March 21 marks World Down Syndrome Day and, in response, Down Syndrome International (DSI) is asking “What does #inclusion mean?” One of the issues facing awareness days – regardless of the disability being discussed – is that the voices of those with the disability themselves are often not handed the microphone.
Not so for DSI’s promotional material, featuring those with the generic condition giving answers to regularly asked questions like “Can a person with Down syndrome live on their own?” “Can a Person with Down syndrome have a job?” And, “Can a person with Down Syndrome get married?”
Another way that awareness is raised is through their #LotsOfSocks campaign, where interested people can buy a set of colorful socks – whether they match is up to you. World Down Syndrome Day was first celebrated in 2006, according to the official website, with the UN General Assembly ratifying the day in 2011.
The date March 21 was chosen, according to multiple sources, because the condition involved a copy of the 21st chromosome. According to the UN, somewhere between three and five thousand children are born with Down Syndrome (often called Down’s Syndrome in Europe) each year. Meanwhile, the CDC puts their estimation at 6,000. There is no definitive data available, at time of publication, as to how many people have Down syndrome globally.
If you plug #Inclusionmean or #WorldDownSyndromeDay into Twitter you’ll find a range of projects on the go. Examples include members of Malta’s Opening Door’s Association creating a music video, a fledgling campaign to support the event in Kenya, and a deep discussion on the UK’s Down Syndrome Act 2022, an attempt by members of the British Parliament to move towards increased support for those with Down syndrome in health, social care, housing, and education. This comes after significant campaigning by British charities.
Political decisions are particularly noteworthy as the link between Down syndrome and medical policies have also been in the spotlight recently. Most notably, a piece by the Atlantic’s Sarah Zhang where she pointed to Denmark’s prenatal testing policies and the chilling effect it has had on the birth rates of the disability. Zhang went into further detail in an interview for the The Open Notebook if you’d like to read more about how Down syndrome is and isn’t currently covered.
You can find out more information about World Down Syndrome Day, and how to get involved, at https://www.worlddownsyndromeday.org/
Comments