Times Square Video

Three months ago I posted about Wade appearing in a video that was shown in Times Square to kick off Down Syndrome Awareness month.


It is now available to view online. Go here and see if you can spot Wade.

Bernadette Resha (and husband)

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At the Conference we attended we were privileged to meet Bernadette Resha & her husband, Josh Putman. They both have Down Syndrome and were celebrating their 1st wedding anniversary..




Their story is interesting and can be found in this article that appeared in the Tennessean.


Bernadette is an accomplished painter and had some of her portfolio available for purchase at the convention.


In addition to being an artist, she is also a violinist, model, public spokesperson, and has appeared on television and in film. In 1994 she was Special Olympic's Athlete of the year both locally and for the State of Tennessee. The Easter Seal Society made Bernadette its 2000 Adult Representative and the same year she started a career as an artist.

Down Syndrome Conference

Last weekend Karen & I attended the "2008 Regional Conference on Down Syndrome and other Disabilities" in Atlanta. Many thanks to the Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta for planning & hosting this event. Thanks also to grandparents and my sister, Karen, for taking care of our 3 boys to make it possible for us to go.

We had a great time and got to sit in on a lot of interesting and educational presentations & workshops.

The first day there were several presentations by Dr. Brian G Skotko, co-author of Common Threads.

Dr. Skotko has a sister with Down Syndrome. He is a resident physician at Children's Hospital Boston and Boston Medical Center. He has dedicated his professional energies toward children with cognitive and development disabilities.

Coincidentally, about a week before this conference we received some survey forms in the mail from Dr. Skotko asking us to participate in a research study he is conducting on Down Syndrome families. He is especially interested in how it affects other siblings in the family. Randall even got to fill out his own survey.

“What the Other Children Are Thinking” is a research paper Dr. Skotko co-wrote that appeared in the American Journal of Medical Genetics.
In the coming days I will try to do some more posts telling of some of the other people we got to meet.

Pardon the Accent

"T-a-g, tag," said Christopher.

Then the light of recognition dawned.

"Oh, just like tag-er!" he said.

SEE WADE WORK

What is Wade doing now? Well, take a look.
Physical Therapy

• Climbing…climbing…climbing!
• Kicking a ball (which requires him to balance on one leg)
• Squatting to play (he has finally accomplished this very well)
• Walking up an incline
• Learning to jump
• Playing throw and catch
• Riding a scooter

Occupational Therapy

• Building block towers
• Poking pegs in holes and putting shapes on the pegs
• Using shape sorters (he loves doing this!)
• Learning to spoon feed himself
• Using a crayon to make vertical strokes
• Squeezing play dough

Speech Therapy

• Having lots and lots of story times
• Using flash cards for signing and making sounds
• Watching signing videos
• Having someone help him with Starfall on the computer
• Singing many songs with actions

He is certainly lagging the most in speech at this point. He had said some words earlier and then quit saying them. Now he's back to saying, "Mom" again and "Bye" and "Up". He waves his arms and tells us long stories which must be very funny because he has to stop and laugh every so often.

MOMENT OF FAME

****NEWS FLASH****

WADE IN TIMES SQUARE
Wade's photo will appear in lights on Broadway on Sunday, September 28 as part of the National Down Syndrome Society's video production to demonstrate that people with Down syndrome can be successfully included in community activities, education and employment.
His photo was selected from 2,500 entries in the NDSS nationwide call for photos. Approximately 200 photographs will appear in a video production to be shown on the larger-than-life plasma screen, located in the heart of Times Square. The 30x40 foot landmark full motion video screen is seen by 1.5 million people daily.
The show will air at 10:30 a.m. and will be repeated at 10:50 a.m.
The video production, coordinated by NDSS, illustrates children, teens and adults with Down syndrome working, playing and learning with friends and family.
The Times Square video production kicks off National Down Syndrome Awareness Month, which includes the 2008 Buddy Walk™. This year, Walks will be held in more than 275 cities across the country, as well as many international walks. John C. McGinley, who plays Dr. Perry Cox in the hit show "Scrubs," is the 2008 National Buddy Walk™ Spokesman. Mr. McGinley is both an accomplished actor and the proud father of Max, his ten-year-old son who has Down syndrome. The New York City Buddy Walk™ will be led by Mr. McGinley and NDSS Goodwill Ambassador Chris Burke,
star of the long-running series, "Life Goes On." For information about National Down Syndrome Awareness Month or the NDSS Buddy Walk™, visit www.NDSS.org

(This is not the photo that will be shown in the video)

Haircuts & Kisses

Kiss Chris? Sure!
Kiss Randall? I don't think so!
Kiss Mom? Anytime!!

The Climber

These pics are a couple of months old. I'll try to post some more recent ones soon.

Flowers by Randall

(Dis)assembled by Wade

Restated

Monday:

Christopher: Dad, may we play on the computer?

Dad: No.

Tuesday:

Christopher: Dad, may we play on the computer?

Dad: NO! Quit asking me that!

Wednesday:

Christopher: Dad, without me asking, you tell Randall that we can play on the computer.

 

As we are riding in the minivan, Christopher complains, "Turn the music louder!"

"No, Christopher, it's already loud enough," I answer (with great restraint, considering that I have only one nerve left).

After a long silence in the back seat, I hear Christopher sigh to himself, "I wish my ears would open up so I could hear this music better!"

    ---The Lady

Upside of Downs Spring Carnival

This afternoon we attended a spring carnival that our local support group "The Upside of Downs" put on. We enjoyed meeting families that we have met before as well as some new families. The kids had a great time playing together.

These were two guys from the local YMCA who gave a little presentation on a program that they participate in at the "Y" working with kids with disabilies. They have been playing basketball and trying to get into the Paralympics.

Wade got to meet "Ladybug the Clown"

Mischief & More

Somebody left the bathroom door open!

Too sick to go to school

3 bugs in a rug

Since we don't let Wade have our phone, he has to make do with the remote

Sleeping to Happy in 3 seconds

In our house it's counted a privilege to see who gets to wake Wade up. He almost always wakes up quickly and gives a big smile to the first person he sees. He can go from sound asleep to wide awake faster than anyone I know.

Sound asleep in the sitting / fallen over position

Rising up, eyes still shut

Sitting up, so happy to see you. Total Elapsed Time: 3 seconds

Photo Update

Best Friends

"Look Mom. . . I cleaned under the sink!"

Mama's lil helper

With Darcy the Speech Therapist