Maddz: Everyone Deserves a Birthday Celebration!

You’ve probably heard the myths about Down syndrome, including “People with Down syndrome are always so happy”. I can say that, although many of the people that I’ve met with Down syndrome tend to express joy more freely than most, they also convey the same range of emotions that anyone else does.

After a few months at the job, though, I found myself developing some myths of my own. I found myself thinking, “Are all people with Down syndrome THIS beautiful? Are they all THIS kind and loving?”

22-year-old Maddz is one of the participants that makes me think this way. She has this superpower of bringing light and goodness and love every time she sets foot in the Playhouse. And, as if we didn’t already love her enough, Maddz showed us all a new level of compassion and kindness with her most recent inspiration.

One day last year, Maddz was talking to a fellow participant at an adult cooking class who was concerned that no one would remember her 40th birthday that was coming up. Maddz took the initiative to make this friend a big, beautiful birthday card that she brought to the next session of GiGi Kitchen and made sure that all the other participants signed it before it was presented to her friend with a Happy Birthday serenade.

That incident made Maddz think that we should make a big deal about everyone’s birthday. So, she asked each of her GiGi’s Kitchen mates when their birthday was, as well as their favorite color. Over time, Maddz made a point of taking a photo of each of her kitchen classmates at work preparing the salad, entrée or dessert that was on that day’s menu. Then she and her mom came to the Playhouse to decorate a wall in the GiGi’s Kitchen with 8”x10” photos of each of her friends with the month of their birthday identified so that no one would ever have to wonder if their birthday will be remembered.

I always love giving tours of GiGi’s Playhouse to new families and visitors, and the Birthday Wall in the GiGi’s Kitchen is now the highlight of each tour. And we have wonderful Maddz to thank for that!