First, I owe you this disclaimer: I don’t know much about fashion. I’m more the Andy than the Emily from The Devil Wears Prada, and most of my socks are from CVS. But over the past 8 years I have been immersed in disability, and what I will say with great confidence is that the world is becoming more accessible one strip of Velcro at a time.
I’m not going to justify the life of a person with Down syndrome, explaining chromosomes and how they give back to the community, and I promise to never ask you to explain or defend your child’s existence either. All I’m going to ask is for you to consider the possibility that raising a child with a disability is mostly about simply raising a child.
There is no greater gift you can give this World Down Syndrome Day than to consider whether you have room to shift your perspective on what makes a person valuable and what you or your family can do with this privilege.
In the spirit of virtual advocacy, this year we accepted the new NDSS 32.1-mile challenge, which kicks off tomorrow and runs for three weeks. Matt will be rowing his way to 32.1 miles and I’ll be on our Peloton bike, riding under the #Racingfor321 tag. (If you’re on Peloton, please join us!!!)
At Her Own Pace 