Unleashing the UPside of Down Syndrome
Please Note: The 2012 DownSide Up campaign has ended. Please return in Nov/Dec 2013 to help us celebrate the UPside of Down syndrome once again. In the meantime, to donate to the Down Syndrome Research Foundation, please visit https://www.dsrf.org/support-us/donations/. Thank you for empowering individuals with Down syndrome to reach their full potential.
When Edison was born after a traumatic labour and delivery that culminated in several weeks spent in the neonatal intensive care unit, he was diagnosed with Down syndrome: a genetic condition caused by an extra 21st chromosome, characterized by health problems, developmental delays and learning disabilities. Edison's diagnosis was compounded by seizures, sensory integration problems and anxiety, leading doctors to warn his parents, Lisa and David, that their son may never walk or talk.
But with help from the Down Syndrome Research Foundation, Edison's world has been turned DownSide Up.
At DSRF, Edison and his family have found the support they needed to unleash his full potential. Now 7-years-old, Edison has far surpassed the early suggestions that he may never walk or talk. Though his speech delay necessitated sign language initially, he now talks like a chatterbox. He attends school, takes piano lessons, plays soccer in an integrated league and reads at a Grade 1 level.
As Edison has progressed through DSRF's speech therapy program, Lisa has come to appreciate the Foundation's ability to look at each child as unique, and find the tools that will work best with an individual. "They're so willing to try new things, and they find things that work. I know that everyone at DSRF sees Edison for the amazing child that he is, not the label that he has, and they really want to help him and help us realize his potential."
Every day, stories like Edison's are written at DSRF. People with Down syndrome have tremendous upside, and through our innovative marriage of research and customized educational programming, that potential is unleashed.
Thank you for helping us turn their world DownSide Up. More than $22,000 was generously given throughout the month of December, ensuring that we will have many more happy stories to tell in 2013. Please continue to give anytime through our website, and thank you again for standing together, hand in hand with those walking the lifetime journey of Down syndrome.
