimmer Tom Cole puts in a golden showing at Euro champs

from the Haverhill Echo:
Three gold medals and two bronze medals were brought home by a Haverhill swimmer competing at a recent European event.

Not content with that, Tom Cole, 22, also set a new world record and broke two European records when competing at the European Downs Syndrome Championships in Southampton on April 14 and 15.
He had five events over the weekend, three of which he will be doing in November at the Down’s World Championships in Italy.
West Suffolk Swimming Club (WSSC) member Cole started the first session with the 800 metre freestyle, where he stormed to victory in a time of 12 minutes, 11.9 seconds, taking the gold medal and also breaking the world record which had stood since 2008.
In the afternoon session, his first race was the 400m freestyle.
Cole, who was very nervous as he does not always count the correct number of lengths, was spot on on this occasion, coming in with a time of 5.55.41 and picking up another gold medal with a personal best (PB) time which also broke his own European Record.
This was followed up by the 100m Butterfly with a time of 1.36.91, a two second PB and a bronze medal.
On the Sunday morning, Cole started off with the 200m individual medley (IM), with friend and team mate Ben swimming in the next lane, and it was a great race with the friendly rivalry.
Cole’s entered time was 3.09.09 and he managed to hold the gold medal position with a time of 3.07.87, bettering his own European record in the process.
His last event was the 100m freestyle, which was a very close race with a second between the first three.
Cole bagged the bronze with a time of 1.20.06, just outside his best time.
The Team GB manager was really pleased with how Cole swam, and mum Barbara attributed his success to his and Pat Jason’s (coach) wonderful partnership.
“The time and effort that both have put in over the years and specifically the past eight months of the season have been rewarded with some fantastic swims,” she said.
Cole’s events at The Downs World Championships in Italy in November will be the 1,500 freestyle, 800m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 200m backstroke, 400m IM and the 200m IM.

*****

Video from the European Down Syndrome Swimming Competition 2012 from YouTube

India's official film for the World Down Syndrome Congress 2012

from CurleyStreetMedia on YouTube:
"The Indelible trailer is an introduction to a feature length documentary that tells the inspiring stories of seven people with Down Syndrome in India. This short version of the film has been created specifically for the World Down Syndrome Congress in South Africa. This is the official film for the Downs Federation of India."