“Be Kind.” It is a simple message, but it truly does encompass Ryan Hack. At 19 years old, Ryan is a senior at East Duncan High School in London, Ontario. In many ways he’s an average teenager. He likes to play on his iPad, walk his dog Beethoven and hang out with friends. But Ryan
The CBC radio program Tapestry recently aired a short segment featuring American journalist Amy Silverman on raising her daughter Sophie, who has Down syndrome. Listen to the full segment here. Do you have a story to share? About your family? Yourself? An LDSA program or event that you attended? Contact Kristen and we could share your
Hi there I was born in St. Catharines, diagnosed with Down Syndrome and my life got started! We moved to London when I was 6 and we homeschooled for lots of years. When I finished high school, I attended Fanshawe College for 3 years, and then decided it was time to work. I looked for
To start, I’d like to let you all in on a nice little poem, it’s called “Welcome to Holland” by Emily Perl Kingsley. Basically she wrote it in the ‘80s on her experience with having a child with special needs. When I first read this little poem, I couldn’t get through it. I sat there
On Aug 16, 2011 our daughter Sienna was born. Although we had some hints and scares during the pregnancy, we thought most of them had cleared. After Sienna's birth I just wanted them to turn her over so I could see her face and be reassured that all would be well. Due to my husband's
We are the Resendes family and our son Noah, has Down syndrome and just turned 4. When I was pregnant with Noah, I had an IPS ultrasound and I received a phone call from the OB/GYN office to come in for a consult. The next week I had met with my OB/GYN and he confirmed
