It is hard not to smile when Joey is around.
Joey Solinsky, the oldest of six children, has Down syndrome. He works in a local barbershop sweeping hair and enjoys a massage every other week. Joey lives in a group home. His interests include watching old TV shows, listening to his radio on his headphones and writing his calendars.
It is hard not to smile when Joey is around.
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Every year, we have the same debate: Awareness vs Acceptance. There is a firmly held belief within some corners of the Down syndrome community that it is way past time for awareness. While I understand where they’re coming from, and occasionally agree with some of the reactions to specific stories, I think it’s a more complicated issue than we like to admit.
From the back of the car Emily shouts to the sunset - Look! The sky is orange juice flavour! Today’s adult blog spotlight is on Orange Juice Flavour Sky. This blog is written by Emily’s dad, Paul, and if you weren’t clued in by the extra u, they share their story from across the pond. Rotherham and South Yorkshire area where folks call Trisomy 21 Down’s syndrome. I love reading about Emily’s family and their adventures. What you should do, right now, is drop everything, put the kettle on, and spend a few hours reading everything from the blog that shares: “Lessons I'm learning from Emily and others with Down's syndrome.” However, if you, for some odd reason, can’t do that. I will point you to a few of my favorite posts. This post came early in my “meeting” of the family, A Date to Remember. This is the story of Emily’s first date. “So let me tell you about my daughter Emily & her boyfriend Jono. Emily is 20 and has Down’s syndrome; Jono is one year older and also has Down’s syndrome. They met at school when Emily was 16. It soon became apparent to their teachers that there was something in the air (and it wasn’t the chicken korma drifting through from the dining hall). No, Emily and Jono had hit it off. Laughing together, wanting to be with one another, being in a better mood when the other was near. Sound familiar?” You’re going to have to read on to see how this one turns out. One of the great things about being part of a team is that it gives you a chance to see different perspectives on the same issue. Karen, Mardra, and I don't ever seem to see things exactly the same, but we have a mutual respect for each other's opinions. The best way we've found to get multiple opinions across is talk it through. BlogTalk Radio gives us a platform to share some of those discussions with our community.
In our first show, we talked about guardianship and sheltered workshops with two other friends, for two hours, and didn't quite get through all of our thoughts. :D Dev just turned 18
She is a Cheer Leader through and through She loves to dance and sing Her favorite class is Marine Biology After graduating high school in the spring, she will be taking classes at the community college She enjoys challenging herself and annoying her younger brother :-) My name is Josh. I am 19 years old and I just happened to have Down syndrome. I am leading a very happy, productive and fulfilled life. I am especially good at teasing and joking. I am full of humor and I love to laugh and make others laugh too. I love music, specifically Celtic Thunder. I love to play cards, especially Scat. I love bowling with my Special Olympics team. I loved my horseback riding lessons. I used to play baseball, but running is just not my thing! My favorite thing is swinging while I listen to music. I have four adopted dogs! I currently work as a helper in a preschool classroom and I love my job, my coworkers and the kids!
You can follow me at Just Joshin' Ya on Facebook! Here on The Road we love to share stores about adults who find their creativity! Allie has done just that! She's also the first (alphabetically) on our list of adults who have their own businesses! Today's post was written by Allie and her Dad and on Friday we get to talk to Allie on our BlogTalk Radio show! Be sure to join us and welcome Allie and her family to The Road!
Check out Allie's website and Facebook page. One of the reasons we decided to create a separate community was our realization that parents and caregivers of adults have specific needs for information. We're past the stage of schools and education. We're lucky to be living in a time when the life expectancy of people who have Down syndrome has doubled since our children were born. While this is wonderful news, it also presents unique needs for information and care giving. The problem is that some of this information is not readily available, and some may not even be written yet.
We need to create some of this knowledge by sharing our experiences with each other and learning as we go. Today's adult blog spotlight is on Sherry Palmer who writes about her son Charley at Life With Charley. Charley is one of those guys whose smile can melt anyone's heart. His mother's writing style is so honest and funny, that readers can't help but fall in love with both of them.
Facebook has become a major resource for people to connect and share with each other. The Road and its team can be found there too! Our main page is where you'll find links to our web posts as well as items we share from other people. All three of us (Stephanie, Karen, and Mardra) can post to it, so you never know what might show up there. You can be sure it will apply to our community and be family friendly.
We also have a closed group where parents can discuss things and ask questions in a more secure environment. The team members may use this group to try to get a consensus about a particular topic or to discuss new projects with those who follow us before rolling them out to the general public. Last but not least, we have a public group for our Story Club. There will be more details about that in a future post. |
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