My Great Story

Mother's Day Section

Celebrate all mothers of people with Down syndrome with the My Great Story Mother's Day section!

Click here to view the collection and click the submit bookmark to share your story with the My Great Story campaign's Mother's Day section.

My Great Story of the Week

To My Mom with Love...

Chris Burke, New York, NY

I would like to wish all of you moms a "Happy Mother’s Day." I would like to talk about a wonderful person whom I was raised by, my mom, Marian Burke – since I am her baby, and I always will be. My favorite three words to say to her are "I love you." It's great to be your son. We really do have a lot of great times together - through my early childhood days until my adulthood. We have had good times and bad times, which is very true, but she has always been there for me a lot. But not just for me, for my dad (her husband Frank), and she's dedicated to her children, Ellen, Anne, J.R. and, of course, me.

Click here to continue reading Chris' story.

2012 O'Neill and Tabani Enrichment Fund Application is Available

The O'Neill Tabani Enrichment Fund offers financial assistance to adults (18+) who have Down syndrome and wish to enhance their lives by enrolling in postsecondary programs or taking enrichment classes that will help them to gain employment, independent living skills or life skills. All applications must be postmarked or emailed by July 13th.

Click here to learn more and download the application.

Milestones

Our latest video, Milestones, is now available for viewing on our website. NDSS would like to thank filmmaker Erica Hill for helping us fulfill this important “milestone.” We also want to extend a special thank you to the Heit, Rosado/Morocho, Orthey and Simons families for welcoming us into their homes and sharing their stories.

Video credit: Erica Hill Studio

Click here to view the video.

National Down Syndrome Society Continues Relationship with Prudential

After a successful first year of affiliation, NDSS is pleased to renew its relationship with Prudential to provide resources on financial literacy to the Down syndrome community. “We’re excited to work with Prudential to help people with Down syndrome and their families learn more about planning needs for their future financial needs,” said Jon Colman, president of NDSS.

Click here and scroll down to continue reading.

Revised Health Care Guidelines for Ages 0-21

The NDSS Clinical Advisory Board, composed of the topic health care experts on Down syndrome, have digested the new health care guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics into simple checklists just for parents.

Click here for more information and parent checklists.

Announcing NDSS Your Way!

NDSS is pleased to announce the official launch of NDSS Your Way! This program invites you to compete, celebrate and create with us through our new online fundraising program that is geared towards independent fundraisers interested in raising money on behalf of NDSS. Participants in this program create personalized fundraising web pages in support of an event or individual pursuit.

Click here to learn more and get started!.

National ABLE Act Call-In Day

Thank you to those who for made calls, posted and tweeted at your Members of Congress on National ABLE Act Call-In Day. The ABLE Act cosponsor list keeps growing! If you didn’t have a chance to pick up the phone last week or you want to do more to help us advance the bill in Congress? It's not too late to participate!

Click here to learn more and become an advocate.

Monthly Webinars

Each month, NDSS provides a free educational web-based seminar, or webinar, to anyone who is interested in learning more about Down syndrome and related topics, such as health, education, research and family life.

In May, the NDSS webinar will be "How You Can Help Us Pass the ABLE Act Today." The presentation will be on Tuesday, May 22 at 7:00pm ET.

Click here for detailed information about the webinar.

Click here to register for the webinar.

Click here to download slides from past NDSS webinars.

NDSS Signature T-Shirts are Here!

Introducing the new NDSS signature t-shirts, available for men, women and children. Pictured above is Malea wearing the kids' style. The t-shirts feature 3:21 on the front, symbolic of the third copy of chromosome 21 in Trisomy 21, and the NDSS logo on the back. $5 will be donated to NDSS for each t-shirt purchased.

Click here to view the collection and make a purchase.

Click here to view more photos of the 3:21 signature t-shirts.

Click here to share your own photos of family and friends in the 3:21 signature t-shirts.

Click here to watch our World Down Syndrome Day 3:21 signature t-shirt video.

2011 Times Square Video

The 2011 Times Square Video is now available to view!

Click here to watch the video and for order form information.

National Institutes of Health forms Down Syndrome Consortium with NDSS and other Down Syndrome Groups

Click here to read the press release.

NDSS Establishes Criteria to Evaluate Companies with Non-Invasive Prenatal Diagnostic Tests for Down Syndrome

The National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) recognizes that many companies, both within the United States and abroad, are developing new noninvasive blood tests that might be able to detect Down syndrome prenatally. The NDSS appreciates that these tests are likely to be safer for pregnant women than the current invasive options of chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis.

Click here to read more.

Click here to view the Sequenom report card.