Welcome to this edition of the Down Syndrome Support Newsletter!

Hope everyone is enjoying the start of the Holiday Season! I would like to invite everyone to join us on December 14 for the DS Support Holiday Party. See below for details.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season,
Jennifer
aka 'Brandon's Mom'

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

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Holiday Party
December 14, 4-6pm
Plainfield McDonalds (Renwick and Route 59)

Transition Workshop
Thursday, December 4, 2003
Marycrest Early Childhood Center
303 Purdue Court, Joliet
6-8 pm
Workshop is being offered to all parents with children who will turn three years old within the next 12 months. At this workshop, Early Childhood/Special education Coordinators from nearly all school districts serving Will County will be available to explain how the transition from Early Intervention to Early Childhood programs work in your school district, answer questions you might have, and offer you a chance to "get acquainted" with your school personnel. Please call 815-730-2617 if you plan on attending. If you reach voice mail please leave your name and your child's name, as well as your address and phone number. If your district's school personnel are not able to attend for some reason, you will be notified.

Possibilities
Wednesday, December 10–13, 2003
Chicago Hilton and Towers
The TASH conference is the largest and most progressive international conference that focuses on strategies for achieving full inclusion for people with disabilities for more information call 800-482-8274 or www.tash.org/2003conference

All of these calendar items 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.

"It is better to believe than to disbelieve; in so doing you bring everything to the realm of possibility."

Albert Einstein

GIGI's Playhouse

GiGi's Playhouse is a not for profit recreation center for children with Down syndrome and their families. At the Playhouse, the focus is on the unique gifts of each child, and promoting general community awareness regarding people affected by this syndrome. The goal is to allow each child to explore his or her individual talents while building self-confidence in a playful environment.

GiGI's Playhouse also offers programs for older children and adults with Down syndrome. These activities will include social programs as well as mentoring relationships between the older and younger children.

Their December Calendar of events can be found at:http://www.gigisplayhouse.com/december.php

GiGi's Playhouse
1069 West Golf Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60194
847-885-PLAY
gianni4567@aol.com
www.gigisplayhouse.com

Survey
Thank you to those who have already turned in their surveys. If you haven't sent in your's, please do so soon.

If you didn't receive a survey and would like to participate you can download the PDF here.

Thank you for your time!

In the News...

The Better Angels of Our Nature
By Michelle Malkin
CNSNews.com Commentary
November 26, 2003

You've seen the videos and heard the awful tales: High school football players beating or sexually assaulting younger teammates. Cheerleaders pelting new recruits with garbage and feces. Vulnerable students across the country humiliated by their heartless peers.

The caught-on-tape sensationalism of the recent hazing "epidemic" may make for titillating TV. But American high schoolers are getting a bad rap. For every teen-age act of barbarism broadcast over the past month on network and cable news, I have spotted countless acts of youthful compassion and humanity that get passed over by ratings-driven producers.

In Houston, the students of Cy-Fair High School appointed Shannon Jones their homecoming queen. Like many crown-wearers, she is a popular athlete and passionate football fan. The 19-year-old senior also happens to have Down syndrome. Houston Chronicle reporter Jeannie Kever told the story last week of how Shannon's sister Lindsey, also a Cy-Fair High School senior, rallied the student body to elect Shannon queen. It had been Shannon's longtime dream.

The victory, Kever wrote, was a testament to Shannon's "own personality, her sister's love and changing public attitudes" about students with mental retardation. "(W)hen Shannon was crowned homecoming queen on the 50-yard line at Pridgeon Stadium," Kever reported, "the crowd roared in approval and her parents blinked back tears."

In Tempe, Ariz., Poco Carton was elected homecoming king last month "in a landslide vote," according to the Arizona Republic's David Cieslak. The 22-year-old special-needs student with Down syndrome was known for his enthusiastic participation in the school choir and in dance classes.

Cieslak wrote that Poco captured the hearts of his fellow students "with his positive attitude and unwavering kindness." Classmates gave him a graduation send-off "complete with all the pomp and circumstance fit for royalty."

Reflecting on his school years and the future ahead, Poco said: "I'm going to follow my dreams. I say thank you to everybody. I'm just really happy."

In Albuquerque, N.M., the students of Eldorado High School chose Tim Harris as this year's homecoming king. A popular student who has Down syndrome, Tim is "a class favorite because of his easygoing personality," noted Albuquerque Tribune reporter Sue Vorenberg.

Tim's mother, Jeannie Harris, said classmates have staunchly supported him since grade school. "The school needs to be very proud," she said. "The acceptance and love these kids have for him, it's amazing."

In Canby, Oregon, 18-year-old student Janelle Bailey, who also has Down syndrome, was chosen as one of Canby High School's five senior homecoming princesses. The Oregonian's Tom Quinn reported last month that student leaders led a word-of-mouth campaign to elect Janelle to the court.

"Classmates say her election as princess recognizes Bailey's many contributions to the high school, notably her endlessly cheery attitude and sociability," Quinn wrote. Luke Sommer, Canby's student body president, lobbied for several years to get Bailey chosen as a princess. "Every girl wants to be on the court, and she's deserving...genuine, nice, caring."

Claire Gaeng, head of Canby's special-needs program, added: "Janelle is obviously a person with special needs, but this senior class is just a wonderful group of students. They are kind and considerate people who have always been friendly to her."

In Kirkland, Wash., 19-year-old Matt Louden went to the Juanita High School homecoming dance with not one date-but with eight. He's a jock who can bench-press 230 pounds, a lip-sync fanatic, and a special-needs student with Down syndrome whose indefatigable optimism has charmed students since grade school. Seattle Times reporter Cara Solomon wrote that Matt's mom tried to get him to play in the backyard as a toddler, convinced it would be safer.

But "(h)e insisted on the front yard, where the rest of the kids were playing. 'And he's been trying to teach me that ever since. It's like, 'Mom, life's not in the back yard. Life's in the front yard.' "

The high school stories of Shannon, Poco, Tim, Janelle, Matt and their caring classmates offer desperately needed uplift in a popular culture that wallows in degradation as infotainment.

Wouldn't it be nice if once, just once, TV programmers focused on the better angels of our nature instead of the bullies and beasts?

(Michelle Malkin is author of "Invasion: How America Still Welcomes Terrorists, Criminals, and Other Foreign Menaces to Our Shores.")

Copyright 2003, Creators Syndicate, Inc.