The Road We’ve Shared has launched a new project. New online courses for adults who have Down syndrome are designed to support socialization and learning in adulthood.
Two online courses are set to begin October 1st in coordination with the beginning of National Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Stephanie Holland, founder of The Road We’ve Shared (The online community for parents and caregivers of adults with Down syndrome), and “The Road” Scholars online learning modules, has created courses that she believes will appeal to a large audience of adults with Down syndrome. She bases this on her own experience.Continue reading Life After High School – New Online Courses for Adults with Down Syndrome→
Today we’re talking about one of our “Awareness Partners” at The Mall – the great new(ish) book by Jen Jacobs and Mardra Sikora – The Parent’s Guide to Down Syndrome.
Today’s film is a difficult watch. It touches on an aspect of our past and present that we don’t talk about much – what happens when elderly parent caregivers get sick and there is no plan in place for their adult children.
In our final look behind the scenes of Down syndrome in media we’re going to acknowledge some of the people who work hard to make sure that people with disabilities are represented fairly and accurately in all aspects of media.
When Born This Way aired on the A&E Network, it prompted mixed emotions from the Down syndrome parent community. Strong emotions. I pondered long and hard about why those emotions came to the surface, and how we could help bridge the gap between parents who loved the series for the awareness it provided and those who experienced a level of grief because of what they saw. The “Born This Way – Building Support Systems Track” is a result of that search.
Part of being a parent is learning what you need to know in order to support your children. When something like Down syndrome is involved there’s much more to learn. Access to information can be very different from family to family based on a multitude of reasons. The 321 eConference levels the playing field a bit by providing access to experts at reasonable prices.
There is no shortage of opportunities for us to help create change in our world today. We all have our reasons for why we choose to support (or not) a particular issue. When it comes to advocacy, we are usually motivated by causes we identify with. If we can picture ourselves or our loved ones being affected by a certain problem, we’re more likely to invest our own time and energy to fix it. What about the issues that we don’t allow ourselves to connect with? Who fights to fix the problems most of us just don’t want to acknowledge?
A tragic story is being shared on social media today. It involves yet another parent who decided to take the life of their child with special needs. In this case, a beautiful 19-year-old young woman was murdered by her own mother. It is being reported that the mother “felt that she was the only one who could take care of” her. While, if we’re honest, many of us have felt this way at some point, it doesn’t excuse such a horrific crime. We may not be able to prevent such events from happening, but for those of us who wish that we could do something, I suggest we make more of an effort to help parents get the resources they need to plan for the future.
Living, Learning & Leading for a Global Impact on the Down Syndrome community.
Sessions on Adult Issues
We are so excited for the 321 eConference this year! Starting on World Down Syndrome Day ( #WDSD15 ), there will be three days of learning, sharing, and advocacy !
We here on The Road are super excited because this conference has a diverse line-up of sessions geared toward parents and caregivers of adults who have Down syndrome! So far, we have 14 different sessions that focus on adult issues, including a keynote address from Patti Saylor on the progress that has been made by #JusticeForEthan.
This is just the beginning of a new source of information that will address our needs through virtual education with 321eLearning. If you have ideas for sessions you would like to see – even after the conference – feel free to email me!
March 21, 22 & 23
