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Down Syndrome NSW
Level 6/410 Church St, North Parramatta
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T: 9841 444


Friday 3 July 2015

Weekend reading and viewing 4th - 5th July 2015


Jillian The Magnificent takes vows
Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 29th June 2015
... I don't know what it's like to scale Everest or to create a polio vaccine or bloop base hit No. 4,192 onto the plastic at Riverfront Stadium. I couldn't tell you how it feels to be elected president or walk on the moon ...

I know lifetime achievement, though. I know what it's like to spend every minute of every day working to defy perception and stereotype and How It's Always Been, in the pursuit of another person's happiness, and by extension my own.

At about 6:10 Saturday night, I was Edmund Hillary and Pete Rose, Jonas Salk and Billy Hamilton. That's when Jillian The Magnificent became Jillian Daugherty Mavriplis ...


The Down's Syndrome woman who shattered Stephen Nolan's prejudices
Stephanie Bell, Belfast Telegraph, 24th June 2015
... What a difference a few decades and a group of determined parents can make. When their daughter Louise was born with Down's Syndrome, Newry lawyers Emer (72) and Alan (73) Cleland couldn't have been given a more negative forecast of what the future would hold for their little girl ... Today, Louise is a happy 33-year-old doing her dream job of working as a classroom assistant in a primary school in Warrenpoint, having passed her NVQ levels 1 and 2.

Fast-forward 30 years and the birth of little Embarr McCourt, from Armagh, couldn't have been more different.

This time when parents Tom (46) and Gemma (36) left hospital with their little girl it was with the most encouraging words from a consultant ringing in their ears.

They were told that they had no idea yet of the joy that Embarr was going to bring and that their lives would be enriched by having a child with Down's ...

The secret teacher got it wrong: a response to 'I am all for inclusion in principle, but it doesnt always work
Cátia Malaquias, Global Observatory for Inclusion, 25th June 2015
This is a response to the article published on 23 May 2015 by The Guardian ...

What is “inclusive education”? Many, like the Secret Teacher’s school, profess to strive for it. Many, like the Secret Teacher’s school, profess to practice it. But the practical reality is that too often, inferior formulations are wrongly labelled “inclusion” and sold to students with disability, to their parents and to their teachers as meeting or even exceeding the mark – many drink it (or are forced to drink it) none the wiser as to its quality or limitations ...


Why I Post Photos of My Child with Down Syndrome OnlineAmy Julia Becker, Parents.com, 29th June 2015
When I first considered blogging regularly about our oldest daughter Penny, who has Down syndrome, I had to think long and hard about sharing Penny’s image online. Not only does it involve the risk of strangers seeking her out and the possibility of someone stealing her image, but the internet is also full of sites that intentionally mock people with Down syndrome.

In spite of all the risks, I share pictures of and stories about Penny every chance I get ...


Dear Pixar: 'Inside Out' and Papercut Death
Jisun Lee, Kimchi Latkes, 22nd June 2015
... So I took my kids to see 'Inside Out' last week. It was good. Until it wasn’t.

There I sat, at the peak of the story arc, watching Joy and Sadness hang on for dear life while their buddies inside headquarters tried to figure out how to break open the glass and let them in. It was tense. Would they make it in? Would Riley get back in touch with all her feelings? Disgust had a righteous idea when she made Anger so mad he broke the glass open. Clever.

But why, Pixar, why???

These moments are little, I admit it. It isn’t like the punch to the gut that I feel when I hear short bus jokes or see that stranger stare at my child like he’s contagious. Instead, jokes like the one you made in Inside Out are like little paper cuts. Little stings that remind me that the world thinks that my kid’s existence is something that no one wants. In case I forget, you know. Wouldn’t want that.

Let’s not break up, Pixar. You seem like a decent force for good ...



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