Down Syndrome Awareness Month
By Down Syndrome Australia
Down Syndrome Awareness Month is a time to celebrate the lives and achievements of people with Down syndrome.
Sometimes there are misconceptions about what people with Down syndrome can achieve. So Down Syndrome Australia, the national advocacy organisation for Down syndrome, is running a Facebook campaign to get some facts straight across the month.
Their facts all highlight some of the fantastic achievements of Australians with Down syndrome by showing what the community CAN achieve with the rights supports, instead of focussing on limitations.
Did you know that people with Down syndrome can go to university? What about that they can be world champion athletes? Or that they can sit on a Board of Directors for an organisation? There are Australians with Down syndrome achieving all of these things and more.
FACT 1:
People with Down syndrome can go to university.
Meet Rachel High.
She graduated from Flinders University last year with a Bachelor of Arts and majored in drama and screen studies.
“I was nervous and a little bit scared because I had no idea what to expect from the university, frankly,” Rachel told the ABC.
She hopes her achievement shows that people with intellectual disability can pursue academic success with the right supports.
“The stereotypes [are things] they should ignore,” she said.
“People like me should ignore that and work on it to teach them a lesson.
“[Studying] has really changed my world and my life.”
