This Mom Aims to Fix a Big Problem with Back-to-School Advertisements

As they say in the advertising world, “Image is everything.” If that’s the case, where does that leave the disabled?
Katie Driscoll, an Illinois mom and photographer, noticed something missing from back-to-school ads. Even though children of different races and gender were featured, there were never any children who look like her four-year-old daughter, Grace, who has Down syndrome.
That’s when Driscoll, the owner of 5 Boys + 1 Girl = 6 Photography, decided to start her own photo project to feature kids of all stripes, including those who are disabled.
As Driscoll told Buzzfeed, “How can we expect children to be accepting of children who are different if they are virtually [nonexistent] in the general media and advertising?”
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“I put a casting call out and got together a group of children that I thought would represent all children returning to school,” Driscoll told ABC News. “Obviously, you can’t include every diagnosis but I wanted people to see differences because it’s important.”
She held a photoshoot in a Chicago bookstore, and said her models really enjoyed interacting with each other. You can check out their fun photo session in the video below.
Driscoll has also started the organization Changing the Face of Beauty, which encourages advertisers to feature those with disabilities in promotions. Based upon the number of people talking about her bookstore photo shoot, we fully expect Driscoll will find success in this venture as well.
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The Heartwarming Reason Why This Teen Refused to Walk at His Graduation

High school graduation is one of the most important milestones in a teenager’s life, but Austin Coppola was ready to give it all up for his twin brother, Ty.
As the Huffington Post reports, the 17-year-old graduating senior refused to walk at his commencement from Fairport High School in New York unless his brother (who has Down syndrome and did not attend the school) could receive his diploma with him.
“He’s been with me throughout every memorable moment I can think of,” Austin, who was born at the exact same time as Ty, says in the video below. In other words, since they’ve always stuck together, Austin didn’t want to leave his brother behind.
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The twins’ mom, Cheryl, recalled the touching moment when Austin insisted that Ty also deserved to don a cap and gown. “‘Mom, Ty has worked harder than me, he’s endured more challenges,'” she shared with WHAM-TV. “‘Yeah, I’ve earned it, I worked hard for my degree, but he’s worked hard in a different way.'”
The proud mom, who always wished to see her sons graduate, decided to make the arrangements, WHAM-TV reports. Fairport High School was happy to add Ty’s name to the list for the big day. And when Cheryl called Josten’s for Ty’s cap and gown, they were so touched by the brothers’ story that the company decided to donate the traditional graduation clothing free of charge.
On the day of the ceremony, the brothers indeed walked down the big stage together. The crowd went wild with applause and also gave them a standing ovation.
Austin tweeted, “That standing ovation for Ty brought me to tears. The FHS class ’14 will always hold a place in my heart. I hope to see all of you again !!”
The selfless young man will attend Nazareth College in Rochester, New York —  just minutes from his home — to study physical therapy so he can help others with disabilities.
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Meet the Proud Mother Who Takes On a Cyberbully With Harsh Words but Forgiveness, Too

For all the wonderful things the Internet gives us — global communication, information at our fingertips, the opportunity to spread awareness — there’s also an awful flip side to the technology. And that’s the people who use the web to deliberately attack one another with a few simple (often, anonymous) keystrokes.
Unfortunately, Megan Davies Mennes, a mother of a one-year-old son with Down Syndrome, knows this all too well.
After the English teacher and blogger posted an Instagram photo of her son Quinn (who had just recovered from a week-long bout of illness) with the hashtag #downsyndrome, an anonymous commenter named @JusesCrustHD wrote, “Ugly.”
But Mennes didn’t let this cyber bully have the last word, writing a powerful open letter that was recently picked up by the Huffington Post. In her correspondence, she calls out the user for purposely seeking out the hashtag to make derogatory comments behind the anonymity of a screen name.
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The whole letter is definitely worth the read, but here is where she hits the nail on the head as to why Internet trolls aren’t worth anyone’s time or emotional distress: “I recognize that you want to see me get worked up about your little ‘joke.’ I’ll be honest; it’s hard not to be angry about it, but I can’t allow myself to carry that weight on my shoulders. I can’t allow myself to feel anything but sorry for an individual with so little tact. Because in end, you will be the one to face the consequences of your choices someday. There are few people in this world who tolerate that kind of backwards thinking, and you’ll eventually mouth off to the wrong person. My guess is that you already have, which is why you hide behind a screen name.”
She continues, “God knows there were plenty of cruel adolescent boys in my time: boys who took pleasure in pranks and jokes at others’ expense. There were even a few of them that were directed at me, but it gave me tough skin and I grew from the experience of facing such mistreatment. Maybe that’s why I’m willing to let this one go; I know where most of those boys ended up, and it’s nowhere I’d want to be. And as a teacher, I’ve seen kids like you crash and burn. Go outside. Read a book. Compliment someone. Most importantly, enlighten yourself; there’s already enough cruelty in this world, and anyone worth their salt should be striving to make this place better, not worse.”
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In the end, Mennes takes the high road and wishes the user the best: “I simply hope my own children learn to look past ignorant comments and actions and treat others with respect and dignity. We all deserve it, even you.”

The Heartwarming Reason That This Student’s College Acceptance Letter Is So Meaningful

When Noah VanVooren was born with Down syndrome 18 years ago, doctors had a grim forecast for him—and one that didn’t include higher education. But nearly two decades later, VanVooren is defying the odds as he prepares to assume the role of a very happy freshman this fall at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin.
In the most heartwarming video you’ll watch all day, the high school senior opens his college acceptance letter in front of his family at his Little Chute, Wisc. home. His reaction? Pure joy. At one point he gets so excited he takes off his sweater and flexes his muscles in front of the camera.
Noah will be attending the college’s Cutting Edge Program, which is designed for students with intellectual developmental disabilities.
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The young man’s already had quite the banner year. You might remember a story from October when Noah, Little Chute’s varsity football team’s waterboy, got to suit up and score a touchdown for his school. The much-loved student was met with cheers from the crowd, and no one was more proud than his parents.
“He was born 18 years ago and the doctors told us that he would never be able to walk, talk, or do anything,” Noah’s father, Todd, says in the video below. “And then to see him 18 years to do this is amazing.” We couldn’t agree more.
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How an ID Card and Training Program Can Help Officers Better Communicate With Disabled Citizens

A few years ago, Arapahoe County Sheriff Deputy Brian McKnight was called to a local school, where a student with Down syndrome had become violent. “I had no idea what I was dealing with, and I felt very frustrated,” he told 9News Denver. Now as a crime prevention specialist for his department, McKnight has partnered with Mac Macsovits, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Association, to make sure that law enforcement officers will be better prepared than he was to handle situations with people who have developmental disabilities.
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In a recent training seminar at the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, Macsovits talked to deputies about how to recognize people with Down syndrome and other disorders, as well as how to communicate efficiently with citizens with developmental disabilities during law enforcement investigations and emergency situations. “People with Down syndrome process information a little bit differently, sometimes a little bit slower,” he said. But the officers aren’t the only ones receiving training. As part of the program, the Sheriff’s Department is launching a voluntary identification program, where people with intellectual and developmental disabilities can receive an ID card with information on his or her disability, plus emergency contact information for caregivers and family members. Macsovits will work with his organization to train disabled citizens to hand this card to officers if they are in stressful situations. They’ll also train these citizens on personal safety, situational awareness and communicating with officers in emergency situations. “The ID card program is going to be pivotal to the success of this training,” Macsovits said. “That would help alleviate a lot of these interactions that can escalate unnecessarily.”
Such was the case of Ethan Saylor, a 26-year-old with Down syndrome who died in January 2013 after a confrontation with police at a Maryland movie theater turned violent. For Macsovits and McKnight, this was a tragedy that could have been avoided, and, through better training, they say it will be. “[This program] gives [officers] more tools to handle the situation and make sure the outcome is what we’re looking for,” McKnight said. “The ability to handle the situation with information and knowledge that I did not have.”
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Giving Special Needs Kids a Chance, Not Charity

Isaiah Pridgen, a second-grader from Northeast Washington, D.C., has chubby cheeks and an inquisitive approach to all conversations. On a cloudless afternoon last fall, he waited excitedly in line at Simple Changes Therapeutic Riding Center in Northern Virginia for his turn to mount a horse. It wasn’t his first time — to hear him tell it, as he constantly pushes his thick-framed, black sports glasses back up his nose, he’s practically an old ranch hand.
Isaiah was one of many children at the Lorton, Va., center that day participating in an “Extreme Recess” event hosted by Dreams for Kids DC. The nonprofit, whose original Chicago chapter was founded by lawyer Tom Tuohy in 1989, organizes adaptive sports events — like horseback riding, golfing or water skiing — for low-income children and for those with developmental and physical disabilities. The program isn’t designed to make athletes out of the kids, but rather to give them an opportunity to interact with their peers and mentors in a safe social setting, without having to fear being stigmatized, excluded or isolated.
“A lot of participants don’t feel like they’re always able to connect with other people sometimes, whether it’s because they’re in different classes at school or how they’re raised,” says Glenda Fu, executive director of Dreams for Kids DC, and the organization’s only full-time staff member. “But it’s great to see kids who are more shy or antisocial bond with one of our volunteers and have smiles on their faces.”
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The nonprofit’s ultimate goal is to empower at-risk children, particularly those with disabilities like Down syndrome or multiple sclerosis, who often don’t have access to the same physical and social activities as other kids. Yet everyone has the same desire to make friends, participate in sports or other pastimes, and feel like they’re part of a group — experiences that are known to contribute to children’s overall health and well-being. Dreams for Kids DC’s events are largely centered on physical activities that are geared toward increasing children’s coordination and strength, fostering a sense of personal accomplishment and, most important, improving their self-esteem.
“One of the most universal things about sports is that regardless of whether you have special needs or not, you feel that thrill of being on the ice or throwing a football. I think that’s why these children love it,” says Fu.
It’s Isaiah’s turn to ride. Yogi, a large brown horse, trots to the mounting area and a pair of volunteers help the young boy into the saddle. With two volunteers by his side and his mother, Alysia, watching from beyond a wooden fence, Isaiah sits as Yogi moves forward. But a few paces in, Isaiah starts to panic: “Mom! Mom! I don’t want to ride him! I don’t want to!” he screams.
Yogi stops moving and remains calm. Alysia walks to her son and soothes him. The group soon starts moving again, slowly, and circles the pasture. Isaiah, appearing quite pleased, dismounts and runs to the back of the line. He looks up at his mom and asks, “Can I ride him again? Please?”
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Isaiah and his family have been attending Dreams for Kids DC’s Extreme Recess events for three years. Like many of the 1,200 families served annually by the nonprofit, Isaiah’s family lives in a low-income area of the city and Isaiah was diagnosed with autism at age 3.  Over the years, Isaiah has skated with the Washington Capitals, thrown passes with the Redskins and shot hoops with the Mystics. He’s learned how to make pizza and to downhill ski. Alysia, who works as a help-desk analyst, says none of this would have been possible for her son without the help of Dreams for Kids DC.
There are many organized athletic programs for children with disabilities, such as the Special Olympics, the American Association of Adapted Sports Programs and the Inclusive Fitness Coalition, which are becoming increasingly popular at schools and in neighborhoods across the country. Like Dreams for Kids, these programs aim to encourage friendship, fair play and physical fitness, but the difference is that they require a sustained commitment from participants. Dreams for Kids’ activities, by contrast, are discrete events — families can attend as many or as few as they are able. The program is also targeted to underserved neighborhoods, and it’s free.
For the kids who participate, a single event can be life-changing. When a girl with autism, who has trouble communicating, scores her first goal against D.C. United superstar Perry Kitchen, or a boy whose family lives on a tight budget learns how to glide across a lake on water skis, it can make a tremendous difference in their development. “At my first Extreme Recess, golfing, there was a boy who needed a walker. When he got to the tee, he pushed [the walker] away and stood there by himself, golfing away,” says volunteer Heather Murfitt, a senior at Cazenovia College in upstate New York, who interned with Dreams for Kids DC in 2011. “Watching that was one of the most awesome things I’ve ever seen.”
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Since then, Murfitt, who is also a multimedia artist, has donated half of the proceeds from her art shows to the organization.
The horseback riding event at Simple Changes — which also treated the 40 kids in attendance to face painting, pony painting, a tour of a fire truck and plenty of pizza — was one of 16 Extreme Recesses held by Dreams for Kids DC in 2013. “Not everything out there is geared toward a child who’s unable to do something everyone else can do,” says Tracey Murphy, whose 10-year-old daughter rode a white pony name Dixie twice that day. “This is just wonderful.”
A volunteer, Lia Winnard, 17, kept a watchful eye on Dixie for most of the afternoon, guiding the majestic animal in circles while joyful youngsters mounted and dismounted, sometimes more than once. She knows firsthand what it’s like to grow up with a disability, having battled violent seizures since childhood as a result of mild cerebral palsy. After graduating from high school, Winnard plans to attend Longwood University in Farmville, Va., where she’ll study therapeutic recreation for the treatment of people with disabilities. “So many people have helped me all these years,” she says. “I just feel like I need to give back.”
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This Grandmother Is Helping People with Down Syndrome Gain Confidence

There’s nothing like good clothes to inspire self-confidence. Karen Bowersox has witnessed this first-hand. As the founder of Downs Designs, a burgeoning business that creates garments tailored specifically for individuals with Down syndrome, the 65-year-old has seen the transformative effect that a pair of well-fitting pants can have on her customers. And most importantly, she sees how these clothes have positively affected her 9-year-old granddaughter, Maggie, who was born with Down syndrome. “When [people with Down syndrome] are forced to wear clothes from everyday stores, the clothing makes them look different. All you see is the Down syndrome,” Bowersox told The Huffington Post. “When they wear our pants and they fit and they look and feel more comfortable, they can be confident in themselves. You don’t see the Down syndrome anymore.”
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In 2010, Bowersox’s daughter, Michelle, lamented to her about how difficult it was to find clothes that fit Maggie. Bowersox went online, searching for garments that were created specifically with people with Downs. She came up empty-handed. Even though Bowersox had no experience in clothes, she couldn’t get this new business idea out of her head. So she hired a young designer named Jillian Jankovsky, and together they started Downs Designs. The company now offers 18 styles of jeans for men, women, teens and children, as well as long- and short-sleeved shirts, shorts and capris. The products are available to order using the company’s special sizing method, which they’ve dubbed “Down Sizing”. They also offer a try-on service to ensure that the clothes fit perfectly, as well as custom hemming for jeans. But what really makes the company stand out is their superior service. Bowersox personally calls every customer to review their orders, and if the products aren’t perfect, they can be easily returned, no questions asked. For her, Downs Designs is more than a business. It’s a labor of love.
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