This week we heard from Nicki, mum to 13 year old James, who has Down syndrome. They were just back from a skiing holiday in Austria - where all the family had the time of their lives!  Nicki was telling us about a new ski centre, Skiing 4 All, that was set up by Anna Wegner, a British Psychologist and an ... Continue reading

We came across a wonderful multi-sensory garden in Strawhill, County Carlow which is part of the Delta Centre which provides training, residential, respite, day and multisensory services to adults with learning disabilities.

One of the Delta Centre's most recent projects has been the construction and development of a series of inter-connecting gardens offering a multisensory experience to visitors. Over ...

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A couple of stories caught my attention this past week, that made me stop and think about the different reactions around the world that a diagnosis of Down syndrome can generate.

An article in last week’s Moscow Times (25.08.09) reveals that a diagnosis of Down syndrome is “nearly a social curse” and “about 85 percent of families ...

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Noting the recent controversy concerning the Ben Stiller movie, "Tropics of Thunder", which features a scene where the characters use the word "retarded" over and over again, it is refreshing to come across an institute that works with children with many different syndromes yet refers to all these children with only one simple two-syllable term, "brain-injured".

Glen Doman established the ...

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Back in 2006, a video captured on a mobile phone, showing schoolboys in a Turin classroom making fun of a teenage boy with Down syndrome appeared on Google Video Italia. It appeared for a few hours only before Google administrators were alerted and took it down but the ensuing complaints by Vividown - an Italian Down syndrome advocacy group - and the ...

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Just across the border in Northern Ireland, the work of the organsition Positive Futures is the feature of this week's World View. Positive Futures is a charity set up in 1995 to support people with intellectual disabilites and those who care for them.

One of their programmes is the Adult Placement service. This service asks volunteers to open their ...

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Dan Drinker's Video Diary 

Our world view of Down syndrome brings us back to the US again this week for a look at a video blog created by the brother of a young man with Down syndrome called Dan Drinker.

On reflection, much of what is written or on the web relating to people with Down syndrome is authored ...

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This week's View focuses on the work of Sprout, a NYC-based non-profit organization, dedicated to bringing innovative programming to people with developmental disabilities. Sprout has been making videos related to the field of developmental disabilities filmed by and featuring people with intellectual disability since 1995. 

In 2003 they launched the Sprout Film Festival showcasing films which reinforce accurate portrayals ...

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"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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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