The Lucky Few

Jazmine Faries is a woman with Down syndrome who is the focus of Iron Family, a documentary directed and produced by Patrick Longstreth. Today on the podcast, we have Jazmine herself, along with her brother Chad, and the film director, Patrick! For the last seven summers, Jazmine has written extraordinary plays based on her celebrity alter-ego that her family performs each year. Iron Family docume...

Rick Smith is a father of three (including Noah who has Down syndrome), a blogger, an advocate, and the founder of Hope Story! Like so many of us in the DS community, his child’s diagnosis was delivered with an “I’m so sorry,” followed by the doctor offering anti-depressants to his wife. And now, 11 years later, Rick is on a mission to change what happens in the delivery room by educating medical...

School’s out for summer! When it comes to this time of year.. the excitement for all sorts of activities is at an all time high! But what happens if your kids can’t just fit in at church camp? Or if they need accommodations during swim lessons? Where can our children with disabilities enjoy their summer activities safely? Where will be they included? And what will we do if they aren’t included? So...

As parents of children with Down syndrome, we’ve sat through too many school meetings and doctors appointments walking away feeling the world thinks our kid is not enough just because they haven’t met other people’s expectations. And we know that’s not true but how DO we measure success for our children with DS? Maybe you’ve learned to not compare your child to their peers without DS but how do yo...

So what happens when someone with Down syndrome graduates high school? When the structure and support from the education system ends, what begins? Today we’re talking about inclusive employment for adults with Down syndrome with our very own, Val Schlieder! She recently earned her doctorate degree in occupational therapy, produces this podcast, and is also very involved in her local DS community!...

You’ve probably seen the recent debates about abortion in the news and on social media. We’re not here to get political but these debates do give us the opportunity to call out a huge issue: people on both sides see individuals with disabilities as less than human. And today we’re talking about it (as best as we can). Because we acknowledge the amount of support it takes to raise a child with Down...

Did you know that individuals with Down syndrome are frequently denied organ transplants? Just because they have a disability. We can’t believe this is a thing that’s still happening, but we are SO glad that there are people pushing back on this discrimination. Today in this episode, we are sharing two very important interviews with some extraordinary activists: Charlotte Woodward (NDSS employee +...

Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt alienated by the pressure to practice “self-care!” (We know we have). And today as Mother’s Day approaches, we’re chatting about the trouble with many self-care practices and giving our own definitions to this popular term. As parents of kids with disabilities, most of us already feel like we’re at max capacity, so how can we schedule in a yoga session or weekly...

It’s no secret that far too often, our loved ones with Down syndrome are seen as “problems” to be “fixed,” individuals in desperate need of “healing” or medicine.. whatever that might be. While we know this is NOT the case, our society’s love of “perfection,” prescriptions and productivity has ALL of us chasing unattainable goals of “success.” But what if we pursued healing instead? Today we have...

When you receive your child’s Down syndrome diagnosis, your mind imagines a thousand different scenarios for how their life will go.. but what happens when we consider their siblings? What happens when they realize that the world won’t always be kind to their sibling with Down syndrome? Are they annoyed with each other because that’s their sibling or because they have Down syndrome? How do help ou...

Markeisha Hall is a mother to 4, including her autistic son, a former special educator, an IEP expert, a podcaster, and so much more! And today she’s joined us to chat all about practical tips to take with you to your next IEP meeting (hint: send notes to the WHOLE team ahead of time, bring someone with you, & stay focused). Plus, she’s giving us insight into the minds of the teachers as they...

Hey friends, it’s April! And in honor of April being Autism Acceptance Month, we’re chatting about Micha’s journey parenting Ace, her son with a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism. And before we get started, we want to just say that we’re not experts on this topic and we are approaching it as learners. That’s why we’re grateful for the many autistic adults who share their stories for us al...

We’re fresh off of the excitement of World Down Syndrome Day and we LOVE seeing all the ways our community advocates to celebrate our loved ones on 3/21. But does anyone else ever feel a little (okay a LOT) of pressure during these busy months, especially when it comes to advocating online? Does it ever seem like everyone is doing more? Or like all the good ideas are already taken? Today we’re cha...

Happy World Down Syndrome Day! And happy 3 year (or maybe 4 year??) anniversary to our podcast! If you listen.. you’ll see that we’re still really not sure. Annnyway, today in honor of 3/21, we are chatting all about.. well pretty much everything! Because we have a special Q and A from each of you. Join us for a chat about what educators should know about our kids, how we balance our family dynami...

We talk all the time about the importance of story telling when it comes to shifting the Down syndrome narrative.. but how do we actually do that?! What if we’re not an influencer? What if we don’t have a stage or online platform? We’ve all thought things before.. but what if we told you that the most transformative stories are actually told around a dinner table? Today we are chatting with Katie...

Today we are joined by Jo Lopez, a fellow lucky mama + IRL assistant to Heather Avis! Jo has made it her mission to find community within the Down syndrome space and today she’s sharing all about how she’s found her people. It started with an early (and confusing) diagnosis, an overwhelming google search, and then a sweet Facebook message that changed everything! We’re also chatting about finding...

Friends! We have Cole Sibus (maybe you’ve heard of him!?) on the podcast today and in case you couldn’t tell.. we’re so excited! He’s a 24-year-old actor with Down syndrome who starred on ABC’s Stumptown. And when he’s not working, he’s living with his roommates, learning how to surf, spending time with his girlfriend, and working at a restaurant! We’re chatting about all of it today.. everything...

Heather met Ashley Dirks last fall at a retreat for moms of children with Down syndrome. And one of their first conversations was about how Ashley wanted to leave the retreat. She was the only black mama the whole weekend and it left her wondering, “Do I fit in.. Am I supposed to be here.. Where are the other black moms?” And all this makes us realize that the Down syndrome community is not immune...

A few months ago we had the chance to attend the Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network Rockin’ Mom’s Retreat and meet SO many wonderful women! And our girl Mercedes grabbed a microphone and sat down with a few lucky mamas from the DSDN Black Families group to chat all about diversity within the Down syndrome community! These mamas shared about what it’s like to google “Down syndrome” and not see a pictu...

This month is all about listening to and learning from the Black community. And if you don’t know where to start, we got you covered! We’ve compiled a list of our favorite resources for Black History Month into this episode! From board books for your littlest kiddos to thought-provoking shows for your teens, there’s a little something for everyone! We’re chatting about our favorite podcasts, IG ac...

Friends! February is Black History Month! You know what that means.. lots of important conversations between us and some of our favorite Black advocates in the Down syndrome space. Because let’s face it, many of us have been able to skip out on these tough conversations our whole lives. Growing up, the month of February just meant coloring a picture of Martin Luther King Jr and then moving on with...

Three weeks into January isn’t too late to wish y’all a Happy New Year right? Let’s just go with it! Because today we’re catching up with each other after our holiday break.. we’re talking all things schedule changes, behaviors, covid cancellations, (already failed) resolutions, and how to entertain our children during their school break (and why it’s okay not to)! We’re also discussing some heavi...

We’re back with one of our favorite episodes with one of our favorite questions.. “If you could go back and talk to yourself when you got your diagnosis, what would you say..” Micha grabbed a microphone and walked all around the Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network’s Rockin’ Moms Retreat and asked this question. We got the most amazing (and tear-jerking) responses from you rockin’ mamas. And we’re shar...

We’re back with another one of our favorite videos, featuring one of our favorite advocates. Here we go.. “There’s not a right way to have worth.. you just have worth.” - Heather Avis. We’re honored to chat once again with Gail Williamson who has been showing the media the worth of actors with Down syndrome for many years! It all started when her son Blair auditioned for a running commercial.. he’...

Time for another one of our favorite episodes! You might have seen the popular social media trend where people describe a relatable situation and others know exactly what they’re talking about - or at least that’s what we think it means.. So we’re here with a fun game of “tell me you’re raising a child with Down syndrome without telling me you’re raising a child with Down syndrome.” If you are par...