Welcome to this edition of the Down Syndrome Support Newsletter!

If you have a story, event, or happening email it to info@dssupport.net and we can include it in the next edition.

-------- CALENDAR --------

Special Olympic Benefit
May 15
Scotch Doubles Bowling
Town & Country Lanes, Joliet
Please contact Dwyane English for more information. kdgcop@comcast.net

NADS Annual Meeting
Friday, May 21
Lutheran General Hospital
Park Ridge, IL
www.nads.org

NDSS Conference
July 22–25, 2004
Washington, DC
www.ndss.org

NDSC Conference
August 20-22, 2004
Minneapolis, MN
www.ndsccenter.org

Calendar updates can be found at www.dssupport.net/local_happenings.html

Know of an event or other news? Email info@dssupport.net for inclusion in the next newsletter.

Coming Soon....
information about our July picnic

DVD for new parents
DS Support has purchased a copy of Down Syndrome the First 18 months If you would like to borrow the DVD please let me know at the next meeting. You will be expected to return the DVD within 2 weeks. This is a great resource for new parents.

The Family Resource Center on Disabilities is sponsoring a couple of FREE upcoming workshops:

Saturday, May 15, 2004
9 am - 3:30 p.m
Least Restrictive Environment: How to make it work for your child AND Assistive Technology: How it can help your child Featuring: Carol Clifford, LRE Clearinghouse Ruth Henning, Project CHOICES Cilla Sluga, Illinois Assistive
Technology Project
Egan Center, DePaul University
243 S. Wabash Ave; Chicago

Saturday, June 12, 2004
9 a.m. - 3:30 pm
What Parents and Professionals Need to Know About Autism Featuring: The Illinois Autism/PDD Training and Technical Assistance Project, Roosevelt University; 430 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

For more information or to register, contact FRCD. At www.frcd.org - you can download the registration form and learn
more.

Family Resource Center on Disabilities
20 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 300
Chicago, IL 60604
312-939-3513 (voice)
312-939-3519 (TDD)
312-939-7297 (fax)

Did you know...
That our group has a message board.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/ds_support/start

Disabled kids sparkle on Miracle Field diamond
By Jessica Young Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted 5/2/2004

Mary Lou Miller and her 13-year-old daughter, Mallory, who has Down syndrome and autism, sat on the bleachers of a baseball field Saturday eating peanuts and trying to stay warm under a flannel blanket.

They weren't watching just another Little League game.

The Millers were supporting the opening of Roselle's Miracle Field, a $350,000 baseball field for physically and mentally disabled kids. The field has a weather-resistant, rubberized surface that is leveled to accommodate players in wheelchairs. Kids who have limited mobility participate in the game with the assistance of helpers who throw, catch and push wheelchairs around the bases.
"We're going to try to get involved in this one," Mary Lou Miller said. "I was thrilled when I heard about the project. It's a wonderful opportunity for these kids to be active."
She looked at her daughter and asked, "Mallory, what do we say? Go...?"

"Go Cubbies!" Mallory finished, smiling.

"Oh, I guess we should keep that down since we've got Sox fans here," Mary Lou Miller said, laughing.
Former White Sox players Moose Skowron and Minnie Minoso attended the field's dedication. Christine O'Reilly of Chicago White Sox Charities, which donated $150,000 for the field, said the players were proud to have been invited to such an important event.

"Minnie and Moose are just here to acknowledge their fellow athletes," she said. "These kids are just phenomenal."

Brad Pawelkiewicz, an 11-year-old Miracle Field player, crammed popcorn into his mouth while talking excitedly about meeting Skowron and Minoso: "I didn't really care what the autograph said. I just wanted one."

Brad, who was wearing a Sox uniform for the game, said he was "amazed" when he found out about the field.

"It was cool," he said. "I go to the exact same school and take the exact same classes as everyone else, so I should be able to play the exact same sports even though I'm in a wheelchair."
Debbie Kelly, who was with her two sons, said she couldn't agree more.

"It's nice for them to be part of something where they can feel equal to other kids," she said, juggling 10-year-old Alex's wheelchair footrests while he relished being in the dugout before the big game.
"I've never played on a baseball field before and I never thought I would," Alex said.
Mayor Gayle Smolinski thanked the people of Roselle in her dedication speech: "Mayors of other communities may have the biggest mall, the biggest houses, the biggest industrial park. But I'm the mayor of the community with the biggest heart."

The effort to build the Miracle Field was spearheaded by the Bloomingdale-Roselle Rotary Club.
"The efforts and support of the community in this project have been impressive," said Rob Burns, club president at the time of the initial field proposal. "It's a touch of class, really, and beyond what we expected."