Hi!

Welcome to the Team KIDS's (Kids Interested in Down Syndrome) fundraising page. We are raising money for the Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation (DSRTF) by participating in the Sixth Annual Romp for Research on Sunday, October 2rd at 2:30p.m., at Asphalt Green in Manhattan. It promises to be a fun-filled afternoon for all. Please contact our mom if you are able to join us! The goal of the DSRTF is – "The identification of treatments aimed at improving learning, memory, speech and even the late in life neurological decline experienced by those with Down syndrome." For more specific details about DSRTF(www.dsrtf.org) or the Romp for Research(www.rompforresearch.com), please go to the website links.

The inspiration for Team KIDS is our awesome four year old brother, Michael.  He has blown us away with his speech/language development this past summer.  He cracks us up with his ability to work his Scooby Doo knowledge into everything!  Today, he had learned about the letter "F" at school and the sheet had a feather on it.  Our mom asked him if he could think of something else that started with the letter 'F" and he immediately came up with Fred... from Scooby Doo! 

This year, for his final year in pre-school, Michael is attending Greenwich Catholic School, along with John Paul and Cecile.  So far he is doing great and has terrific teachers and classmates that he talks about, even mentioning names after the first day!  In order for Michael to receive OT, PT and speech services, he does go to our local public pre-school several times a week. 

Michael and eight-year old John Paul take a Karate class together after school on Fridays.  Last week was their first class.  Our mom tried to watch them through the window of the door, while she was keeping Sophia out of trouble.  She could tell that Michael was trying to follow along and was totally enjoying himself.  Without time to talk with the instructor afterwards, our mom asked John Paul how Michael did in the class.  He enthusiastically told our mom that Michael was the best.  Our mom thought that was really sweet, but informed John Paul that it didn't matter how Michael compared in the class.  At this point John Paul was adamant, stating, "Mom, they must have said eight times during the stretches how amazing he was at them.  They even used him to demonstrate.  I'm telling you, Mom, he was the best!"        

Michael loves to do puzzles.  It all started with a garage sale find.   You guessed it- a 15 piece Scooby Doo puzzle.  He is now able to complete a 35 piece Goodnight Moon puzzle all by himself!  Sophia loves to help too and we hear lots of interesting comments between the two of them when they are vying for the same piece.  Michael and Sophia also love books and can recite lots of pages, including authors, from many of them.

Michael's accomplishments amaze us so much because we were completely uneducated about Trisomy 21 before he joined our family.  Michael has an extra chromosome in every cell of his body, on the 21st pair.  Trisomoy 21 is commonly called Down Syndrome (because a scientist with the last name of Down identified it).  This extra material causes some delays in his development, just like when there is too much traffic on the highway and you are moving along slowly. It has taken him longer to talk, but fortunately therapists discovered that using sign language allows all children to communicate before they are able to talk. This has been a huge help to everyone that interacts with very young children. Finally, Michael learns differently, in that it takes him longer, but he is learning so well. We are not interested in "fixing" him (he is not broken), just encouraging the use of science to allow all individuals to reach their full potential. Just as the use of sign language has improved Michael's quality of life (being able to communicate much earlier without being frustrated), there is promising new research that may lead to better teaching methods and treatments for those with Down syndrome or other cognitive delays, and the entire population as well.

Have we mentioned how proud we are to have Michael as our brother? We can't imagine life without him! It makes us all so sad to think about the other babies, who have the same diagnosis as our brother, but are never given the chance to live. Michael is a true delight and we know that those parents, who have not yet met their babies, must just be filled with tremendous worry and fear! Hopefully, with more research that shows the best methods to teach and treat those with Down syndrome, society as a whole will feel more confident about raising such children. This is our prayer.

We thank you for taking the time to read about our brother and this organization. Each year we look forward to the Romp for Research. If possible, please consider joining us in October or making a donation (every little bit helps) to fund this important research!

Thank you so much for visiting our fundraising page!

Team KIDS -AJ, Jimmy, Cecile, John Paul, Michael, and Sophia (and our parents, Dan and Susan)