Angel of the Week

Meet Alicia!

"Alicia deserves a family just as  much as her typically developing sisters did."

From an adoptive family who visited with her in July 2010:  "Alicia absolutely LOVES one on one attention. she is front and center if you are handing out kisses and hugs. You can see she wants a Mama all her own, and it will be so hard on her to have her sister leave to be adopted, as her other sister was already adopted... " 
If you would like more information on him or any of the other children, please contact us!

My heart breaks for Alicia. Her typically developing sister was just adopted and this beautiful little girl, who is delayed, was left behind. She is especially vulnerable now without her sister. Please help us to find a family for the little one left behind!

Alicia has $0 currently in her adoption grant fund. So, even if you aren't able to adopt a child presently, you can still help her find her forever family by donating towards her grant fund. 

Please scroll down to grab our Child of the Week button

She can be found here: http://reecesrainbow.org/hivee1.html

Alicia  (11)

Girl, Born 2004

SIGNIFICANT RISK, PLEASE ADOPT ME SOON!!

  

Miss Alicia is a beautiful little girl who needs a loving family.  Her other two typically developing sisters were adopted by other families already.   

  

Alicia was born to an HIV+ mother, and is HIV+ herself.  She has also has significant delays and challenges associated with her FAS.  (fetal alcohol syndrome).  We are waiting to learn if she has any medical complications, but she is cognitively delayed and does show signs of attention deficit and hyperactivity.    Alicia will do best where she can be the focus of attention and have her Daddy wrapped around her finger :)    Alicia has SO much potential, and deserves a family as much as her other sisters do.   I know there is a family out there for this little girl!  She is facing the mental institution soon, but has grown up in a loving and well kept orphanage so far.  A committed family now can prevent her transfer!

  

From an adoptive family who visited with her in July 2010:  " Alicia absolutely LOVES one on one attention. she is front and center if you are handing out kisses and hugs. You can see she wants a Mama all her own, and it will be so hard on her to have her sister leave to be adopted, as her other sister was already adopted.   (Their mother is deceased, most likely from AIDS).   She likes to swing.   She loved to lay her head in my lap while we were both on the bench swing and I would stroke her hair. The other kids didnt like to share my attention but Alicia was ok with it.   I could have two in my lap and she didn't mind, but she didnt like being crowded out when the other child decided they wanted me all to themselves.  She likes sensory input.   She kept rubbing her arm across my husband's unshaved face and shivering and making the funniest face and then immediately doing it again.  She likes to go down the slide again and again.   She really likes to be in the  middle of whatever is going on, and be included. But often she is excluded, even by attendants.  For Alicia it's a vicious circle. She is delayed, she gets frustrated, they don't let her do things the others are doing, she gets more delayed and more frustrated. She is VERY VERY SWEET AND LOVING.  She needs a family that has only a couple kids, not ten. She has HIV.   If you want a little girl to hug and kiss, she will GLADLY take all the hugs and kisses you can hand out. She isn't afraid of men but isn't inappropriate either. I saw her with my husband as well as another couple of young men who visit regularly.  Alicia is on the small side, like maybe size 4.  The children are valued and loved at this orphanage.   The grounds are visually stimulating and the kids get outside for a couple hours in the morning as well as afternoon.   They even go swimming in the pool they have there.   Hope someone will come for Alicia very soon!"

 

MORE PHOTOS AVAILABLE, MARRIED COUPLES ONLY

Please grab our Child of the Week Button for your blog. Each week this button will change to show the current week's child (you only need to add the button once to your blog). The children that will be featured will be ones with $0 or very low adoption grant funds. By hosting our Child of the Week button we are hoping to not only raise awareness for that particular child but also to hopefully raise the amount in their fund. These funds have proven to help families who would otherwise be qualified and able to adopt them, except for the cost of an international adoption, feel able to commit to bringing home and giving the precious gift of a family to these angels.





Be sure to right click on the box below and then select all.

<center><a href="http://reecesrainbow.blogspot.com/search/label/Child%20of%20the%20Week"><img width="100%" src="http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WilliamtheOutlaw/RR/childoftheweek.png" /></a><br /> <a href="http://reecesrainbow.blogspot.com/search/label/Child%20of%20the%20Week"><img width="75%" src="http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WilliamtheOutlaw/RR/childweekgrab.png" /></a><br /> </center>

Thank you for all you do to support and help Reece's Rainbow!

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Angel of the Week

CORRECTION - Previous Announcement

Regarding the previous post 

 

CORRECTION:

 

Speaking time is 9:45am EST on Saturday, July 24, 2010 for live streaming for viewers around the world to watch in real time as IDEAL-WAY Founder, Robert Pio Hajjar, immediately followed by Co-Founder Addie Daabous, will be addressing the Best Buddies International Leadership Conference at U of Indiana Auditorium. www.bestbuddies.org/lc2010 .

 

FYI, 14 countries will be represented at this International Conference.

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CORRECTION - Previous Announcement

Friday Focus on Down Syndrome - An Announcement

If you've been reading the Friday Focus on Down Syndrome posts you may remember Robert Pio Hajjar!

When he was born, the doctors told his parents to 'put him away and forget about him'. They painted a pretty grim picture of what his life would be like, filled with disappointment and unfulfilled dreams. His parents disagreed. They said he was a gift from God and took him home.

Today Robert is a motivational speaker seeking to educate people on the truths about Down Syndrome and other disabilities. 

Now, here is the announcement! You get to see him speaking at the Best Buddies International Leadership Conference at U of Indiana Auditorium. There will be live streaming for viewers around the world to watch in real time! Here is the official announcement.

CORRECTION:

 

Speaking time is 9:45am EST on Saturday, July 24, 2010 for live streaming for viewers around the world to watch in real time as IDEAL-WAY Founder, Robert Pio Hajjar, immediately followed by Co-Founder Addie Daabous, will be addressing the Best Buddies International Leadership Conference at U of Indiana Auditorium. www.bestbuddies.org/lc2010 .

 

FYI, 14 countries will be represented at this International Conference.

Please visit the web site to find out more about the event and to make sure you are able to attend this online event! What a privilege it is to be able to see Robert speaking at this conference!

Also, please share this on  your facebook and twitter and email! There is a share link at the bottom of the post so you can easily spread the word about this unique opportunity!

What IDEAL-WAY do

“You will never be happier and God will be very happy too"......

Community Education
An unique approach to positively
re-educating mainstream society,
by publicly empowering persons
with intellectual disability,
makes Ideal-Way an outstanding
leader for the community of
persons that are intellectually
disabled."


Relief of Poverty
To relieve poverty by providing
basic amenities, including food,
clothing and household goods to
low income individuals with
disabilities, in financial need
or of small/limited means.


Provide programs to persons with intellectual disabilities
Recreational Art &; Literacy programs on a Provincial level. Ontario wide Poetry Contest and Ontario Wide Art Contest exclusively for persons with disabilities. The IDEAL Penpal Program, TIPP, exlusively for persons with intellectual disabilities.

If you would like to learn more about IDEAL-WAY, I would encourage you to visit their web site, IDEAL-WAY.ca.

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Friday Focus on Down Syndrome - An Announcement

Angel of the Week

Meet Allen!

"Hi Mommy! I hope you will find me here...I am facing transfer very soon!"

"Hi Mommy", Allen says, waving and smiling! "Look how smart I am! I can color, draw, write letters....and I am just a SUNSHINE to have around. I love to run and climb, play with toys and balls, and help my friends. I eat and sleep well, am working on my potty training, and am well taken care of. I hope you will find me here and come get me very soon! I am facing transfer very soon!"
If you would like more information on him or any of the other children, please contact us!


Allen has $0 currently in his adoption grant fund. So even if you aren't able to adopt a child presently, you can still help him find his forever family by donating towards his grant fund. 

Please scroll down to grab our Child of the Week button

He can be found here: http://reecesrainbow.org/atriskwaiting.html

Allen
Boy, Born January 28, 2006z837-2H


"Hi, Mommy", Allen says, waving and smiling!  "Look how smart I am!   I can color, draw, write letters....and I am just a SUNSHINE to have around.   I love to run and climb, play with toys and balls, and help my friends.  I eat and sleep well, am working on my potty training, and am well taken care of.  I hope you will find me here and come get me very soon!   I am facing transfer very soon."

Allen was born with an ASD.  He is farsighted with a strong degree of astigmatism, so he will need glasses!

This little one has stolen my heart!  Hope someone will consider adopting him.  He is doing SO well and will be a wonderful son for any family.

MORE PHOTOS AVAILABLE

FULL MEDICAL RECORDS AVAILABLE


MARRIED COUPLES ONLY AT THIS TIME
I have $0 in my grant fund towards the cost of my adoption!

Please grab our Child of the Week Button for your blog. Each week this button will change to show the current week's child (you only need to add the button once to your blog). The children that will be featured will be ones with $0 or very low adoption grant funds. By hosting our Child of the Week button we are hoping to not only raise awareness for that particular child but also to hopefully raise the amount in their fund. These funds have proven to help families who would otherwise be qualified and able to adopt them, except for the cost of an international adoption, feel able to commit to bringing home and giving the precious gift of a family to these angels.









Be sure to right click on the box below and then select all.

<center><a href="http://reecesrainbow.blogspot.com/search/label/Child%20of%20the%20Week"><img width="100%" src="http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WilliamtheOutlaw/RR/childoftheweek.png" /></a><br /> <a href="http://reecesrainbow.blogspot.com/search/label/Child%20of%20the%20Week"><img width="75%" src="http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WilliamtheOutlaw/RR/childweekgrab.png" /></a><br /> </center>

Thank you for all you do to support and help Reece's Rainbow!

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Angel of the Week

Friday Focus on Down Syndrome - A Video for You!

CLICK HERE to read this article from the ksdk.com website.

Swimmer is a young man of many talents

Emmanuel Bishop is a 13-year old on a mission.

Swimming is just one of Emmanuel's talent areas, and he has several. The young man with Down Syndrome currently holds six world Special Olympics records. He trains five days a week in the pool.

He is also a talented golfer, and has recently begun lifting weights to help his swimming.

Emmanuel is home schooled by his parents, and his fluent in four languages. He can recite the Hail Mary in French.

To see more with Emmanuel, click on the video link.

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Friday Focus on Down Syndrome - A Video for You!

What do you think? Dolls with special needs?

Special-needs dolls, and Down Syndrome dolls in particular, have come in for criticism from parents who believe they pigeonhole their children and rely on stereotypes. "It's a scary image for a lot of families," says Sheila Hebein, the executive director of the Chicago-based National Association for Down Syndrome. "They're highlighting differences...."

Read the article in full HERE>



_ _ _ _

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What do you think? Dolls with special needs?

Angel of the Week

Meet Johnny!

Johnny is already showing good signs of development from the daily therapy he's receiving!

Johnny's circumstances are unusual. He is in a country that doesn't allow adoption until their first birthday. However, the agency is hoping for a family able to handle his medical needs to come forward that would be paper ready to travel by January when he turns one.


If you would like more information on him or any of the other children, please contact us!


Sergei has $0 currently in his adoption grant fund. So even if you aren't able to adopt a child presently, you can still help him find his forever family by donating towards his grant fund. 

Please scroll down to grab our Child of the Week button

He can be found here: http://reecesrainbow.org/angelboys.html

Johnny

Boy, Born January 20, 2010

Johnny was born with Apert Syndrome, which has many other associated conditions.
Johnny has a cleft palate, choanal atresia(nasal blockage). His echocardiogram indicated that he has an ASD, 2 small defects that do not require medication at this time. He will see a cardiologist again in the fall.
His hands and feet are fused. It is possible that this can be surgically corrected. Photos of both hands are available. He does have a distinct thumb and pinky finger on his right hand.
A CT scan of his brain was done in February 2010 and the results are available for interested families.

Johnny is receiving therapy every day and is already showing signs of good development. He’s rolling over on his own and pulling the tube out of his mouth (proof that he can use his hands!). He has recently begun to take food by mouth. He previously had a feeding tube.
We will continue to receive updates on his development as he grows.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AND MEDICAL RECORDS ARE AVALIABLE

                                                                           Johnny’s situation is unique. He lives in a country where he cannot be adopted until his first birthday.
However, his social worker knows that he will not be adopted in his own country and because of the Apert syndrome, they are actively seeking out a family that can adopt him as quickly as possible to address his medical needs. His birth family has already surrendered their parental rights and his paper work is being done quickly for international adoption. The agency is seeking a family that can start the adoption process and be paper ready to travel in January, when Johnny turns a year old.

Please grab our Child of the Week Button for your blog. Each week this button will change to show the current week's child (you only need to add the button once to your blog). The children that will be featured will be ones with $0 or very low adoption grant funds. By hosting our Child of the Week button we are hoping to not only raise awareness for that particular child but also to hopefully raise the amount in their fund. These funds have proven to help families who would otherwise be qualified and able to adopt them, except for the cost of an international adoption, feel able to commit to bringing home and giving the precious gift of a family to these angels.







Be sure to right click on the box below and then select all.

<center><a href="http://reecesrainbow.blogspot.com/search/label/Child%20of%20the%20Week"><img width="100%" src="http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WilliamtheOutlaw/RR/childoftheweek.png" /></a><br /> <a href="http://reecesrainbow.blogspot.com/search/label/Child%20of%20the%20Week"><img width="75%" src="http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WilliamtheOutlaw/RR/childweekgrab.png" /></a><br /> </center>

Thank you for all you do to support and help Reece's Rainbow!

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Angel of the Week

'As one we can'~help the hills family

This little lady is Miriam...the Hills have chosen the name Joy for her. Such a wonderful name! I bet joy will be something she's full of & will bring to her new family for sure. Joy will be coming to a home full of Ukrainian brothers & sisters..4 others to be exact :) The Hills have been moving forward in building their family via adoption for a few years now & have found Christ as their Savior along the way. How cool is that? Well in this adoption , just like the ones in the past (their last adoptions were in 2009) has been one that has tested their faith. They've been a family blessed with God's peace in the financial department & while they need the funds & help, they ultimately have learned that God will provide. In the post dated July 3re & titled 'Is there such a thing as to much faith' on their blog you can read about that peace & learn more about the family that God is knitting together. http://www.findingrdaughter.blogspot.com/

You can find their button on the left of the As One blog here www.asonewecan.blogspot.com or on their personal blog, to be able to post it to your blog. You can give whatever amount God lays on your heart to give by going here..http://www.reecesrainbow.com/familysponsorshipgettingcloser.html As of today the family has $50. posted on their FSP..let's see if we can help them with a little more & with prayers & God's love.

"And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you.He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:8

In His service to you

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'As one we can'~help the hills family

CTR: Volunteers needed!

Connecting The Rainbow has been invited back to Sofia to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day 2011 with the families in Bulgaria! But, this is not just a social visit though. The families have asked us to conduct a 2 day conference for families raising children with Down syndrome, therapists, doctors, teachers and anyone else that wants to attend the event.

One of the first things that must be done is to secure the team of people that will conduct the conference! We have created a way for anyone interested in participating in this event to contact us and let us know how you would like to help. We are seeking out qualified professionals to go on this trip, but we will also need parents, educators and others who have a variety of skill sets needed to make every asset of the conference a success.

So, if you have any interest at all in going to Bulgaria in March 2011 to help with this event, please complete the volunteer interest form by clicking here. Please note that this is just a general inquiry form, so no formal commitment is being made by completing the form.

Information about the dates of the trip, the cost involved, etc are on the volunteer interest form. Forms will be accepted until August 31st. You are welcome to share this form with therapists, doctors, educators or anyone who you think would be interested in going on this trip. We will follow-up with everyone who expresses an interest so that the most comprehensive team of volunteers can be assembled to meet the needs of the March conference.

We also need people to volunteer to help BEFORE the trip! There are going to be many projects that need to be done in preparation for the trip. Several people have asked if there are ways that they can help and the short answer is....YES!!! If you are interested in assisting CTR in any way, we now have a volunteer form that can be completed so that we can compile a list of people that are willing to help. You can complete that form by clicking here. We will need volunteers to help with projects that will be given to the children in Bulgaria AND we will soon be starting on similar projects to give to families in Ukraine too. So, if you've ever wanted to help in any way, please complete this form. We will be creating an email list of people who are interested in volunteering so that needs can be shared and those who are willing to help can be given the opportunity to do so.

To recap:
• If you are interested in going to Bulgaria in March 2011 to help with the conference, complete this form.
• If you are interested in volunteering with projects that CTR are completing both for the trip to Bulgaria and any future projects for Bulgaria or Ukraine, complete this form

If you have any questions about Connecting The Rainbow and/or how you can help, please email Shelley at shele337@yahoo.com . Please put "CTR" as the subject of your email.

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CTR: Volunteers needed!

Angel of the Week

Meet Sergei (4)!

Sergei will truly blossom once home!

Sergei is a sweet boy who desperately needs a family. He doesn't have any heart issues but he does have some GI issues. He is delayed cognitively but will blossom once home.  

Are you the loving family he needs to encourage him and provide the medical attention for his needs? If you would like more information on him or any of the other children, please contact us!


Sergei has $0 currently in his adoption grant fund. So even if you aren't able to adopt a child presently, you can still help him find his forever family by donating towards his grant fund. 

Please scroll down to grab our Child of the Week button

He can be found here: http://reecesrainbow.org/atriskwaiting.html

Sergei (4)

Boy, Born September 7, 2006

Sergei is a sweet boy who desperately needs a family.  He does not have a heart condition, but does have some gastrointestinal problems.  We are waiting for more detailed info about this, please check back soon.

Sergei is sginificantly delayed cognitively, but will truly blossom once home.  He faces the institution later this Fall, so he needs a loving family who can encourage him and provide adequate medical attenion for his needs!  

.

I have $0 in my grant fund towards the cost of my adoption!

 

Please grab our Child of the Week Button for your blog. Each week this button will change to show the current week's child (you only need to add the button once to your blog). The children that will be featured will be ones with $0 or very low adoption grant funds. By hosting our Child of the Week button we are hoping to not only raise awareness for that particular child but also to hopefully raise the amount in their fund. These funds have proven to help families who would otherwise be qualified and able to adopt them, except for the cost of an international adoption, feel able to commit to bringing home and giving the precious gift of a family to these angels.







Be sure to right click on the box below and then select all.

<center><a href="http://reecesrainbow.blogspot.com/search/label/Child%20of%20the%20Week"><img width="100%" src="http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WilliamtheOutlaw/RR/childoftheweek.png" /></a><br /> <a href="http://reecesrainbow.blogspot.com/search/label/Child%20of%20the%20Week"><img width="75%" src="http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/WilliamtheOutlaw/RR/childweekgrab.png" /></a><br /> </center>

Thank you for all you do to support and help Reece's Rainbow!

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Angel of the Week

Give the Gift of FREEDOM

In this day and age, many folks don't even think about the struggles our early colonists went through, the sacrifices they made, for seven long years during the Revolutionary War, to achieve true FREEDOM.   It seems so long ago, but you and your family are *now living this dream*. The citizens of this nation have endured centuries of strife to preserve that freedom, and to lead the world by example "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". THAT INCLUDES PEOPLE WITH DOWN SYNDROME AND OTHER DISABILITIES . T he FREEDOM that your donation to a waiting child's adoption grant can mean..the gift of that freedom and the life-long intrinsic value of it..absoultely immeasurable!!   The opportunity to save that child from a *prison*....to give them the chance to grow and thrive in a loving family, and be a catalyst for change for the rights of every other child who has been discarded out of ignorance and fear..there simply is no greater gift. No matter where you live in this world, FREEDOM is a basic human right.   Even if you are not in a position to adopt, you can GIVE.   And if you can't give, you can SHARE this opportunity for today and throughout the year with your friends, family, colleagues, churches, Facebook....wherever you can.  Forward this e-mail on to everyone you know...all of your Yahoo groups and other forums...it's so easy to raise awareness! The gift that has been afforded you by our predecessors is YOURS TO SHARE with an orphaned child with Down syndrome or other special needs. Don't let one day go by without being a *freedom fighter*.   Just choose a child, ANY child, from our Waiting Child Gallery, and give now! DONATE NOW as a Gift of Freedom for an orphaned child with special needs!  Visit our website at www.reecesrainbow.org to learn more about what we do and how many children have been saved through donations like yours!

Reece's Rainbow Down Syndrome Adoption Ministry | PO Box 4024 | Gaithersburg | MD | 20885

  

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Give the Gift of FREEDOM

Friday Focus on Down Syndrome

To view this article, please visit IrishTimes.com
Friday Focus on Down Syndrome - Róisín De Búrca

Sitting your Leaving Cert, moving away from home, going on to further education, being named student of the year. These are all major milestones, but especially so when you have Down syndrome. Not that that stopped one inspirational student, writes Vicki McKenna

Róisín De Búrca at Leitir Móir, near her home in Connemara.
Photograph: Joe OShaughnessy

NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD student Róisín De Búrca has had a busy year. One of the few people in Ireland with Down syndrome to have completed a full Leaving Certificate last summer, she then became part of an even smaller group by proceeding on to further education. On top of that, De Búrca recently won Bank of Scotland’s student of the year award. “I felt proud of myself, something I can accomplish in life, something that belongs to me alone instead of the family,” she says.

De Búrca has just finished a Fetac Level 5 course in Business Administration at Galway Technical Institute (GTI). She chose this course because: “I wanted to see how the business environment worked and wanted to see if it was the subject I wanted to get into.” As a native Irish speaker, she spent two weeks on work experience in the office of an Irish-speaking creche, based in Muintearas in Leitir Mór. “It was easier working there because everyone knew me there and I was able to communicate through Irish because it is an Irish-speaking organisation,” De Búrca explains.

This work experience involved administrative functions, counting cash and bagging it for lodgements, filling in forms, including menus and Garda clearance forms.

De Búrca has a confident, easy going personality and loves creative writing, a pursuit she devotes much of her spare time to. “I usually write about love and death. I just want to do something to take my mind off things. Now, I am hoping to do a script for a play,” she says. “My favourite novel is Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I just love vampire novels, that is what I am trying to do with my book to bring vampires in as a plot towards the start.”

English and Irish were her favourite subjects in school, and she mentions her particular love of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet , King Lear and Macbeth .
She also has a keen – and varied – interest in music, listing favourites including Luke Kelly and the Dubliners; sean-nós singers including Nan Tom Teaimín; Irish country singer John Beag; popstar Hannah Montana; and folk giants Joan Baez and Bob Dylan.

THE CONSIDERABLE SUPPORT De Búrca received helped open the world for her and has enabled her to live independently, says her mother, Eileen Kenny. “It is very important that people with disabilities get the help they need.

“Róisín’s level of achievement is exceptionally high, and that’s partly because of the level of opportunity she got. If she had never been put in for the Junior Cert, then she wouldn’t have achieved it. Likewise, the school could have put her in for the Leaving Cert Applied only, but they didn’t; they offered her the full Leaving Cert. Children with disabilities are often as much handicapped by the low expectations of their carers and those around them as they are by their disabling condition. Roisin has been lucky.

“The opportunities always came from the school. Anyone that did help her – teachers and the education psychologist – have always been impressed by her abilities. She had to work harder than average to achieve the same result, so she was very tired at the end of the day. She is very diligent and hardworking, so she was prepared to put in the necessary time.”

De Búrca’s secondary school principal, Máire de Bhaldraithe, says, “Róisín had drive and enthusiasm for learning from day one in Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiaráin. Her confidence and single mindedness won the hearts of her fellow students and of the staff.”

Gráinne Murphy, independence officer with Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI), notes that De Búrca’s achievement broke new ground because she did “a full Leaving Cert and passed six subjects”.
“She would have been in the minority of people with Down syndrome in her age group to attend secondary school.”

 To continue reading the article from the original source, the IrishTimes.com, CLICK HERE or continue here

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Friday Focus on Down Syndrome