Why are We Celebrating?

What is a ‘Best of All’ and why do we celebrate it?

‘Best of All’ is continual, measurable, celebrated and it never ends. It is a daily challenge to do a little better than you did the day before and it’s always celebrated. Possible manifestations: standing just one second longer, reading just one more word, learning just one new number, taking just one more step, never a competition, never completed.

People with Down syndrome are not always celebrated for their accomplishments outside of GiGi’s Playhouse, so we make sure that EVERYONE is celebrated in our four walls!

Our staff and volunteers are all trained to watch for each person’s Best of All moments while they’re participating in programming. These moments can be ‘big’ like a toddler taking their first steps or more subtle like a teen making eye contact and greeting their friend.

A Best of All moment will be different for every person. We have these guides online that can help you understand what to look for at various age ranges. They are a great resource to share with family, friends, medical professionals, therapists and educators.

We are excited to celebrate our friend Matthew’s most recent Best of All.

Matthew attends GiGiFIT Teens, GiGi’s Kitchen, Speech Therapy, Literacy Tutoring , Dynamic Duals and special events. Over the years he has gotten more and more comfortable in the Playhouse and with his peers. He works incredibly hard on his communication skills by learning how to use his AAC device and expressing thoughts and feelings with his voice.

This week, Matthew really let his personality shine! He was joking around with his tutor, friends and program leaders! He not only shared his feelings thorough big smiles and different vocal intonations, he also responded to his mom by verbally saying ‘I want to play’, when she asked if he wanted to play longer or go home. (By this point he was already at the Playhouse for over 2 1/2 hours!)

These communications are a huge accomplishment for Matthew and is a testament to the hard work he puts in every week and the incredible advocacy that his family does for him.

Helps us celebrate Matthew and all his hard work!