Being “Down Right Awesome!”

As most of you know, we welcomed our son, Dexter, into the family this February. Dexter was born with Down syndrome. This news was a complete shock and we were very ignorant about Down syndrome in general.

Our first few months were mostly spent educating ourselves about Down syndrome and making sure Dexter was 100% healthy – which he is. Now we’re looking to the future and ensuring we do all we can do to help forward potentially life changing drugs and therapies. Researchers are making great strides to improve the cognitive ability of people living with Down syndrome. A huge milestone was achieved on September 9th as clinical testing was announced for a drug that may significantly reduce or eliminate the cognitive delay associated with Down syndrome!

As we expanded our knowledge, we adopted a “No Limits” policy for Dexter and are striving to give him everything he needs to live a happy and healthy life. We are passionately advocating for funding for research and development for improving cognitive ability and also inclusion into society. To help educate the public about Down syndrome, Colette approached our local NPR affiliate with an outline for a series of programs. We don’t want to jinx it, but let’s just say that they were interested!

Our first advocacy event is the Buddy Walk. The Buddy Walk is an annual event designed to promote the acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome. Our team, Down Right Awesome, will be participating in the Buddy Walk in San Diego on October 15, 2011. We would love for you to join us for this event. If you cannot make it out to San Diego, there are more than 250 Buddy Walks across the country. We already have Down Right Awesome team members walking in Albany, NY and would love to spread our wings to other cities (find a local walk here: http://www.buddywalk.org/)!

Please support our family as we walk for Dexter and all of the other people with Down syndrome by joining our team and/or donating here: Team: Down Right Awesome..

Thank you!

Love,
Colette, Jason, Eloise and Dexter

To keep in touch and stay up to date on all things Down Right Awesome (especially the first edition t-shirts!), please: