Weekend reading and viewing: 1 - 2 April 2017

Alastair McEwin on Fighting the Good Fight
Down Syndrome Australia, 28 march 2017
At the recent WDSD Parliamentary Morning Tea hosted by DSA and the Parliamentary Friends of Disability at Parliament House Canberra, we were fortunate enough to have Disability Discrimination Commissioner Alastair McEwin deliver a speech ...

‘Having a sister with Down’s Syndrome has enriched our lives’
Claire Howie, Belfast News Letter, 22 March 2017
... It wasn’t until I was around 10 years old that I began to understand that Rachel had Down’s syndrome and I started to realise the implications this had on her and the rest of our family ...

A world without Down’s Syndrome? Is the non-invasive test for Down’s a positive medical breakthrough or a tool for eugenics?

Rebecca Bennett, University of Manchester Policy Blogs, 27 March 2017

In 2018, Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing for genetic conditions and variations will be available on the NHS. Here, Professor Rebecca Bennett looks at the controversy over this test being used to detect Down’s syndrome and argues for a policy of voluntary non-directive screening and testing ...

People with dual diagnoses should be included in the spotlight on World Down Syndrome Day
Gillian Marchenko, Key Ministry, 7 March 2017
... As a parent of two daughters with Down syndrome, I think World Down Syndrome Day is fantastic. I really do. But you know what? Sometimes, it’s not so fantastic. Here’s why ...

To the Brokenhearted on World Down syndrome Day

Mumma Love, 22 March 2017

... For those who will forever love a person with Down syndrome who is no longer in this world. You have been lucky enough to know the light and love and hugs that only someone with Down syndrome can give, and now you bear the grief of living without them. You accepted the role of advocate, defender and cheerleader, and sometimes it’s hard to watch the children with almond eyes grow up when your child cannot. Know that you will always be a part of this T21 tribe ...

You can’t be upside down in the gallery
Leticia Keighly, Embracing Wade, 26 February 2017
...when Wade throws his shoes across the room and announces, ‘Wade does Not. Like. Putting. On. Shoes. ANY. MORE!’ part of me is truly thrilled at the excellent sentence structure and improving articulation. I high-five him mentally over his expression of choice and fearless nature in the way he speaks his mind. I admire the award-winning performance whereby he pretends to have a tantrum by melodramatically crossing his arms and pretending to pout ...