Down Syndrome Awareness
October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month! 💙💛
October is a time to celebrate people with Down syndrome, share stories, challenge assumptions, and help others see the possibilities.
And who better to help spread awareness than our own DSCBA community? Throughout the month, we’ll be sharing photos and stories from our members on social media, and we’d love to feature your loved one!
Want to be part of our “This Is Me” series?
- Send us a photo of your loved one with Down syndrome and answer the question:
- “What’s something you wish more people knew about your loved one with Down syndrome?”
- Send your photo and answer to photo@dscba.org
- World Down Syndrome Day is on March 21st because of the connection to the date.
- Down syndrome is caused by trisomy 21, which means a person has three copies of chromosome 21 instead of the usual two.
- The date 3/21 (March 21st) symbolizes:
- 3 copies of the 21st chromosome.
- Raise awareness, promote inclusion, and celebrate the abilities and accomplishments of people with Down syndrome throughout the whole month of October!
Ways to Celebrate
We celebrate World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) with a free event for
all DSCBA members and their families!
It's a special time for everyone to meet with old friends and make new ones.
Previous WDSD Celebrations
Awareness and Advocacy
Here are a variety of ideas for promoting Down syndrome awareness and advocacy, ranging from community engagement to social media campaigns and policy efforts. These can be tailored for schools, workplaces, nonprofits, or communities:
- Wear mismatched socks, "Rock your Socks"
- Some believe socks are shaped like chromosomes, and feel this promotes the idea we’re not so different. Mismatched or not, it doesn’t matter what the socks look like, they are both socks. Sure, there are some differences, but ultimately they are the same, just like people with and without Down syndrome.
- Perform random acts of kindness
- Random acts of kindness is a fun and easy way to get out into the community, involve people with Down syndrome and their families as well as their schools and community members.
- Read a book about Down syndrome at your child’s school
- If you have a younger child with Down syndrome, ask your child’s teacher or principal if you can read a book to the class during story time. It may be a great way to celebrate and educate children about Down syndrome. You may even ask if there are other classes that would enjoy having you read a story for WDSD.
- Give a presentation at school or your workplace
- You can use WDSD as an opportunity to do a presentation at your child’s school, in your workplace or at a local community center. If possible, involve your loved one with Down syndrome.
Ability Awareness
Our ability awareness presentations are a unique way to educate students about Down syndrome and allow them to ask questions. These presentations not only spread awareness in our community, but also allow us all to learn that we are more alike than different. If you would like to know more about our presentations, contact us at education@dscba.org
Here is a 15 minute video about creating ability awareness in classrooms by our former Director of Education.
