Ordinary Life With Down Syndrome
When it comes to Down syndrome, there are two extremes that get represented in our collective imagination most of the time. There’s the exceptional overcomer, and there’s the burden to…
Down Syndrome Awareness Month Book Giveaway
{GIVEAWAY CLOSED} Down Syndrome Awareness Month BOOK GIVEAWAY! Enter to win all 9 books, including all 4 of Heather Avis' books, my memoir, and favorite books from: Jillian Benfield, Misty…
S6 E3 | Down Syndrome and Belonging with Heather Avis
“You belong here, as you are, who you are. Come be in this place with us.” Down syndrome advocate and author Heather Avis joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about…
Down Syndrome Awareness Month Begins
October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month! It’s a month to celebrate the lives of people with Down syndrome. It’s a month to continue to advocate for the significance of people…
Down Syndrome Awareness Month: Awareness Would Be Enough
I used to think that “awareness” was too small a word for what we need in order to change the perceptions and reality for people with Down syndrome like our…
Down Syndrome Awareness Month: The Apple Doesn’t Fall From the Tree
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” That’s what my sister wrote to me after I showed her an email from Penny. Penny, unprompted, had sent me a Google…
Penny in Her Own Words: Down Syndrome, School, and Friends
My name is Penny and I have an extra chromosome because I have Down syndrome. In my daily life I wake up independently, make breakfast, and go to school. My…
Down Syndrome Awareness Month: A Few Things I Love
In honor of Down syndrome awareness month, I wanted to name a few things that I appreciate about our daughter Penny. One, that Penny moves through the world with less…
A Glimpse of Belonging at the Beginning of Down Syndrome Awareness Month
I dream of a world where everyone belongs. Last weekend, Penny was a bridesmaid in her old-babysitter-best-friend-for-life’s wedding, and I got a little glimpse of the joy of belonging. (Go…
Announcing Missing Out on Beautiful, Part Two
Download FREE E-Book Our daughter Penny was born on December 30, 2005. She was diagnosed with Down syndrome a few hours later. It’s almost hard to remember what it felt…
