Weekend reading and viewing: 1 - 2 October 2016

Australian Story: ABC TV, 8 pm Monday 3 October 2016

When Michael Cox and Taylor Anderton, became an item, their parents were delighted their adult children, who both have Down syndrome, had found love.

But when the couple, both in their early 20s, started talking about weddings and babies, their parents became alarmed ... (Australian Story)



My Heart Can’t Even Believe It: A Conversation with Author, Amy Silverman

Kari Wagner-Peck, Huffington Post, 30 September 2016

Amy Silverman is a journalist and blogger I have long respected. We are kindred spirits in that we both write about our children who have Down syndrome for readers that include people who don’t. We have also both written books about our experiences ...

Sally Phillips: My son has Down's syndrome - but I wouldn't want to live in a world without it

Elizabeth Day, The Telegraph (UK), 29 September 2016

... Phillips also has a serious side. Next week, the BBC will air a one-hour documentary which she presented and co-wrote, entitled A World Without Down’s Syndrome? The programme examines the issues around Down’s Syndrome with intellectual rigour but is also extremely moving, largely because of Phillips herself who made the decision to include Olly in the film. He emerges as a chatty, engaging and kind little boy who often has his younger siblings, Luke, nine, and Tom, four, in hysterics ...

• BBC post about the documentary 

• You can view a  BBC interview with Sally Phillips (by Frank Skinner) via the Don't Screen Us Out Facebook page, dated 23 September 2016 (we cannot view from BBC page from outside UK)

• We will be watching for the documentary on Australian TV - let us know if you spot it in a TV guide.

Putting kids with special needs in ads isn't just about making moms feel good

Maureen Wallace, She Knows, 19 September 2016

... My son has Down syndrome, and seeing diversity in advertising fills my heart as much as it empties my wallet. But while companies that practice diversity in advertising may be driven by sales, the social benefits are life-changing.

My child needs to see himself reflected in the world, and the world needs to see my son and people who share his differences reflected in the barrage of images hitting us daily ...

Spotlight on non-invasive prenatal testing
Chris Kaposy, Impact Ethics, 8 September 2016
... Canada should learn from the United States’ failure to regulate the industry for Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing ...