What does World Down Syndrome Day mean to you?

World Down Syndrome Day (21st March) is a day celebrated by people with Down Syndrome and their family and friends around the world.
Collectively the day is a way to raise awareness and celebrate every achievement whether it be big or small. World Down Syndrome Day will have a special meaning to some families.

To me WDSD is a great way to educate people in a massive quantity, to get the word out there. A thunderclap for the whole day. It is amazing to see on social media platforms the hashtags #WDSD and #WorldDownSyndromeDay  and within those hashtags the happy photos with friends and family or the local events organised.

I was interested in what WDSD means to other families, so I asked on a Facebook support group and got some lovely responses.

What does World Down Syndrome Day mean to you? 

• Laura – Alot! It means our beautiful children can get the inclusion and the right recognition they deserve instead of always the bad things.
• Tiffanie – Community acceptance, a chance for questions to be answered, myths to be busted and to celebrate.
• Charlotte – Putting aside the challenges and a day focusing on the joy and love Isabella brings to our family.
• Laura – Down syndrome to me means LOVE. And lots of it. My daughter is precious to us. And everyone who knows her feels the love. 
• Megan – To me World Down’s Syndrome Day is a celebration of the love and joy our little joe brings to the whole family and the recognition of just how amazing he is.
• Zoe  – Celebrating, opportunity to get together with friends.
• Emma – The day to me always means I will read/hear a lot about ds in the media which gives an opportunity for discussion, opening minds and celebrating the positives.
  Because of the day it gives a platform for all the discussion. So I look forward to seeing what crops up each year.
  I don’t celebrate it personally as such. It’s more of a voice for the community day to me.
• Eleanor – It’s my first WDSD so for me personally it’s about the welcome and acceptance by a wonderful new community. It also represents the widening of my knowledge and the importance of inclusion and participation within society at large.
• Pippa –  It’s a great eye-opener for many – “yes we CELEBRATE our Loved Ones!” And its a really wonderful opportunity for new families to see how warm and welcoming our communities are!
• Valerie – To me it means recognition for the achievements , acceptance in society . Proof that our children are valued and have a right to a place in society and most of all love.
• Bernadette –  It helps spread positive awareness and helps us move away from the negativity of years gone by. It promotes acceptance and shows everyone that we are HAPPY with our little (and big) ones. It shows that people with DS are just that….PEOPLE and do NOT suffer from it.
• Rebecca – Celebrating how much joy our children have bought to our lives, Down’s syndrome is not a burden and by making others aware we can create a better, more understanding world.

If you celebrate World Down Syndrome Day, what does it mean to you?