{"id":849,"date":"2020-10-20T15:14:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-20T15:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sheranmemories.com\/?p=849"},"modified":"2025-07-05T15:32:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T15:32:05","slug":"why-we-need-down-syndrome-awareness-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sheranmemories.com\/index.php\/2020\/10\/20\/why-we-need-down-syndrome-awareness-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Why We Need Down Syndrome Awareness Month"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

October is\u00a0Down Syndrome Awareness month<\/a>. When did you first become aware of people with Down syndrome?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I was a girl, many people with Down syndrome were still living in institutions. In fact, right up the road from my house, at what is now a large city park, was the\u00a0Georgia Retardation Center<\/a>\u00a0which housed patients with physical and mental disabilities for some 30 years before being closed in 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Awareness Awakening<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first time I recall meeting someone with Down syndrome<\/a> was when I was in 6th or 7th grade. We were on a family trip to Louisiana to visit my uncle and his wife. While we were there, we attended a wedding. There was a young woman with Down syndrome at the wedding dancing and having fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my professional public relations career, I had several clients serving individuals with developmental disabilities. At a client event, I met several individuals with Down syndrome. Afterwards, I remember thinking I wouldn\u2019t mind having a child with Down syndrome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, from my lips to God\u2019s ears. A few years later, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Seven days later,\u00a0I learned he had Down syndrome<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, I discovered a whole community of people living and thriving with Down syndrome. I find it very sad that I didn\u2019t know much about this special population until I became part of that community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Need for Down Syndrome Awareness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is amazing that the world at large still doesn\u2019t know much about people with Down syndrome.\u00a0It is disheartening that OB\/GYNs still provide outdated descriptions of what to expect when having a child with an extra chromosome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s disgusting that more than\u00a075 percent of pre-term diagnoses for Down syndrome end up in abortion.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is incredulous that we are still advocating for equal protection to life, inclusion, and even being an organ recipient.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are just beginning to discover how people with Down syndrome learn and how to best maximize their skills so they can live independent lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why we need a Down syndrome awareness month \u2013 so the world could understand what gifts these people are to the world and give them equal opportunity and respect. Because their lives matter too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

we need a Down syndrome awareness month \u2013 so the world could understand what gifts these people are to the world and give them equal opportunity and respect. 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