Why No Person Should be Limited by a Label
When a mother gives birth to a child with Down syndrome, the family is almost immediately overwhelmed by people telling them what that child will not be able to do. From medical professionals to well-meaning but ignorant friends and loved ones, the message is that people with Down syndrome are not capable of reaching the same heights as people in the “normal” spectrum. However, the reality is that people with Down syndrome are simply people who happen to be grouped in a different range of abilities, and what they can achieve varies as wildly by individual as any other group of people.
In the last few years, several people with Down syndrome have made history
Angela Long of Michigan made the news when she graduated from college. What made her graduation even more noteworthy is the fact that she paid for her entire education herself, working her way through college at a local Kroger grocery store. Megan McCormick made history as the first person with Down syndrome to graduate with honor from a U.S. technical college. Ayelén Barreiro was a dancer on a South American dance show. Angela Bachiller of Valladolid, Spain was the first person with Down syndrome to be elected to a political office. Eli Reimer was the first person with Down syndrome to reach the Base Camp of Mount Everest.
While these history-making individuals are certainly not the only people with Down syndrome to have major accomplishments, the fact that so many noteworthy accomplishments have occurred in the last two years reflects a change in how society is viewing those with Down syndrome.
What does Down syndrome look like?
These accomplishments may be slowly changing people’s assumptions about Down syndrome, but it is impossible to ignore that many people still have stereotypes when they encounter people who have the visual hallmarks of Down syndrome. Even this might be changing. In 2015, actress Jamie Brewer became the first person with Down syndrome to walk on a runway at New York’s fashion week. Teen Madeline Stuart’s goal to become a supermodel is to challenge the idea that people with Down syndrome cannot be sexy and beautiful.
The people highlighted in this article are only a few examples of people with Down syndrome who have not let a diagnosis stop them from achieving their dreams. At Mt. Bethel Village, our facilities are one way for people with Down syndrome and other disabilities to live beyond the limitations imposed on them by others.
