Down Syndrome Uprising

Down Syndrome Uprising.

Down syndrome Uprising. This place is for the sharing of thoughts, ideas, passions and the creation of a unified, global community of Down syndrome activists.


Here is the link to Down Syndrome Uprising.  Join us!

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The Punk Syndrome

Music.  Everyone has their own tastes and preferences. I am a country music fan, but do enjoy listening to all types of music.

 Here is a review of a documentary about a punk band.  OK, there are lots of punk bands, and no, I do not usually listen to punk music.  What caught my eye about this review (or my ear) is that this band is composed of two individuals with autism and two individuals with down syndrome.  How cool is that?  Rock on guys and much success with your musical journey.

The Punk Syndrome – review

• • Philip French
  • The Observer, Saturday 2 February 2013

This attractive Finnish film brings to mind the Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki's Leningrad Cowboys Go America, a zany comedy about a terrible Finnish rock group touring the States. The difference, however, is that Kärkkäinen and Passi's film is a documentary about a real punkquartet called Pertti Kurikka's Name Day, a genuine punk quartet made up of the autistic duo of Pertti Kurikka (lead guitar) and Karl Aalto (singer), and the Down's syndrome duo of Sami Helle (bass) and Toni Välitalo (drums). Sami and Toni are younger and more cheerful than Pertti and Karl, whose songs are often angry and aggressive (eg I Need a Little Respect and Dignity in My Life; I Hate the World). But all four have a suitable punk wildness

The film presents them in warm domestic settings, on tour, making their first overseas visit (including an amusing gig on Hamburg's Reeperbahn), and cutting their first DVD. Nobody patronises them or laughs behind their backs, and they rightly take their art seriously. A very likable, relaxed film.

Be gentle.

Bury My Heart With Tonawanda

Powerful.  It took me several days of reflection on these amazing words spoken in these film clips.  I am in awe of the story of John Hamilton., faceless corn husk dolls, and acceptance.  Produce by a young man with Aspergerger's Syndrome, the film Bury My Heart with Tonawanda, tells a story of acceptance and inclusion.    Take a moment to view a preview of Bury My Heart With Towanda.  You can learn more on the Facebook page for Espocinema.  And you can check out this clip on You Tube.

Let me know your thoughts.

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Becoming a champion! and rocking his extra chromosome!

What a happy ending to a story of a young man I have been following for a while now.  Kids with Down Syndrome need to be given the opportunity just like their typical peers.  What an inspiration.  Check out the video!

Underdog on top: Player with Down Syndrome wins Ishpeming team $25,000 and a trip to New York

Sports Illustrated Video: "Heart of the Team"

The Ishpeming High School football team, which capped an improbable run by winning the Division 7 state championship last weekend, isn't headed to Disney World.

Instead, the team is headed to New York City for the annual Sports Illustrated Sporstman of the Year ceremony.

The Hematites wouldn't be heading there without Eric Dompierre, a 19-year-old kicker with Down Syndrome who was almost kept off this year's team due to age limits set by the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

His father fought the inflexible rule all summer, and in August, the MHSAA finally approved a waiver allowing Eric to play this season as an extra-point specialist.

Sports Illustrated documented his inspirational story -- from the off-field drama to on-field bonds with teammates -- for its annual "underdogs" contest, allowing viewers to vote for his or other stories online.

Earlier this month, just days before they won a state championship, Ishpeming won the magazine contest, earning a trip to New York and a $25,000 grant.

Instead of flying 10 players to the December 5 awards ceremony, as originally planned, Sports Illustrated reportedly agreed to pay for a charter bus from the Upper Peninsula to New York so that the whole team can travel, and local boosters are raising additional funds for the full-team trip.

"The town has really behind this team and behind our efforts for Eric to play these last few years," Dean Dompierre told SI. "We needed signatures. We needed letters written and the town not only recruited other people from the state, but people around the country."

Eric's age-waiver wasn't the only adversity that the Hematites faced en route to their championship. Coach Jeff Olson lost his son to suicide over the summer, and the brother of starting quarterback Alex Briones died last year.

But Ishpeming overcame those hardships -- not to mention a size mismatch -- to defeate Detroit Loyola in the state championship. So much for "underdogs."

Be gentle.

Para Olympics! Carrying the torch

Carrying the flame!

Judith, 35, takes centre stage in Paralympic flame relay

11:00am Thursday 30th August 2012 inNewsBy Julie Magee

TORCH BID: Judith Cooling from Queens Park carried the Paralympic flame through Harrow

AN INSPIRATIONAL Bournemouth woman took centre stage during the Paralympic torch relay yesterday.

Judith Cooling, 35, from Queen’s Park, was chosen to carry the flame through the streets of Harrow in London after being nominated by the Sainsbury’s store at Castlepoint .

She travelled to the capital with her mum Maureen.

Family friend Tracy Reid. 46, from Petersfield Road, Bournemouth, told the Daily Echo: “Judith wasn’t carrying the torch until 4.45am but they had to get up at 12.30am after staying in Harrow overnight.

“Judith was the leader of her group who lit the torch. I spoke to her mum after the procession and she was so proud.

“Judith is absolutely wonderful. She is representing GB in the Down’s Syndrome Olympics this autumn.

“As well as swimming, she also runs.”

Despite being born with Down’s Syndrome and a hole in her heart, Judith developed into a world class swimmer and also devotes her spare time to improving the lives of children with special needs.

She coaches swimming at her old school Linwood and also runs with the Bournemouth Special Olympic Athletic Club.

After being chosen to carry the Paralympic flame, she told the Daily Echo: “I am so excited and really honoured to be taking part in a momentous occasion for both the UK and 

Bournemouth; I can’t wait.”

The torch’s 24-hour relay from Stoke Mandeville in Aylesbury ended at the Olympic Park in Stratford, East London before it ignited the start of the Games.

A wheelchair dancer who took part in last night’s opening ceremony is moving from London to set up home in Poole tomorrow.

Despite suffering a fractured pelvis just days earlier, Diana Morgan-Hill was determined that the show should still go on, with the help of a stand-by medi

Be gentle.

"The Senior Prank" Inspiring, empowering. NO MORE BULLYING

Teasing, Taunting.  Bullying.  No matter what words you use, it is still harmful and sometimes deadly.  And a parent's worst nightmare.  I am sure we all worry about our child being bullied, but I know I worry more about children with special needs.  We all know they can easily become the target of bullying and it is very hard for them to defend themselves.  It is up to us to advocate and educate.

The numbers continue to rise every month...

- It is estimated that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. Source: National Education Association.

- American schools harbor approximately 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million of their victims. Dan Olweus, National School Safety Center.

- 1 in 7 Students in Grades K-12 is either a bully or a victim of bullying.

- 56% of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at school.

- 15% of all school absenteeism is directly related to fears of being bullied at school.

- 71% of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school.

- 1 out of 20 students has seen a student with a gun at school.

- 282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.

- Those in the lower grades reported being in twice as many fights as those in the higher grades. However, there is a lower rate of serious violent crimes in the elementary level than in the middle or high schools.

- 90% of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying

- Among students, homicide perpetrators were more than twice as likely as homicide victims to have been bullied by peers.

- Bullying statistics say revenge is the strongest motivation for school shootings.

- 87% of students said shootings are motivated by a desire to “get back at those who have hurt them.”

- 86% of students said, “other kids picking on them, making fun of them or bullying them” causes teenagers to turn to lethal violence in the schools.

- 61% of students said students shoot others because they have been victims of physical abuse at home.

- 54% of students said witnessing physical abuse at home can lead to violence in school.

- According to bullying statistics, 1 out of every 10 students who drops out of school does so because of repeated bullying.

- Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75% of school-shooting incidents.

Bullying can take many forms but it usually includes the following types of behavior:

• Physical – hitting, kicking, pinching, punching, scratching, spitting or any other form of physical attack. Damage to or taking someone else’s belongings may also constitute as physical bullying.

• Verbal – name calling, insulting, making racist, sexist or homophobic jokes, remarks or teasing, using sexually suggestive or abusive language, offensive remarks

• Indirect – spreading nasty stories about someone, exclusion from social groups, being made the subject of malicious rumours, sending abusive mail, and email and text messages (cyber bullying).

• Cyber Bullying - any type of bullying that is carried out by electronic medium. There are 7 types including:

1. Text message bullying

2. Picture/video clip bullying via mobile phone cameras

3. Phone call bullying via mobile phones

4. E-mail bullying

5. Chat-room bullying

6. Bullying through instant messaging (IM)

7. Bullying via websites

Bully Related Suicide

Suicide remains among the leading causes of death of children under 14. And in most cases, the young people die from hanging. (AAS)

A new review of studies from 13 countries found signs of an apparent connection between bullying, being bullied, and suicide. (Yale School of Medicine)

Suicide rates among children between the ages of 10 & 14 are very low, but are "creeping up." (Ann Haas, Director of the Suicide Prevention Project at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)

The suicide rate among young male adults in Massachusetts rose 28 percent in 2007. However, that does not reflect deaths among teenagers and students Carl's age. (Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health, in a report released April 8, 2009)

• Since 2002, at least 15 schoolchildren ages 11 to 14 have committed suicide in Massachusetts. Three of them were Carl's age. ("Constantly Bulled, He Ends His Life at Age 11," by Milton J. Valencia. The Boston Globe, April 20, 2009)

• Suicide rates among 10 to 14-year-olds have grown more than 50 percent over the last three decades. (The American Association of Suicidology, AAS)

• In 2005 (the last year nationwide stats were available), 270 children in the 10-14 age group killed themselves. (AAS)

In a 2007 study, 86% of LGBT students said that they had experienced harassment at school during the previous year. (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network -- GLSEN)

Research indicates that LGB youth may be more likely to think about and attempt suicide than heterosexual teens. (GLSEN)
In a 2005 survey, students said their peers were most often bullied because of their appearance, but the next top reason was because of actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expression. ("From Teasing to Torment: School Climate of America" -- GLSEN and Harris Interactive)

According to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network 2007 National School Climate Survey of more than 6,000 students...

• Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT youth reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation

• Nearly half (44.1 percent) reported being physically harassed

• About a quarter (22.1 percent) reported being physically assaulted.

• Nearly two-thirds (60.8 percent) who experienced harassment or assault never reported the incident to the school

• Of those who did report the incident, nearly one-third (31.1 percent) said the school staff did nothing in response

It is everywhere.  And those who are bullied need us to advocate, educate and support the end of bullying.

Mother's plea after young boy with Down syndrome publicly teased on social networking site Facebook

FAIR GO: Josh Finters enjoys time with his dog and is unaware of the taunts young children have been directing at him. Source:Quest Newspapers

Bayside mother Julie Finter has spoken out about a bullying incident directed at her son Josh who suffers down syndrome. She claims children filmed their taunts and then put the footage on Facebook

The serious nature of her complaint to the community needs to be told, and what better way to do it than through the eyes of a mother.

Julie has five children and her middle son Josh was born with down syndrome 23 years ago.

When I met the family on Monday I noticed Josh's cheeky and trusting nature, along with a big passion for playstation and riding his bike.

He has no idea the three young girls who filmed him were teasing him about his disability. And he especially doesn't understand they uploaded the footage on Facebook.

Julie says by exposing this incident she hopes to encourage parents to talk to their children about respecting others.

``Most people are really good with Josh but this latest incident has really concerned my family and this is why I came forward,'' she said

While Julie applauds the school involved and believes the incident has been resolved she still wanted to go public.

``Josh hasn't got a mean bone in is body and I wanted to get him out there to give him an identity.''

``I want people to realise this has happened and not just hide this away.''

A soon to be released film, "The Senior Prank" hopes to educate about the harmful ways of bullying.

'The Senior Prank' Movie Filmed at Great Harvest Bread Co. in Lorton

Director Donald Leow, of Clifton, tackles bullying and redemption in the independent film.

• By James Cullum

Actor Frank Stephens and Director Donald Leow after filming a scene for "The Senior Prank", at Great Harvest Bread Co. in Lorton on Monday, Aug. 20, 2012.  Credit: James Cullum

On Monday, Lorton's Great Harvest Bread Co. hosted "The Senior Prank," a new independent film about high school bullies who, as the ultimate prank, set up a girl with Down Syndrome to be the homecoming queen.

The scenes were shot just outside the coffee shop and inside at the counter. It was a near-perfect day for shooting — overcast and cool. The film crew worked from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., and at the end of the day, the work will amount to less than five minutes worth of footage. 

'The Senior Prank' Plot 

New student Cara Jarvis (Stacey Bradhaw) wants to be popular, but feels that her new friendship with Grace (Amber House), a student with Down Syndrome, is holding her back. In the struggle to get the guy and win popular friends, Cara sets Grace up to be the homecoming queen as a senior prank. But the plan backfires and Cara is humiliated. 

"This is more a movie about bullying than it is about Down Syndrome," said director Donald Leow, of Clifton. "The finished product will be 90-100 minutes long, and if a major distributor picks up this film, I feel like a few acting careers will go far."

The message of the film is universal, said executive producer Steve Woolwine. "I think that everyone has been bullied in some form or another throughout their lives," he said. "The trouble with our society is that you can be a bully even if you don't stand up and say that it's wrong. You might not be committing the act, but you're with the crowd who does."

Monday's scenes involved a conversation between Cara and her mom, Sharon (Kera O'Bryon) outside the shop, and then inside at the counter with Great Harvest Baristas Quinn (Sara Cicilian) and Ben (Frank Stephens). Ben has Down Syndrom, and Quinn openly mocks him in front of customers. 

"Yeah, my character basically has no shame," said Cicilian, "but she turns over a new leaf by the end of the film. I'm definitely not this mean in real life." 

Great Harvest employees had the opportunity to be background actors. "We were walking up to check things out and the guy with the blue shirt asked, 'Are you my extras?' and we said, 'We are if you want us to be!'" said Lynn Schmauder who was filmed along with her 16-year-old daughter, Jill. 

"I didn't think there would be so much equipment!" said Great Harvest co-owner Jeff Connelly to Patch. "We're usually closed on Monday, but we're actually doing pretty good business." 

Six months from now, "The Senior Prank" will be edited and ready for distribution. The seemingly innocent conversations that will go on for less than five minutes took about eight hours to film on Aug. 20, 2012. 

Let's END BULLYING NOW!

Be gentle.

Diversity, the new normal

Leader of the Pack, a web series, celebrates diversity and shakes up what is "normal".  And the creator of this wonderful series devotes himself to creating projects where diversity and disabilities are a way of life.

See the trailer to this great series

Richard Redlin's Leader of Pack Web Series Makes Diversity Normal

Richard Redlin skiing the Rockies - Bob Wolman with permission

A producer and actor with firsthand knowledge of disabilities devotes himself to creating projects where disabilities & diversity are just a part of life.

“Diversity is the new normal,” is the motto by which writer/actor/producer Richard Redlin characterizes the projects he is creating – especially his current one, the Leader of the Pack web series which has recently garnered best actor in a comedy nominations at ITVfest for its leads, Lauren Potter (Glee) and Luke Spinelli. While most of Hollywood winks at diversity by having one or two ‘minority’ ethnicities or disabled among its cast, Redlin courageously makes it his business to “focus on people’s abilities rather than their limitations and to show that we are all so much more than our bodies or the roles that society outlines for us” through his projects like Leader of the Pack, with its Down Syndrome young stars and his dark comedy Legs, which not only starred Robert David Hall (Dr. Robbins on CSI) but featured actors with disabilities playing able-bodied characters with the audience none the wiser.
Though people may think that Redlin’s interest in diversity has more to do with being disabled himself than courage in project selection, Redlin’s fear-defiance was long ingrained him before the accident where as a 22-year old industrial painter, he fell down a smokestack in an oil refinery.
“Before getting hurt,” Redlin explained, “I led a life that made Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise look like school boys. I must have hitch-hiked /drove drive-away cars or cars in general back and forth across the country at least ten times. I would work high up in the steel, painting bridges and smoke stacks during the summer and take off with the first snowfall. Lots of wilderness camping throughout the Southwest. In Colorado, I started work in a dead man's gear down in a hard rock mine setting charges of ammonia nitrate and dynamite, calling out "Fire in the hole!" before throwing the plunger that would blow the shit out of the caves in search of molybdenum. I jumped out of perfectly good airplanes in Wisconsin, Florida and Arizona (where one time I landed with my chute tangled in power lines, short-circuiting an entire electrical grid…) I hiked naked (wearing only my boots) atop Glaciers in the Canadian Rockies and shot white water rapids during the spring thaw.”


The skydiving and black diamond run (expert) stand-up skiing may have been the active Redlin before the accident, but he was just as fear-defying after it, whether it be in defiance of the doctors’ predictions of life-long wheelchair-occupancy or in overcoming his handicaps to mono-ski, scuba dive, swim with dolphins (while working at the Dolphin Research Lab in the Florida Keys) or fly into the active volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii.

“The physical challenges were tough,” Redlin said of developing his own rehab program, “and the emotional challenges were tougher; especially because I had to process all my grief regarding my sister’s death.” (Lhauri had been found dead in her apartment just six months before the accident.) Art, as in painting and drawing, and helping others enabled Richard to heal himself. “One of the most rewarding experiences for me was teaching kids [with and without disabilities] to swim while working at a swimming school in San Diego. I had benefited greatly from the program and wanted to give back so I got myself hired there.”

Actors with Disabilities in Hollywood

So naturally, when Richard started expressing himself through the art form of acting, the reality that opportunities for actors with disabilities were extremely limited didn’t sit well with him. “The ‘disabled’ roles were stereotypical and few and far between and the use of actors with disabilities in ‘regular’ roles was basically non-existent. So, rather than whine about it, I kept going for roles and at the same time began to create opportunities for myself: producing, writing and directing -- first in theatre, then in films.”

Not only does Redlin live by the intention to ‘live life to the fullest no matter what the circumstances,’ he tries to provide opportunities and encouragement for others to do the same. “I find it ironic that in a business [entertainment] that is based on imagination,” Redlin said, “there is such a tremendous lack of vision, especially where people with disabilities are concerned. There are organized protests and political maneuverings calling for an increase in the opportunities for the ‘underrepresented’ categories of people in the American scene in entertainment. However, I feel that my job is to show ‘how it’s done.’”

Ryan Murphy & Lauren Potter’s Extraordinary Contributions

He also credits producer/writer Ryan Murphy for doing an extraordinary job making inroads on Glee, Nip/Tuck, Popular, and American Horror Story. And according to Cynopsis on July 31, 2012, Murphy has been selected as the recipient of the 2012 International Emmy Founders Award. This honor, which recognizes an individual who crosses cultural boundaries to touch our common humanity, will be presented at the 40th International Emmy Awards Gala on November 19 in New York City.

Redlin, also, has nothing but praise for his leading star Lauren Potter (Becky Jackson on Glee and Jenny Cole on Leader of the Pack). He shared with us a comment she made about how she felt being part of Leader of the Pack: “I’m so excited to be part of this show because it’s about a boy with Down Syndrome and all the people in it are a little different. Sometimes when I look in the mirror I see Down Syndrome, but when all of the people that are acting with me are a little different, then I don’t just see DS, I see just me.”

Redlin says that Lauren is another great example of someone who hasn’t let anything stop her. “When she decided as a young girl to become an actor, she encountered many naysayers, so she decided to just listen to those who told her she could do it and continued to work hard. Now she’s a successful actor, big time advocate and advisor to Obama as the only person with an intellectual disability on The President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.”

Believing in self-empowerment like he does, Redlin gravitated readily towards doing a web series because “it’s something we could do ourselves without waiting for permission or having to sell someone else on the idea.” And SAG-AFTRA has made it much easier to work with union actors through its New Media contracts.

And because Redlin believes so firmly in “we are all so much more than our bodies,” when he cast the characters with Down Syndrome in Leader of the Pack, he “only brought in the real deal.”

Why Down Syndrome? Why High School?

The inspiration for the LOTP story came out of a conversation Redlin had years ago with his friend Gail Williamson, former director of the Down Syndrome Association of L.A. and long time advocate for people with all types of disabilities. “She has a son Blair who has Down syndrome and is an accomplished actor,” Redlin explained. “I took the germ of the character [Blake] and developed it.”

Because self-image is an influential part of our lives and is directly affected by what we see in the media, choosing a coming of age framework for a story about DS was a natural choice for Redlin. “After all, self-image is mostly what teenagers struggle with in high school,” he said. “I liked the idea of a ‘secret life.’ Most parents have no clue what’s really going on in the heads of their kids. It’s amazing what people forget as they get older and adopt new images for themselves. Plus, it was a way to show these kids just being kids. The twist is that they have Down syndrome, but it’s really not about DS per se.”

Environmental and Racial Blindness Themes

LOTP is about more than kids with disabilities dealing with normal high school issues of acceptance, image, friendship, and love. It is also about how we treat our environment and racial blindness.

“Environmental issues are important to me and will be continued throughout the series,” Redlin affirmed. “Before I got hurt I almost took a job as a smoke jumper in the National Park Service. Most people don’t realize that we exist in a tiny envelope of air. The planet will be fine and new life forms will develop, but it will become uninhabitable for human beings if we don’t keep that envelope clean.”

Redlin revealed that the roles of black girl/white boy and the other racial representations were written that way from the beginning. “Growing up in Chicago, racial diversity has always been a thing of mine. I’m against homogenization. I support and celebrate people’s uniqueness. We should learn from each other’s POV, adopt or be influenced by them, but not become one and the same with them. It makes for a richer life experience.” It is his intention to continue to mix it up like this until “diversity” actually becomes a non-issue.

The Web Series Birthed

To get the web series made, Redlin and his co-producer wife, Marielle, made deferred deals with cast and crew and used their own cash for food and services for which they weren’t able to barter. In fact, he and his wife are proud that they made the meals themselves so that everyone ate healthily, despite the extra work. Three episodes are currently online and to keep going, they are currently fund-raising through Indiegogo, which allows ordinary people to donate/support online for a variety of perks. Plus, for those online viewers who want to voice their opinions to today’s TV decision-makers, Richard Redlin and his project are part of an online web series and indie film competition, called NexTv Viewer’s Choice Competition, where he is currently in second place.

Be gentle.