Student with Down Syndrome Honored as Homecoming King

by Meredith Ley, WSAV 3:
Fall is here, and that means its homecoming season. 
The title of homecoming queen and king are bestowed upon the school's most popular and respected students.
And students at South Effingham High School have overwhelmingly chosen one young man as their homecoming king.
Senior Michael Holton will tell you he is just like everyone else.  He enjoys sports and music, and just like all teenage boys, he enjoys the company of his female friends. There is something that makes him different, but his friends say they wouldn't want him to change one bit.
Here at South Effingham High, Michael Holton is known as the big guy on campus.
"Every time I see him walking down the hall, everyone is giving him high fives,” says Senior Tyler Sheppard.
 So naturally, when it came time to vote for homecoming court his friend Kaite White knew there was only one guy worthy of being king.
"I was like, 'Ya’ll need to go and vote for Mikey, don't forget,’ and everyone had already gone and done it. Everyone knew and wanted Mikey to win."
Mikey has Down Syndrome, but his friends say they don't see his disability.  Amy Jameson just sees someone she admires.
"He never lets anything bring him down. No matter if he fails and fails, he is going to keep trying, and that encourages all of us to never give up and take his spirit, and it rubs off on a lot of our peers as well as ourselves."
On Saturday, Mikey received his crown after capturing the hearts and votes of 97 percent of his school.  Assistant Principal Jeff Faith says its not just a testament to Mikey, but the entire student body. 
"They are very caring and compassionate, but more than anything else, they just accept Mikey as one of the regular students."
For mom, Amy Holton, it’s just another way Mikey continues to defy the odds.
"Michael has just always surprised us. We’ve always pushed him to do different things and exposed him to different things. Don’t limit your children, whether they have a disability or don't have a disability."
Mikey can add homecoming king to his long list of accomplishments. 
He has also earned five gold medals in the Equestrian Special Olympics and a second degree blue belt in Tae Kwon Do. 
To learn more about Mikey, pick up last month's issue of Effingham Magazine.

DSRTF and NDSS Host Special Down Syndrome Awareness Month Webinar

         

from the DSRTF and NDSS:

"We really are on the verge of a revolution," says Dr. Roger Reeves of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. As one of the preeminent figures in the field of Down syndrome cognition research, he's in a unique position to know. With almost 30 years of experience in the field, Dr. Reeves has studied DS since his postdoctoral days, when the condition was still believed to be too complex to treat. It's thanks to the sustained efforts of researchers and advocates like Dr. Reeves that we now understand that cognitive improvements for people with Down syndrome are not only possible, but within reach. Those efforts are showing exciting results. With recent advances, Dr. Reeves says, "the game has changed for people with Down syndrome."

Learn what that means for the future on Tuesday, October 16 at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET when Dr. Reeves joins us for a webinar to discuss current topics in DS research and his own groundbreaking work.

This one-hour presentation is a special collaboration between the Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation (DSRTF) and the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) in celebration of Down Syndrome Awareness Month. 

Register now to attend  [LINK: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/649840498 ], then join us on the 16th and find out why the future looks brighter than ever for people with Down syndrome.

You can submit questions in advance to be answered as time permits. [LINK: mailto:dsrtf@dsrtf.org?subject=Webinar question for Dr. Reeves ]  

We hope you'll join us on Tuesday 10/16/2012.

Research Down Syndrome Announces 2012/2013 Grant Awards to Fund Down Syndrome Cognitive Research

by Research Down Syndrome:

Research Down Syndrome (RDS) has announced funding for six grants to support Down syndrome cognitive research. The grant total represents a fifty percent increase over grants awarded by RDS in 2011.

RDS is committed to supporting the identification of the causes of the intellectual impairments associated with Down syndrome and to facilitating the development of pharmacological therapies to improve memory, learning and communication in persons with Down syndrome. Encouraging progress has been made over a very short time. A human clinical trial was initiated in the fall of 2011, less than a decade after the support of private foundations stimulated the progress of Down syndrome cognitive research.

Research Down Syndrome, among the leading sources of private funding for Down syndrome related cognitive research, prioritizes funding towards programs with a high probability of readily contributing to the development of safe and effective therapies.  Continued private donations are needed to support the constantly expanding research efforts that will lead to potential medical treatments. The 2012/2013 RDS Research Grants include:

1. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine:  RDS Research Center Grant entitled "A Down Syndrome Virtual Center for Basic and Translational Studies- Cognition and Therapies in Down Syndrome"    
2. University of California, San Diego School of Medicine:  RDS Research Center Grant entitled "Defining the Genes and Mechanisms Causing Neurodegeneration in Down Syndrome and Discovering Effective Treatments" - Pilot Proposal entitled "21Lab: A Collaborative Data Sharing and Data Integration Platform for the Down Syndrome Research Community"
3. University of Arizona:  RDS Innovation Research Grant entitled "The Neuropsychology of Down Syndrome"
4. Stanford University School of Medicine: RDS Innovation Research Grant entitled "Mechanisms Underlying the Roles of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms in the Learning Disability of Down Syndrome"
5. VA Palo Alto Health Care System: RDS Innovation Research Pilot Grant entitled "Improving Adrenergic Signaling for the Treatment of cognitive Dysfunction in Down Syndrome"
6. University of Texas, Austin:  RDS Innovation Research Pilot Grant entitled "Genetic Analysis of Excessive Inhibitory Signaling in Down Syndrome"

Detailed information on these grants can be found at: www.researchds.org

 

About Research Down Syndrome

Research Down Syndrome (RDS) is among the leading sources of private funding for Down syndrome related cognitive research.  RDS supports and funds Down syndrome cognitive research conducted at research institutions that are studying the basis of the intellectual impairments associated with Down syndrome, including Alzheimer's disease. Research Down Syndrome is a legal corporate entity, and is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization designated by the Internal Revenue Code.  For more information, go to www.researchds.org, or contact RDS:  info@researchds.org or 847.710.2251.

SOURCE Research Down Syndrome

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/08/4892505/research-down-syndrome-announces.html#storylink=cpy

Dad demands apology from Ann Coulter for using 'retarded' as an insult

from Today by Dan Niblock:

“Retard! Retard!” It’s the shrill call of a vile black bird, a call I hear coming from the treetops and from behind dark clouds these days. I hear it, though others don’t, because I have an ear for it. Call it a gift. I received this gift four years ago, in a hospital delivery room, at the exact moment a nurse turned to me and told me that in all likelihood my newborn son had Down syndrome. He did. His name is Ozzie.

It’s a strange thing, this gift of mine. Because a word that used to zip right on past my ear without causing a ripple now leaves me feeling like I’ve had the wind knocked out of me. And it happens just about every day.

The English language is littered with the husks of words like "retard." We've invented awful slurs for every group of people imaginable. But for some reason, those other words are whispered behind backs, relegated to the shadows. "Retard" is not. This particular slur, and its many variations, fills the space on park benches between soccer moms. It's heard in movies and on TV shows and in the songs kids sing in front of grandma. It pops up in board meetings and in breakrooms and in coffee shop queues.

And online - especially online. The comments section of any web post, no matter what website or how benign the topic, always seems to tease a “retarded” comment out of a reader or two. And for the life of me I cannot understand why this is so. Because it hurts, and people know it hurts, because parents like me have told them so. Again and again.

I'm left to wonder why this word is so precious that we just can't seem to get by without it. I'm left to wonder why it still slips so easily from the mouths of celebrities and public figures. In the most recent example, conservative firebrand Ann Coulter, tip of the Republican spear, posted a tweet insinuating that President Obama is pandering to the "retarded vote."

Here’s Ann’s tweet:

“Been busy, but is Obama STILL talking about that video? I had no idea how crucial the retarded vote is in this election.”

How mosaic Down syndrome can be missed

by Shannon Blaeske from Lifes Litte Surprises:

Parents are crazy. Especially moms. And especially new moms. Every sniffle raises alarm, every odd movement or out of routine behavior causes suspicion. So it comes to no surprise to me that doctors have quick answers to all these tiny concerns. I am sure the pediatrician night hot lines ring off the hook all night long from worried moms over-reading into the common cold. But what happens when mothers intuition is right? What happens when the rare, not likely cause of the sniffle is the cause? What happens when doctors dismiss symptoms because they are unaware of what they may be indicating?

For two families, just that happened. Both Holly and Sarah knew certain things were not right with their daughters. Numerous small health concerns kept rising up, and each time, they were dismissed with the most common answers.  For Holly, the answers she was given for the cause her daughters constipation and projectile vomiting did not sit right. And for Sarah when her daughter ended up having a very rare congenital subglottic stenosis, she too questioned if something else could have caused it. But who were they to question doctors? They trusted their opinions. They trusted that they knew best.