Down Syndrome International

Across more than 115 countries, people with Down syndrome are leading advocacy, shaping health policy, building self-advocacy networks, and changing how inclusion happens in practice. Down Syndrome International shares what its global community has accomplished—and why progress is strongest when people with Down syndrome are the ones leading it.

Rick Rader, MD

Positive Exposure uses photography to change how people with disabilities and genetic differences are seen. Its work turns clinical labels into human stories and makes representation itself a form of advocacy.

Rick Rader, MD

Sometimes a career path becomes clear only after trying the work firsthand. For musician Jacob Colton, one drumming session with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities opened the door to a new direction in music therapy.

Steven Perlman, DDS, MScD, DHL (hon)

For families of people with I/DD, getting basic dental care can mean waiting months or even years. Dr. Steven Perlman argues that these delays are not just frustrating—they are dangerous.

Gideon Lieberman

A documentary about disabled people targeted during the Holocaust prompts Gideon Lieberman to consider what happens when society decides some lives matter less than others—and why telling these stories remains essential.

Crissy Renner

Three women with Down syndrome are making history in beauty and fashion, showing how representation can expand expectations and open doors for others.

Dr. Jana Iverson

Movement opens the door to exploration, communication, and play. For children with motor disabilities, providing mobility support early can help prevent developmental delays from compounding over time.

Antony Talia

Koji’s dementia diagnosis had begun to overshadow the life he had lived. Rediscovering his history—and giving him something meaningful to look forward to—changed everything.

The Health & Wellness team at NDSS

Women with Down syndrome deserve the same access to informed, respectful reproductive and gynecological care as anyone else. A new training platform from NDSS is helping clinicians better understand and meet those needs.

Katelyn Snyder

Music therapy is much more than playing relaxing music. Board-certified music therapists use live, individualized musical interventions to support goals ranging from movement and communication to coping and emotional well-being.

Dr. Seth Keller

A simple blood test may eventually help clinicians identify Alzheimer-related risk earlier and more accessibly. Dr. Seth Keller looks at promising new research on p-tau217 and what it could mean for future evaluation.

Elena Salgado

Virtual reality is becoming a practical tool for healthcare, rehabilitation, and disability support. From caregiver training to therapy and social-skills practice, immersive technology is opening new paths to greater independence.

Natalie Stagnone

Students are helping push disability education forward in medicine and dentistry. AADMD’s new Student Column creates a space for their ideas, experiences, and advocacy to be heard.

Jim Brett

People with disabilities want to work, but barriers in hiring, transportation, and workplace access continue to shut many out. Employers have both an opportunity and a responsibility to change that.

Dr. Craig Escudé

Kimberly Jackson’s path from parent to advocate grew out of firsthand experience navigating disability and healthcare. She reflects on why lifelong support and genuine inclusion matter far beyond the moment of diagnosis.

Kim Bullock, MD

The bedside is where clinical skill and human connection meet. Dr. Kim Bullock reflects on what physicians can learn when they slow down, listen closely, and remember the privilege of being invited into a patient’s life.

Martha Summa-Chadwick

Trevor learns about Helen Keller and discovers that there is more than one way to communicate, learn, and make yourself understood.

Mary Pittaway

Bone health risks can begin early for people with IDD and may go unnoticed until a fracture occurs. Understanding the factors that weaken bone can help clinicians and caregivers take a more proactive approach.

Eddie Tuduri

A devastating accident changed Eddie Tuduri’s life, but it did not end his creativity. By returning to writing and music, he found a new purpose and built a program that uses rhythm to make learning more engaging.

Crissy Renner

Dr. Steven Perlman has spent decades pushing healthcare systems to better serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. His work has helped shape programs, professional education, and advocacy efforts that continue to influence the field today.

Crissy Renner

Alexandra Adams has spent years challenging assumptions about who can become a doctor. Now, as the UK’s first deaf-blind physician, she is using her own experience to push for greater inclusion in medicine.

ADA

When medical offices are not physically accessible, people with mobility disabilities can miss routine care, screenings, and early treatment. Accessibility is not just a compliance issue; it directly affects health.

Jennifer Robbins

Online communities can offer neurodivergent people connection, communication, and belonging. But when those spaces become exclusionary or controlling, the loss can be especially painful.

Dr. Janice Ryan

A glance toward a light, a calmer breath, or a repeated sensory choice can carry important meaning. This article shows how practitioners can notice those small signals and use them to support comfort, choice, and participation.

Massimo Lorusso

Needing assistance does not erase autonomy. Massimo Lorusso reflects on how support can either expand a disabled person’s choices or quietly become a form of control.

Kelli Caughman

Representation matters in advocacy. The Black Down Syndrome Association is creating space for Black families and self-advocates to connect, be seen, and help shape a more inclusive Down syndrome community.

Terry Healey

Terry Healey’s cancer experience changed both his appearance and the direction of his life. In reflecting on what came after, he explores how adversity can become a source of empathy, purpose, gratitude, and resilience.

Dr. Nevin Zablotsky

New nicotine products may reduce exposure to some harms of combustible tobacco, but they also raise difficult questions about addiction, youth marketing, and whether “harm reduction” is becoming another way to sustain the nicotine market.

Angela Shaw

New special education teachers do not have to figure everything out alone. Collaboration, practical problem-solving, and proactive planning can help them build confidence while creating stronger supports for students.

Miriam Edelman

Future clinicians need more than clinical knowledge to provide good disability care. UCEDD and LEND programs are showing how lived experience, community-based learning, and disability-focused education can help prepare students for more inclusive practice.