"How do bicycle skills affect independence of children with disabilities?" 

This was the title of an article that prompted us to feature this week's look at two organisations that support children with disability in learning the art of bike riding. Teaching children to ride a bicycle independently increases their balance control, self-confidence, and self-esteem and is a rite-of-passage for ...

Down Syndrome Centre collection boxes are installed in shops, petrol stations and pharmacies throughout Dublin and other bordering counties. We are fortunate to have a dedicated volunteer who collects and replaces boxes in these outlets on a regular basis and will always have ID and leave a DSC branded receipt behind when removing a full box. And of course, we ...

Further to one of our  recent post made here in relation to news of the non-invasive prenatal screening test under development by Sequenom inthe US, we are posting a copy of a position  statement issued by the NDSS (National Down Syndrome Society). We note that the Sequenom share price continues to rise with latest reports of a 67.7% increase ...

The Prodis Down Syndrome Foundation - a Spanish organsiation - engaged ad agency Vitruvio to create pro-bono ads that would communicate the ability of people with Down syndrome. In an effort to understand the extent of what was posible, the agency liaised with a focus group to get their opinion on what they would like to see in the ads. What resulted ...

Listening to the reports of impending famine in Ethiopia yesterday, the broadcaster reported that 'families were now having to make choices about which of their children they feed'. What an inconceivable choice to have to make.

Thinking of the horror of it,  we wondered what conditions are like for children with Ds born on the African continent.
In our weekly ...

"My mother once said that having a disabled child taught her who her friends were. As we grew up, Jonny and I made much the same discovery. We were always bringing mates home, but were fiercely proud and protective of David. If they shied away from him, we didn’t ask them back. He was a brilliant litmus for judging ...

When we were researching examples / models of existing Down syndrome centres worldwide, the Pathfinder Village, situated in Edmeston, New York caught our attention. Pathfinder Village, established in 1980, is a private, non-profit, residential community for people with Down syndrome (from age 5 onwards) which lies on the most idyllic piece of New England real estate.

It would be difficult to ...

For the past year we have been working on plans to instigate our first service, the employment of a Down syndrome paediatric nurse who would be be on call to Dublin's four maternity hospitals and whose role would be to offer advice, support and information to parents of newly born children with Down syndrome while in hospital and later ...

Reports from the internet this week bring news of a new non-invasive prenatal screening test for Down syndrome which we are sure will prove to be very controversial and will raise many questions and issues should it's recent successes lead to an eventual product launch. 

On Wednesday last (04.06.08) , Sequenom, a San-Diego based company which provides genetic-analysis ...

The first Down Syndrome Centre Christmas Charity lunch takes place in the junior ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel on Wednesday 17th December.

Called Laughternoon, we aim to create a relaxed, informal yet fun atmosphere in which guests can catch up with one another - as is usual at this time of year - while still managing to raise funds for Down ...

So many organisations worldwide are working to create opportunity for people with Down syndrome and we thought we'd take a weekly look at some of those whose work has caught our attention.

Gigi's Playhouse is a not for profit Down syndrome awareness center based in Illinois, USA with four centres located in the state. The center was started ...