Palin comes to Noblesville Indiana ....

or Nobletucky Indiana as we proudly call it. It was interesting to say the least. I am a mom of a child with Down syndrome, registered Republican, work for a Republican Attorney General, vote Republican, but this year will be voting for GREG ZOELLER for Attorney General, and Barack Obama for President. Palin comes to our town, Noblesville, so we got tickets (through the regular channels although I tried to pull the State employee GOP ticket as well as the Ds card to get VIP's to no avail!) and headed out after Big Dawg got home about 4:30. The gates opened at 1 pm, and 24 thousand were coming, lines were starting at noon, and traffic was backed up for 2 hrs it was reported, but we took back roads (sorry honey for thinking we were in some Ohio county ... lost) and got there about 5:20 pm. Palin was scheduled to speak at 5:30. I packed picnic snacks thinking we would just hang and see if we could catch a glimps and show her Nash's Down syndrome Awareness Month/Will McCain/Palin Fully Fund I.D.E.A? signs ... then here she comes! Big Dawg called it as he saw the helicopters overhead following her caravan...and we were right by the access road next to the Verizon Center when the motorcycles and her caravan came in....she saw Nash, smiled big smiles, waved and of course my camera chose this moment not to fire. But oh well.........it was fun. So then we went into the Verizon Center to see how far away we would be, and I ran into another Deputy Attorney General from the State who said her VIP pass wasn't allowed. Yes, big issues for the VIP tickets! VIP's were given tickets for 100 phone calls, yet those weren't fulfilled. Mitch our gov decided he had other obligations..and didn't attend. To me that is embarrassing for the State Republican party, so Becky Skillman gave the intro. Palin came on, and did the rah rah's and she is awesome for that. Its unfortunate that McCain/Palin don't have a set disability policy. I don't want a speech about how "you have a friend in the White House" if they are elected; we want policy, position and not reteric. We don't need more friends, we need fully funded programs, which Obama has promised, McCain has not. Bad Cripple says a good blog post here. Here is her stance: the mission we want to be on in helping our families with children with special needs and making sure that those families know that we will make this nation a welcoming nation for all children and those who are quite vulnerable will have a friend and an advocate in the White House. So I'll help John McCain on that also. Will Obama's promises to fully fund I.D.E.A. pan out? Hopefully so. If not, then there is another election in 4 years. Nash had his photo taken with the sign, so if he shows up on some AP blog let us know! Dang, I didn't get to talk to Senator Palin, she flew by too fast in her caravan! And where is Trig? We are leaving our message in Noblesville Indiana Senator Palin enters Noblesville Verizon Center Hamilton County Indiana Republican Crowd Daddy, Wave! Ok, anything for you son erg So, what is your name young man? AP photographers get in his face....

Breaking the Chromosome Barrier

Trig's Breakthrough By Michael GersonWednesday, September 10, 2008; Page A15 In addition to Barack Obama making history as the first African American to be nominated for president and Sarah Palin taking her shotgun to the glass ceiling, there was a third civil rights barrier broken at the political conventions this year. Trig Paxson Van Palin -- pronounced by his mother "beautiful" and "perfect" and applauded at center stage of the Republican convention -- smashed the chromosomal barrier. And it was all the more moving for the innocence and indifference of this 4-month-old civil rights leader. It was not always this way. John F. Kennedy's younger sister Rosemary, who was born in 1918, had a mental disability that was treated as a family secret. For decades Rosemary was hidden as a "childhood victim of spinal meningitis." Joseph Kennedy subjected his daughter to a destructive lobotomy when she was 23. It was the remarkable Eunice Kennedy Shriver who talked openly of her sister's condition in 1962 and went on to found the Special Olympics as a summer camp in her back yard -- part of a great social movement of compassion and inclusion. Trig's moment in the spotlight is a milestone of that movement. But it comes at a paradoxical time. Unlike what is accorded African Americans and women, civil rights protections for people with Down syndrome have rapidly eroded over the past few decades. Of the cases of Down syndrome diagnosed by prenatal testing each year, about 90 percent are eliminated by abortion. Last year the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended universal, early testing for Down syndrome -- not just for older pregnant women. Some expect this increased screening to reduce the number of Down syndrome births to something far lower than the 5,500 we see today, perhaps to fewer than 1,000. The wrenching diagnosis of 47 chromosomes must seem to parents like the end of a dream instead of the beginning of a life. But children born with Down syndrome -- who learn slowly but love deeply -- are generally not experienced by their parents as a curse but as a complex blessing. And when allowed to survive, men and women with an extra chromosome experience themselves as people with abilities, limits and rights. Yet when Down syndrome is detected through testing, many parents report that genetic counselors and physicians emphasize the difficulties of raising a child with a disability and urge abortion. This is properly called eugenic abortion -- the ending of "imperfect" lives to remove the social, economic and emotional costs of their existence. And this practice cannot be separated from the broader social treatment of people who have disabilities. By eliminating less perfect humans, deformity and disability become more pronounced and less acceptable. Those who escape the net of screening are often viewed as mistakes or burdens. A tragic choice becomes a presumption -- "Didn't you get an amnio?" -- and then a prejudice. And this feeds a social Darwinism in which the stronger are regarded as better, the dependent are viewed as less valuable, and the weak must occasionally be culled. The protest against these trends has come in interesting forms. Last year pro-choice Sen. Edward Kennedy joined with pro-life Sen. Sam Brownback to propose a bill that would have required medical professionals to tell expectant parents that genetic tests are sometimes inaccurate and to give them up-to-date information on the quality of life that people with Down syndrome can enjoy. The bill did not pass, but it was a principled gesture from Rosemary's brother. Yet the pro-choice radicalism held by Kennedy and many others -- the absolute elevation of individual autonomy over the rights of the weak -- has enabled the new eugenics. It has also created a moral conflict at the heart of the Democratic Party. If traditional Democratic ideology means anything, it is the assertion that America is a single moral community that includes everyone. How can this vision possibly be reconciled with the elimination of children with Down syndrome from American society? Are pro-choice Democrats really comfortable with this choice? The family struggles of political leaders can be morally instructive. Contrast the attitude of Joseph Kennedy with that of Charles de Gaulle, who treated his daughter Anne, born with Down syndrome in 1928, with great affection. The image of this arrogant officer rocking Anne in his arms at night speaks across the years. After her death and burial at age 20, de Gaulle turned to his wife and said, "Come. Now she is like the others." And now we have met Trig, who is just like the others, in every way that matters. _________________________________________________________ Note from Mauzy: The good thing is that Down syndrome awareness is rampant right now; let's hope that is positive. I see newscasters using person first language now after the NDSS/NDSC news release. I see people talking positively about Down syndrome, people educating themselves about the realities of having a child with Down syndrome, not wallowing in the myths. The bad is that this political issue is dividing our Ds community. To me its not Republican or Democrat. It's about our kids. They come first. Let's do what we can to get the BEST services, the BEST education and the BEST funding for the programs they need. That is who to vote for. And if they don't do it, we redo it in 4 years. Now go research and educate yourselves. Click here to go to a non-politically slanted fact check site!

In Light of Palin's selection as VP- Press Release about Down syndrome

Hot off the press, for the press. Feel free to pass it on to local media! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE National Down syndrome Society and National Down syndrome Congress Contact: Sarah Schleider 212-763-4369/ 917 921 9889 (cell) sschleider@ndss.org Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska has been selected as John McCain’s choice for Vice Presidential nominee of the Republican Party. Governor Sarah Palin recently gave birth to her son who has Down syndrome. The Palins knew before their son’s birth that he would have Down syndrome. Below are tips for the proper use of language for ‘Down syndrome’. The National Down Syndrome Society and the National Down Syndrome Congress encourages all media to use the below language: · Down vs. Down’s. NDSS and NDSC use the preferred spelling, Down syndrome, rather than Down’s syndrome. While Down syndrome is listed in many dictionaries with both popular spellings (with or without an apostrophe s), the preferred usage in the United States is Down syndrome. This is because an “apostrophe s” connotes ownership or possession. Down syndrome is named for the English physician John Langdon Down, who characterized the condition, but did not have it. The AP Stylebook recommends using “Down syndrome” as well. · People with Down syndrome should always be referred to as people first. Instead of “a Down syndrome child,” it should be “a child with Down syndrome.” Also avoid “Down’s child” and describing the condition as “Down’s,” as in, “He has Down’s.” · Down syndrome is a condition or a syndrome, not a disease. · People “have” Down syndrome, they do not “suffer from” it and are not “afflicted by” it. · It is clinically acceptable to say “mental retardation,” but you may want to use the more socially acceptable “cognitive disability” or “cognitive impairment.” Down Syndrome Myths and Truths Myth: Down syndrome is a rare genetic disorder. Truth: Down syndrome is the most commonly occurring genetic condition. One in every 733 live births is a child with Down syndrome, representing approximately 5,000 births per year in the United States alone. Today, more than 400,000 people in the United States have Down syndrome. Myth: People with Down syndrome have a short life span. Truth: Life expectancy for individuals with Down syndrome has increased dramatically in recent years, with the average life expectancy approaching that of peers without Down syndrome. Myth: Most children with Down syndrome are born to older parents. Truth: Most children with Down syndrome are born to women younger than 35-years-old simply because younger women have more children. However, the incidence of births of children with Down syndrome increases with the age of the mother. Myth: People with Down syndrome are severely “retarded.” Truth: Most people with Down syndrome have IQs that fall in the mild to moderate range of intellectual disability (formerly known as “retardation”). Children with Down syndrome fully participate in public and private educational programs. Educators and researchers are still discovering the full educational potential of people with Down syndrome. Myth: Most people with Down syndrome are institutionalized. Truth: Today people with Down syndrome live at home with their families and are active participants in the educational, vocational, social, and recreational activities of the community. They are integrated into the regular education system and take part in sports, camping, music, art programs and all the other activities of their communities. People with Down syndrome are valued members of their families and their communities, contributing to society in a variety of ways. Myth: Parents will not find community support in bringing up their child with Down syndrome. Truth: In almost every community of the United States there are parent support groups and other community organizations directly involved in providing services to families of individuals with Down syndrome. Myth: Children with Down syndrome must be placed in segregated special education programs. Truth: Children with Down syndrome have been included in regular academic classrooms in schools across the country. In some instances they are integrated into specific courses, while in other situations students are fully included in the regular classroom for all subjects. The current trend in education is for full inclusion in the social and educational life of the community. Increasingly, individuals with Down syndrome graduate from high school with regular diplomas, participate in post-secondary academic and college experiences and, in some cases, receive college degrees. Myth: Adults with Down syndrome are unemployable. Truth: Businesses are seeking young adults with Down syndrome for a variety of positions. They are being employed in small- and medium-sized offices: by banks, corporations, nursing homes, hotels and restaurants. They work in the music and entertainment industry, in clerical positions, childcare, the sports field and in the computer industry. People with Down syndrome bring to their jobs enthusiasm, reliability and dedication. Myth: People with Down syndrome are always happy. Truth: People with Down syndrome have feelings just like everyone else in the population. They experience the full range of emotions. They respond to positive expressions of friendship and they are hurt and upset by inconsiderate behavior. Myth: Adults with Down syndrome are unable to form close interpersonal relationships leading to marriage. Truth: People with Down syndrome date, socialize, form ongoing relationships and marry. Myth: Down syndrome can never be cured. Truth: Research on Down syndrome is making great strides in identifying the genes on chromosome 21 that cause the characteristics of Down syndrome. Scientists now feel strongly that it will be possible to improve, correct or prevent many of the problems associated with Down syndrome in the future. For more information visit: http://www.ndss.org/ or http://www.ndsccenter.org/

Do we dare hope??? Palin for VP?

Gov. Sarah Palin for VP? I might switch to R for this if its true!!! More on Palin here To FOX News; its NOT Down syndrome child, its a child with Down syndrome. People first language please. Let's take this time to educate. now the waiting game......... EDITED...its official