Tim's Place: Where Breakfast, Lunch, and Hugs are Served!

"I did not let my disability crush my dreams" an inspiring statement made by Tim Harris a restaurant owner of Tim's Place in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Tim leads by example each day showing what it means to not let your disability hold you back from your aspirations. I can confidently say I do not know that many people who wake up each day and are as genuinely excited to go to work like Tim is. Tim's perseverance and can-do attitude is not only an example for individuals with Down syndrome, but an example to all. He shows that it is possible to love and care for others in any setting. Just think if we had more companies or restaurants that had the friendly atmosphere that Tim's Place has or what if bosses at companies were as encouraging and supportive to their staff as Tim is with his. He is a true testament of how great life could be if people worked hard, took more risks sticking up for what they believe in, and applying it to their work setting. In addition to having more fun in my workplace, I have learned from Tim that I should not be afraid to tell people that I care for them or that a hug can be a sign of affection which shows compassion. Sometimes it is personally hard for me to remember kind words or actions can really go a long way with others; something so simple can be hard to remember in our busy, hectic lives. Tim shows how remembering such a small gesture can go such a long way. Below I have posted the video about Tim's Place and Tim's story. You can find more information specifically about his restaurant at: http://timsplaceabq.com/ .

If you need a pick me up this week, especially at work, take the time to watch this 3 minute video. You will truly be inspired!

MUST WATCH! "For my brother on Down syndrome Day!"

This video is from post #1. I was just playing around with the different ways to attach pictures/videos/websites and saw you could attach videos directly on the blog posts (so exciting!) This video is just so adorable and is definitely worth a re-post just in case you did not catch it in post #1. If you did get to watch it, it is not a waste of time to watch it again! It is truly admirable to see how much siblings can love and care for one another. This little girl embodies what it means to be non-judgmental and she makes sure that you know it's important to act and be the same way. Not to mention how cute Archie is! Enjoy!

Using Person First Language

Working with children and college students with disabilities, I can not tell you how many times I hear people call individuals with a disability first by their disability then by who they are. For example: "down syndrome girl" or "autistic boy". Instead of putting the disability first when talking about an individual, it's important to put the person first. This is referred to as person first language. Instead of "down syndrome girl" you should say "girl who has down syndrome". Putting the person first shows respect for the person with a disability. It shows that you are recognizing who they are as a person first and then the disability they have second. The National Down Syndrome Society has a nice website that explains some preferred language Preferred Language Guide. Another interesting bit of information I learned from that guide was that Down syndrome is spelled with a lower case "s" (sorry for the misspellings in blog post #1). Down comes from the physician John Langdon Down who founded the syndrome, therefore the condition is known as "Down syndrome". Another common misconception that I learned from the Preferred Language Guide   is that the syndrome is a known as "Down's". "Down's" suggests there is a possession of the syndrome, but again going back to the condition being named after a person, this is incorrect. Hope you learned some fun new facts about our friends who have Down syndrome!

Have a good week!

Here is another interesting website about person first language: Kathie Snow's People First Language article

My first blog!

This blog is going to be about my experience working with individuals with Down Syndrome and my passion for members of this community. I will post resources for individuals with Down Syndrome and individuals interested in learning more about the genetic disorder. In addition, there will be posts showcasing stories about inspirational members in the community! Lastly, I will share information that will be helpful to remember when interacting with individuals with Down Syndrome from several different perspectives (meeting a new friend, interacting with a co-worker or peer, and counseling a member of the community).

To begin, for those of you who do not know, Down Syndrome is when a child at birth is shown to have a full or partial copy of chromosome 21 in their genes (Read more at National Down Syndrome Society's website: http://www.ndss.org/Down-Syndrome/What-Is-Down-Syndrome/ ). Throughout this blog and in the information section of this website I will go in more depth about the different aspects of Down Syndrome that affect a person's life.

I first want to explain to you a little background history, current connection, and future aspirations that I have to help you understand why this topic is so important to me!

Ever since high school when I volunteered for K.E.E.N., which stands for Kids Enjoy Exercise Now, I have grown to love and care for with an open heart children with Down Syndrome. KEEN is a non-profit volunteer organization that gives children with developmental or physical disabilities the opportunity to play and hang out with volunteers while their parents go and run a few errands. It is completely free of cost to the parents and is a priceless opportunity for volunteers. The excitement that I had going and leaving KEEN each Sunday after volunteering with the kids is inexplicable. In addition to KEEN, I also had the opportunity to have classmates at my high school that had Down Syndrome. Sharing many of my elective courses with these girls, I grew close to them as friends and supported them through graduation. Two years ago, I caught up with one of the girls on the metro back home in DC. She was doing great, as she completed her degree at George Mason and was working. After high school and on to college I continued to love working with individuals with disabilities volunteering at the Developmental Clinic at The University of Maryland- College Park, MD.

Reflecting back, I think my openness to individuals with disabilities stems from growing up with my aunt who has cerebral palsy. Me, my brother, and sisters learned from a young age what it meant to be an advocate for those who can not completely advocate for themselves. Specifically working with children with Down Syndrome I have felt that these kids have a genuine wanting of love and support, which is a beautiful present anyone can give and will receive a reciprocated appreciation. I feel that is the least I can do, if not more for this community. In addition to my current advocacy outreach with this population, in my future I hope to adopt a child with Down Syndrome. I have been thinking about this for a couple of years now and I can confidently, wholeheartedly say it would be an honor to provide a home for a child in special need!

Now that you know how much I love and care about individuals with Down Syndrome, I hope you can see how serious I am that we know information about this disability. I hope that by the end of these 15 weeks you will learn something for your future interactions with these individuals! I hope to post fun interactive articles, websites, and resources that will leave you to want to explore even more. Below are a few resources that connect back to different parts of this first blog post, specifically a link to KEEN's website, the George Mason college program, and a beautiful video that depicts what true love and non-judgement means when you have a family member with Down Syndrome!

Happy Reading the next 15 weeks! I hope you enjoy!

Kids Enjoy Exercise Now Information!
George Mason program- MasonLIFE

MUST WATCH! "For my brother with Down Syndrome"