Disclaimer: We were very sad to have to cancel our #50for50 jump this Saturday due to coronavirus. We are however incredibly proud of our jumpers who have done some amazing fundraising – and we will be rescheduling! We would still like to introduce you to one of our jumpers Annabel… Annabel Tall is one of […]
New documentary about school, inclusion and education
Ian Davies is a filmmaker and he is also father to Finn, Amber and Olivia. Amber and Olivia are 10-year-old twins, and Amber has Down’s syndrome. Ian has spent the last four years documenting their journey through school. His feature-length documentary film Amber and Me is about to be released in cinemas across the country. The film […]
Education Committee Inquiry on SEND
The Education Committee has today published the report of its inquiry into special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). They have concluded that this generation is being let down by the current system, and that parents are facing a “titanic struggle” to find the right help and support. We contributed to the Special Education Consortium’s submission, […]
Let’s Talk About Relationships and Sex
The Information and Training Team have spent much of the last year developing a new eight week training course package for adults with Down’s syndrome covering all aspects of relationships and sex education (RSE). Whilst most people with Down’s syndrome will have had access to some form of RSE at school, the timescales of these […]
Setting a World Record at the London Marathon
Marie Evans recently attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon dressed as DNA, inspired by her son Gabriel, who has Down’s syndrome. She tells us how it all happened… In 2013, the year before our wonderful son Gabriel was born, I ran the Edinburgh Marathon, taking 4 hours, 50 minutes. Upon […]
Health Alert! Campaign: Response to Government Consultation
Today sees the culmination of coordinated work across the DSA with the submission of our response to The Department of Health and Social Care consultation on mandatory learning disability training for health and care professionals. For a long while now we have been concerned about the variability in quality of healthcare individuals with Down’s syndrome […]
Ride to Everest will honour Tom’s memory and raise DSA funds
A Hertfordshire man is gearing up for a 10,000 mile motorcycle challenge in memory of his son Tom, who died when he was just seven years old. Richard ‘Dicky’ Barr will ride from London to Mount Everest, leaving the capital on 20th April, the day on which Tom would have turned 22. Tom had Down’s […]
“Carer’s allowance leaves us in the poverty trap”
Karen Gavin and her husband John are older parents, at 60 and 69. Their son Matthew (21) has the dual diagnosis of Down’s syndrome and severe Autism Spectrum Disorder, and the couple share looking after him at home. Matthew needs 1:1 care, 24 hours a day. John is at retirement age and works part-time and […]
I wish I knew then, what I know now…
Michele is married to Matthew and she has two children, Lois 9 and Elliot 7. Elliot has Down’s syndrome and they live in South London. This is her story… I can clearly remember the day I went for my 12 week scan. I’d told Matt not to bother taking time off of work, it was […]
The Max Factor – celebrating my son Maxwell’s fifth birthday on World Down Syndrome Day
Maxwell was born on World Down Syndrome Day 2014. Now as he turns five on March 21, his mum Molly tells us about Maxwell starting school and his journey into the next stage of his life. As this year’s WDSD theme is #LeaveNoOneBehind, Molly particularly talks about how Maxwell’s school makes sure every single student […]
