Saturday, 20 June 2015

Weekend reading and viewing: 20th - 21st June 2015



People With a Learning Disability Aren't From Mars
Sara Gordy, Huffington Post (UK), 15th June 2015
As an actress with Down's syndrome and a learning disability you could say I'm fairly rare. I've always enjoyed acting and was told I had a strong talent for it at an early age. Some people underestimated me though. 
Today I'm filled with pride to help Mencap announce the beginning of Learning Disability Week. A week where the charity is hoping to break down some of the barriers people like me have faced, by making sure the public really understand what a learning disability is, and that there's no reason to feel afraid or awkward when talking about learning disability ...

3 myths about Down syndrome
Amy Julia Becker, Parents, 10th February 2015
... it seems that the whole country ... has read aboutLeo Forrest, a baby boy born with Down syndrome in Armenia ... I sympathize with both parents here, and I am delighted to see an international outpouring of support for Leo. And yet this story has unfortunately perpetuated at least three myths about Down syndrome, which I’m sharing here ...

My Day With Dennis
Conny Wenk, A Little Extra, 17th June 2015
... Dennis truly knows how to live in the here and now. He masters that skill. All that matters is THIS moment. He chooses to be happy for no reason at all. Dennis is always true to himself. He is always authentic, honest, and very direct. He does not beat around the bush. He is straight-forward. If he loves you, you'll feel it. If he doesn't like you, you get it. He has some really fine antenna about people ...

Down syndrome screening isn’t about public health. It’s about eliminating a group of people
Renate Lindeman, The Washington Post, 16th June 2015
... When pregnant with my daughter Hazel, tests showed she, too, would be born with Down syndrome. I was shocked when an acquaintance asked me why I did not choose abortion — as if she were a mistake that could be easily erased. Although my personal prejudices have radically changed since the birth of my first daughter with Down syndrome, I realized that negative attitudes about the condition remain deeply rooted. To many, my children and their cohort are examples of avoidable human suffering, as well as a financial burden. Knowing that individuals look at my daughters this way hurts, but seeing governments and medical professionals worldwide reinforce these prejudices by promoting selection is horrendous ...

Who's afraid of the dark?
Orange Juice Flavour Sky, 11th June 2015
... Who’s afraid of Down’s syndrome? 
Really? Are you sure? Or is it just that you’re afraid of what’s lurking under the Down’s syndrome covers. Are you afraid of what you don’t know? The darkness? Afraid of what you can’t see? Afraid of the future?

What is your imagination doing? In the darkness, it's conjured up a picture painted by words of negativity, cold, clinical words which you never expected to hear and can't quite comprehend but you know it suddenly feels difficult to breath, you're feeling light-headed and the walls are closing in ...
So Here's Us, 12th June 2015
... Her photo was stolen. A beautiful shot of her face – one of my favourites, posted on a stock photo website and distributed for free. 
As if that wasn’t bad enough, it was stolen again by a Swiss bio-medical company named Genoma. On the front page of their website and a building sized banner in Spain: there’s her face, larger than life. My daughter has been made the poster child for a prenatal testing kit called Tranquility. As if she were a cautionary tale: don’t let this happen to you ...

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