{"id":58723,"date":"2017-10-16T15:22:43","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T20:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/mchenry\/?p=58723"},"modified":"2017-10-16T15:22:44","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T20:22:44","slug":"syndrome-acceptance-month-2017-day-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/mchenry\/uncategorized\/syndrome-acceptance-month-2017-day-15","title":{"rendered":"Down Syndrome Acceptance Month 2017-Day 15"},"content":{"rendered":"

Down Syndrome Acceptance Month 2017-Day 15<\/p>\n

We have been involved in GiGi\u2019s Playhouse McHenry County since it began 8 years ago. This is where Rebecca first learned to read, practice her emerging social skills and go for just plain fun.<\/p>\n

For the past few years, Rebecca has been a regular attendee at the Kids Club Group. This group is traditionally for kids 8-12, but since our playhouse doesn\u2019t yet have someone to lead a teen group, the volunteer leaders modify the activities to fit a wider range of abilities and ages. The group\u2019s latest leader, Mandi Rios, has been an outstanding volunteer since she jumped in over a year ago. She began as a helper for the group and when the last leader moved, Mandi took over. The kids had a smooth transition since they were already familiar with Mandi and her style. Every month the kids participate in a variety of activities during the 2 hours, from greeting each other to making a snack to games and crafts. Rebecca and the other kids are practicing their social skills in a friendly environment, without judgment or criticism. It\u2019s been a joy to watch her and the other kids talk and share ideas with each other-just like a typical peer group. Those that are less verbal are still drawn into the exchanges, by allowing them to use their body language or facial expressions to communicate their needs or opinions. I only wish these alternate means of communication were more readily accepted and understood in the community at large.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Mandi recently shared with me a personal story I\u2019d like to share now, in her words:<\/p>\n

\u201cA little over a year ago when I announced to my family I was going to volunteer for GiGi\u2019s Playhouse, a Down syndrome achievement center. I\u2019m embarrassed to say my son, 12 at the time, said, \u201cWhat is Down syndrome anyway mom?\u201d It hadn\u2019t even occurred to me to teach him about DS up to that point. So then and over the course of the year I\u2019ve been at GiGi\u2019s, I talk to him and my other kids and anyone else who will listen about GiGi\u2019s and I guess they have actually listened (amazing!) Yesterday, Justen, now 13, came home and said, \u201cMom, there\u2019s a new girl on my bus. She doesn\u2019t talk much. She has Down syndrome. She was sitting alone so I sat with her today and I\u2019m gonna sit with her tomorrow too. She\u2019s so cute. She doesn\u2019t really talk but she smiles a lot. She\u2019s in 5th grade. She did tell me that. And when I got off the bus I gave her a high 5. That made her smile big. Should I tell her about GiGi\u2019s? Do you have a flyer or something? I almost fell over with emotion. Not only has GiGi\u2019s made me a better person but it has made my children better, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justen came to the Kids Club yesterday as a volunteer and peer member. Before he arrived he told his mom that he was a bit anxious about going in. What if he said the wrong thing? What if he didn\u2019t understand them or they didn\u2019t understand him? What if he wasn\u2019t accepted? His mom reassured him and to not worry about a thing. When he got there, he jumped right into the fray of activity. He played the games, painted the pumpkins and joined in the conversations. It was a fantastic party, as Rebecca shared with her dad afterwards. Most kids are anxious to fit in, be a part of a group and make new friends, disability or not. I hope Justen becomes a regular in the group, as I think all the kids accepted him, too.<\/p>\n

By:\u00a0 Rebecca’s Mom, Chris N.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Down Syndrome Acceptance Month 2017-Day 15 We have been involved in GiGi\u2019s Playhouse McHenry County since it began 8 years ago. This is where Rebecca first learned to read, practice her emerging social skills and go for just plain fun. For the past few years, Rebecca has been a regular attendee at the Kids Club…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/mchenry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/mchenry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/mchenry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/mchenry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/mchenry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/mchenry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58723\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/mchenry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/mchenry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/mchenry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}