Brandon and Maura Dial Family Foundation

Oscars 2023: ‘An Irish Goodbye’ wins Best Live Action Short Film Northern Irish short film ‘An Irish Goodbye’ has won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short at the 95th Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

🎬 Champions is out in theaters today! Congratulations to our athletes Kevin Iannuci, Ashton Gunning, Tom Sinclair, James Day Keith, Bradley Edens and all the cast with intellectual disabilities (ID) who made us laugh, cry and burst with pride.

Champions is the story of a former minor-league basketball coach (Woody Harrelson) who is court-ordered to manage a team of players with ID. He soon realizes that despite his doubts, together, this team can go further than they ever imagined.

Get your tickets here ▶️ https://fal.cn/3wtBG

“When I placed my order I said, “Regular amount of chromosomes, please!” That’s what everyone else got and what I wanted too. They called me shortly after my order was in production and said “Great news, we went ahead and upgraded you to extra chromosomes for free! You’ll receive the extra chromosomes with your completed order in 9 months.” What?! I was mad! All the other orders I had seen displayed via perfect Instagram posts did NOT have extra chromosomes. Well I decided that receiving my order with extra chromosomes was better than not receiving an order at all, so I settled in to wait for this surprise upgrade to arrive. I have now had my order for two months and am writing this review to let others know the upgrade to extra chromosomes is amazing!! If offered, definitely take it! I posted some photos below of the finished product and you can see the extra chromosome is so worth it - it is extra cute, extra special, and extra-ordinary! So much extra joy. Would purchase again for sure. 💛💙💛💙 ”

❤️ Gwendolyn’s rockin’ Mom, Jessie

Earlier doesn’t always mean better.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Her kid walked at one year, yours walked at eighteen months, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 it doesn’t matter.⁣⁣
Her kid potty-trained at two years old, yours didn't potty-train until four years old, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 it doesn’t matter.⁣⁣
Her kid recognized all his letters and numbers before pre-school, yours had no interest until almost four, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 it doesn’t matter.⁣⁣
Her kid was sleeping through the night by three months, yours wasn’t sleeping through the night until two years old, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 it doesn’t matter.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Because reaching developmental milestones early means 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 in the long run.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Because a college professor won’t wonder how old her students were when they could count to one hundred or spell their names.⁣⁣
And no one will know or care if the Harvard graduate or the CEO had a pacifier or didn't potty-train until five years old.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
What matters most is the whole child,⁣⁣
who 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 are,⁣⁣
and how kind 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 are⁣⁣
⁣⁣
So let the pressure go,⁣⁣
and let your kids be kids.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Don’t rush them through their childhoods,⁣⁣
and make them miss out⁣⁣
because they’re too busy meeting milestone after milestone.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Besides, earlier doesn’t always mean better.
𝘐𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳.

Shared with permission from Living FULL
Artwork: angelica.ch.r

❤ If you liked this, you'll love our new book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available for pre-order now! https://amzn.to/3TeiZWB

So awesome!!

🏈Exceptional Sports Flag Football at the Wilson Y started today! If you want to join, call Brian at Wilson to register.

“We’ve got an issue here” the quality control angel called out.

"What’s the problem?” asked God, in a voice that already seemed to calm the concern.

"It looks like an extra chromosome…one, two…yes, right here, an extra one.”

Now smiling, God answered,
“That’s not a quality concern…it is…a distinction…the Manual addresses it.

“You’re new on the line, aren’t you?”

"Why yes…this is my first day,” apologized the angel--searching through the manual for any reference to this.

"I’ll talk you through it...there are just a few assembly modifications.

First, locate the hug sensors. Do you see the dial?” "Yes, right here…oh, I think I tickled him”
“Turn it up.”
“How much?”
“All the way.”
“Done.”

"Now locate the two smile triggers—
they are located on either side of that cute little button nose.”
“I found them.”
“Adjust them a little closer to the surface…closer…closer…perfect!”
“Is that it?” asked the obedient angel.
“Almost,” answered God. Now, very gently, open his heart.
That’s it.
"Measure two…no, make it three extra scoops of love.”
“Will it fit…it’s so tiny?”
“Oh, these little hearts stretch incredibly. It will fit.”
“Done…is that it?”

"One more thing…move him from the random distribution belt to the select premium belt.
These little ones aren’t just given to anyone."

"There…he’s done and ready to go,” announced the angel.

God stepped over, as if to inspect the handiwork of this new angel on the line.
But that wasn’t His intent.
Instead, He picked up this little one and held him close to His heart…
holding him for so long the angel became concerned.

"Is he alright? Did I do everything as you instructed?”
Still holding him close, God said, “he’s perfect.
I just find it hard to let these special ones go, for they are Heaven to hold.”
And He gently kissed his cheek and sent him to our hearts.
💙💛💙💛

Home away from Home 🧡

Charlie McGee is one of our freshman students- who is also an athletic manager with the Strength & Conditioning staff with Clemson Football.
Check out the story about Charlie and his journey to Clemson below

https://wlos.com/sports/content/clemsonlife-program-clemson-university-south-carolina-students-intellectual-disabilities-future-planning-independent-living-football-team-training

Having a child with Down syndrome was not what I imagined it to be. Although we had friends who had a child with Down syndrome, it was very different when this became my experience. When it was my child. Much the same way I thought I knew everything about being a parent before I became one. Being a parent is something you truly don’t know until you become one, no matter how much childcare experience you have. It is different when the kids are yours.

Having a child with a disability is like that. You don’t truly understand it unless you experience it.

But there is beauty, and joy, and holy moments that take your breathe away. The moments that make you recognize that Down syndrome is simply a diagnosis, and the value and beauty of life is found in the person, the individual – not in their abilities or IQ.

I understand now.

Down syndrome is not just a diagnosis. Down syndrome, to me, is part of my daughter. A part of her that I love and cherish.

The beauty of her life mesmerizes me. The joy she has brought into our lives knocks me off my feet. The love that she has brought to our family envelopes us each day.

I know some people think Down syndrome is scary, or bad, or tragic. I thought so too, because I didn’t know any better. But I know now.

And this I can tell you with full certainty – my daughter’s diagnosis of Down syndrome is not the fire that burned us, the flood that drowned us, the earthquake that buried us. She is the wind that pushes our sails, the sunlight that brightens our day, and the rich earth that made us bloom.

My daughter’s life has value. It is rich. It is full.

She is life. She is love.

She is mine.

By Ellen Stumbo

Read the full post here: https://www.ellenstumbo.com/down-syndrome-life-worth-living/

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month!

A little girl with Down syndrome got up from her seat during a papal audience and went toward Pope Francis.​​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​​
Security quickly moved in to take her back to her mother.​​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​​
The Pope stopped them and asked the girl to come sit by him.​​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​​
He continued to preach while holding her hand because that's what Jesus-like love does.

Part of the problem with the word 'disabilities' is that it immediately suggests an inability to see or hear or walk or do other things that many of us take for granted. But what of people who can't feel? Or talk about their feelings? Or manage their feelings in constructive ways? What of people who aren't able to form close and strong relationships? And people who cannot find fulfillment in their lives, or those who have lost hope, who live in disappointment and bitterness and find in life no joy, no love? These, it seems to me, are the real disabilities. ~Fred Rogers

(Book: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood https://amzn.to/3Or9PTY)

Thanks to a generous donor, the next 10 dancers who register will have their registration fee waived! Come dance with us next year!

www.stepsofgraceballet.com/register

❤
Get my free ebook, “Working Through Weariness- 6 Tools to Reclaim Goodness”:
https://view.flodesk.com/pages/5fbfb61c3880cb390d65000c

Hungry? Jersey Mikes is donating every single penny to Special Olympics today. 100% of sales.

Go get you a sandwich and give back!

Dear World,

Emily Pennington is a junior at West Billings High school in Montana. She’s overcome tremendous obstacles in her eighteen years- open heart surgery, leukemia and most recently, two 17” titanium rods were placed in her back at the Mayo Clinic because of adolescent onset scoliosis.

One of four children born to a local Billings family, Emily plays basketball and is a cheerleader, she also wakeboards enjoys hanging out with her friends like every other teenage girl.

Down syndrome has never stopped her.

The school district told Emily she can’t come back for her senior year because they have a “policy” that limits student age to under nineteen.

Policy 2050 needs to be revised to align with state law so that all students with disabilities can attend public school past the age of eighteen. Emily has earned her senior year.

Thanks so much,
Adrian Wood (Amos’s Mom)

P.S. The original petition which was started by Emily’s high school classmates was referred to as a “disruption” and the principal said it was not allowed on school grounds.

P.P.S. To Emily and her friends- You’re far more than a disruption. Life is about making the world better and we see and support you.

Here’s a petition that can not be taken away:
https://chng.it/KrdQMLt8DG

We have four children.
I never had genetic testing.
Back then, I was scared of disabilities and didn’t trust myself if I were to get what I deemed back then as unwelcome news.
The in utero tests I never had would have always shown a “healthy” baby.
No easy to see Down syndrome or other more common anomaly in his genes.
I imagine myself feeling relief that I had dodged a bullet, but I would have been wrong.
We like the expected- plans and secure futures, children that meet our expectations.
Sometimes, they don’t.
Sometimes, they surpass them.
When our fourth child Amos was born, it became clear his path was not following the one I had planned.
I soon realized my expectations were the problem, not my beautiful son.
He’s taken our family on a resplendent journey of joy and beautiful with many potholes along the way, but the best places are never easy to reach.
We recently received a diagnosis called MSL 2- a tiny variance in his genetic code that explains the autism and other traits that are part of our Amos.
If I had known of this diagnosis prior to his birth, would I have believed his life to be as valuable as my other children’s?
I hope so.
And if there’s a mama out there wondering about the worth of her child in light of a disability?
You have been gifted the chance to understand the real meaning of perfection.
You have been introduced to the type of love that you never knew possible.
You have found a tribe of families who know a “genetic anomaly” is not a death sentence.
Our Amos has been the grandest of bullets.

♥️ We are so thankful for the words and wisdom of Tales of an Educated Debutante

I was a perfect parent before Amos.
I mean, my kids were perfect.
Three of them- bright, talkative, cute and funny.
Not always well-behaved but nothing too obscene.
And then along came Amos.
The old me espoused all sorts of lofty proclamations.
“My children never run away from me.”
“My kids don’t dump toys.”
“My people sleep in their OWN beds.”
Ohhhh, how that innocent garbling has come back to bite me in the a double s.
Amos has never been perfect in the prescribed sense of the word.
Of course, he’s always been awfully cute, but is also the epitome of a square in our circle world.
He prefers pancakes for dinner.
He takes four different types of medication for adhd, anxiety and sleep or lack thereof.
He sleeps in our bed.
Years of no children and now, a mommy, a daddy, an eight year old with autism and his trusty service dog share what once felt like a big enough bed.
I was wrong, you know.
I attributed traits of my “perfect” children to myself which would mean that it is me who is to blame for this lovely fellow who breaks all the rules.
But, it’s not.
He is complicated and I’m learning to roll with the punches.
To stockpile frozen pancakes.
To remember medicine giving morning and night.
To sleep on the edge of the bed.
To never ever give up.
He struggles to tell you how old he is, but he types phrases into his iPad like, “Geograficregionsofmaldova.”
That amazingness has nothing to do with me.
I’m figuring out that I’m just along for the ride.
For all of them, honestly.
I’ll do my best to guide them and lead them and more often than not, follow them.
Their value and worth is not wrapped up in my parenting.
They have always been enough on their very own.
Especially the one who shares my bed.

Xo,
Adrian

3/21 is World Down Syndrome Day!
Remember to rock your mismatched or crazy socks for awareness!

🏀 ♥️

Dear Coach K,

I've never met you, though you've walked past me many times on a stretch of beach called Pine Knoll Shores. I didn't want to bother you, but wish I had known about your gift to Steve Mitchell. His departure from this earth has offered the story of a life well-lived. He was the man who sat behind you in Duke University’s Cameron Indoor Stadium for 37 years.

He did a lot in his sixty plus years. He was born with Down syndrome and his family shrugged off the doctors and took him right home. He was integrated in an era that made his parents ground breakers; school or church, Steve was there. I am a special needs mama too and their forging a path has benefited so many. You called Steve "a good friend who had some challenges." What a gift of inclusive language.

The story goes that in 1980 the only thing Steve Mitchell wanted for Christmas was a Duke Men's Basketball ticket, not an easy score, but Steve's brother had a construction company and was hired to renovate the new coach’s, Mike "Coach K" Krzyzewski, house. He asked you how one might find a ticket to buy and explained his brother’s Christmas wish.

“He can sit behind me,” you said. Did you know how life changing that gift would be?

The following season, Steve wrote you a letter saying, “Coach, I know we’re going to have another great year. I was hoping that I could sit near you again.” You said yes to a family that may have heard no far more often. He wrote you a letter every year for 37 years and though he left this earth five years ago, I imagine he’s cheering you along tonight for a final win.

He loved nothing more than heading to will call and collecting the ticket for one Steve Mitchell. He would make his way to his seat behind you (with the help of his favorite usher, Fran), a tradition that was life changing for his self-confidence, said his family. You shook his hand before every game.

Thank you, Coach K.

Mamas of special needs kids know that kindness extends far beyond team affiliation and we know that our team is the best of all and as for Steve?

Godspeed, my friend and thank you.

Coach K, your legacy on AND off the court will be remembered.

Love,
Adrian (Amos's mom)

To the People Who Stare at My Child With Down Syndrome "I hope you are staring because you think he is cute."

Many often forget (or simply did not know) that the holocaust began with Aktion T4: the little-known N**i euthanasia initiative that killed as many as 300,000 disabled people, many of them with Down syndrome. This saddens me even more as I see glimpses of my Uncle Kelly in these young men’s faces.

Both prior to and during the Holocaust, N**i authorities executed a massive yet lesser-known program of targeted mass killing aimed at some of the most vulnerable people under their control: the disabled.Starting as a euthanasia program that eliminated disabled infants and children deemed unfit to live and expanding in time to cover disabled adults and the elderly.

Although in a much different form, the genocide of people with Down syndrome, and other disabilities, still remains. Today, many nations have adopted Hitler's mindset and strongly encourage, sometimes enforce, the abortion of babies with Down syndrome. They do not believe that they should live, so they end their lives before they are born.

We must remember the Holocaust so that nothing like it ever happens again.

CEO with Down syndrome runs successful cookie company that helps others with disabilities get jobs Collette Divitto was bullied in high school and had trouble finding a job after college. But one thing has always made her happy: baking. Now, it's her business.

Why I Want to Warn the Woman Who Took This Photo She has something to tell her.

💙 💛 ❤️

Photographer Shines Spotlight on Kids and Adults with Down Syndrome in 'Believe With Me' Series Photographer Hilary Gauld-Camilleri snaps the portraits each year to "shift people's perceptions and misconceptions" about people living with Down syndrome