A Problem with “The Down syndrome” Narrative

In the Down syndrome (Ds) community, there are those who oppose awareness campaigns citing the “disability porn” problem. The basic argument being that people with Ds are not always happy, cute, “angels” and they should not be used as instruments of inspiration. I agree – to a point. I fully support the right of anyone […]

Confessions of a confused special needs parent

When a child has “special needs” he/she is not the only one who gets a label. Suddenly, the parents are “special” too. You’re expected to be so many things: teacher, therapist, advocate… the list goes on and changes from day to day. “Special needs parent” can be a heavy identifier. One of the good things […]

Race and Disability – An issue that needs more awareness #DSAM2014

According to a study published in 2002, the life expectancy for white people who have Down syndrome is at least twice that for people of color who have Down syndrome. Differences among racial groups in general, and the heart defects typically associated with Down syndrome do not account for the extremely large gap that this […]

Dreams, big, small, & gargantuan

Every now and then, I get the urge (and the time) to dream. Sometimes it’s a small dream, like, “wouldn’t it be nice to have a huge chocolate sundae?” Sometimes it’s a little bigger and involves finding just the right job or place to live. Every now and then I allow myself the luxury […]

Josh Goes to University – and The World Down Syndrome Congress in Vancouver

From the archive. While in Canada, we had the unique opportunity to have Josh included in a typical university course on “Disability and Society.” The majority of the students were education majors. The professor and I created an emancipatory research approach – which means Josh was aware of the project and included in the decision […]