March 2024 Special Needs Living Magazine

A Journey of Love and Resilience. Building a community with Alice and the Poirier Family

By Andrea Hurr

FIVE-YEAR-OLD ALICE POIRIER steals the show wherever she goes and reminds her family what life is all about. Alice was born on St. Patrick’s Day in 2018. Shortly after birth, Alice was diagnosed with Down syndrome which came as quite a shock to her family. “We were scared. However, after getting in touch with Down syndrome support organizations and other families who have children with Down syndrome, we realized the tremendous blessing we had been given,” says her mother Ann.

Now five years later, Alice is touching the lives of everyone she meets and changing the world for the better. Alice has 3 siblings, one that is older and two that are younger. She loves the color purple, dancing, and participating in cheerleading, and gymnastics. She is also a member of a very special club- the Down syndrome club! “I don’t think anyone ever envisions themselves as part of the special needs community when they become a parent. I know I didn’t. But God had bigger and better plans. The Down syndrome community is amazing! People are kind, open-hearted and so inclusive. It’s a club I never knew I wanted to be a part of!” says Ann.

Ann and her husband’s families have fully embraced them, especially Alice after her diagnosis, and have been a tremendous source of support. Ann credits them with showing her what it is to be a good, loving parent and she doesn’t take what she has here for granted. She understands that this unconditional love and support isn’t always the case and she is extremely grateful for the support system she has. Her extended family has allowed Ann to focus on Alice and her other three and allow Alice to thrive. Ann found it important to have Alice in a typical classroom as well as typical extracurricular activities. “For one, I want Alice to feel like she can fit in wherever she goes…because she can! Secondly, I want her typically-developing peers to be exposed to her and see her potential. I never knew anyone with Down syndrome before I had Alice. If I had, I wouldn’t have been so scared when we received her diagnosis.”

If you are embarking on the journey of a new Down syndrome diagnosis, Ann recommends getting involved with all the various organizations that are out there. “There is such a huge network of people who have been where you are, and they’re excited to help you. The special needs parenting journey might be unexpected, but it’s the most enriching experience ever,” she says. Living in Cincinnati, they have found the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati, GiGi’s Playhouse Cincinnati, and the Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network to be great resources for them.

As Alice continues to grow, her story serves as an inspiration for how a community of people can challenge preconceptions about people with Down syndrome, celebrate differences, embrace diversity, and remind us all of the beauty in every unique journey.