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…
S3 E16 | Normie: What is Normal Through the Lens of Down Syndrome with Annemarie Carrigan and Kurt Neale
What is normal? Normie is a coming-of-age film about a young woman with Down syndrome. Today, Annemarie Carrigan, the lead cast member of Normie, and Kurt Neale, the director and…
My Daughter With Down Syndrome Helped Me Understand Racism
How did disability help me understand racism? I am white, married, educated, and affluent. Our daughter Penny was born into many of these same categories, and yet she was also…
