GiGi’s Playhouse Shines on the Global Medical Stage

On February 24th, 2022, GiGi’s Playhouse Founder and Chief Belief Officer, Nancy Gianni, and GiGi’s Playhouse National Education Manager, Shari Andress presented with a panel of experts at the 33rd International Congress on Pediatrics in a break-out session entitled “Experiences with Down Syndrome Patients”.

The event was held virtually and was hosted by the Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

Our organization’s namesake and Chief Inspiration Officer, THE GiGi Gianni, helped kick off the presentation with a brief summary of what living with Down syndrome is like. She invited conference participants to join the #generationg army by making a pledge to be accepting of people of all abilities.

Participating in this esteemed conference was a tremendous opportunity for Nancy, GiGi, and Shari to spread our message of global acceptance for all via our “I Accept You” campaign, and more specifically to introduce our “How I Learn” program to an international community of pediatricians.

“How I Learn” is a multi-sensory, multi-modal teaching approach that helps individuals with Down syndrome succeed in the areas of education and communication. It puts emphasis on meaningful progressions rather than developmental milestones using a simple philosophy: set high expectations while creating individual adaptations to help each student achieve their highest potential and move toward independence.

This method also incorporates strategies to counteract Hypotonia, a medical term used to describe decreased muscle tone. This condition largely affects individuals with Down syndrome and impacts learning and communication in several ways.

For example, did you know it takes 100 muscles to speak? Something as simple as reading aloud counts as exercise for these muscles and helps individuals with Down syndrome improve speech clarity.

At GiGi’s Playhouse, we recognize the importance of regularly connecting with the medical community to ensure our friends living with an extra chromosome have access to the best health and educational resources.

It was an honor to have collaborated with the International Congress on Pediatrics to help strengthen the bond between pediatricians and individuals with Down syndrome!

Watch the presentation here: