Celebrating those with
Down Syndrome
and reducing stigma World Down Syndrome Day offers locals a chance to connect, raise awareness, and consider unique COVID-19 challenges TAYLOR PACE
L
ocals look forward to World Down Syndrome Day this March as a time to celebrate those with Down syndrome, raise awareness, and dismantle stigmas about this intellectual disability. World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) has been observed by the United Nations since 2012. It’s held on March 21 because it is the 21st day of the third month, which “[signifies] the uniqueness of the triplication (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome,” according to
Down Syndrome International. Down syndrome is a naturally occurring chromosomal arrangement caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. While there are three different types, the most common is Trisomy 21, which affects 95 per cent of the Down syndrome population, and is caused by every cell in the body having three separate copies of the chromosome. In Canada, approximately 1 in every 781 births results in a baby with Down syndrome, making it one of the most common For World Down Syndrome Day, the Waterloo Wellington Down Syndrome Society encouraged people to purchase special edition socks and post videos of themselves dancing in them to raise awareness. CREDIT: WATERLOO WELLINGTON DOWN SYNDROME SOCIETY
Socks became a symbol for World Down Syndrome Day because they look like chromosomes. CREDIT: WATERLOO WELLINGTON DOWN SYNDROME SOCIETY
developmental disabilities. To celebrate this year, local charity and advocacy group Waterloo Wellington Down Syndrome Society (WWDSS) is planning on releasing a song written by members of their community with the help of Juno-nominated artist Alysha Brilla. “Usually, we have a big party with over 200 people, and obviously, this year we can’t do that,” WWDSS co-chair Mary Casagrande told The Ontarion. The theme of the song is “rock your socks,” so the members involved in the brainstorming session, from two-year-olds to thirty-year-olds, were asked to share what ideas the phrase brought to mind.
“We’re looking forward to sharing it with everyone on social media. We also produced branded Waterloo Wellington Down Syndrome Society socks, and for 21 days leading up to World Down Syndrome Day, we’re going to tell people to buy these socks and wear them and dance in them and share your video on social media,” she said. Socks have been a long-standing prop for WDSD because they look like chromosomes. Often, the socks are mismatched to represent the mismatched chromosomes people with Down syndrome can have. WWDSS member and Guelph resident Katrina Fraser participated in the song writing
event along with her 5-year-old son Seamus who has Down syndrome. Fraser believes the day is an opportunity to raise awareness, while also providing “camaraderie and friendship” among the Down syndrome community. This past fall, the WWDSS changed their name from Waterloo Regional DSS to Waterloo Wellington DSS to better serve the people within the Guelph-Wellington area. Now, the group has just over 100 members, with about 10 per cent of them in the Guelph-Wellington area. When Fraser received Seamus’s prenatal diagnosis, she was directed to someone in Milton, despite living closer to Water-
