Project Self

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Sunset Hills dentist gives free care to people with Down syndrome 'Give Back Thursdays' were inspired by the dentist's son

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Thank you Target! 🎯😀👏 Oliver stopped me dead in his tracks and turned back around to see this picture that he spotted! He just stared at it in awe! He recognized another boy like him, smiling and laughing on a display at Target. I am so happy that other kids who pass through here with their parents will see this!

Target chose a child that uses a wheelchair over an able bodied child which cost them nothing extra. Representing is so important. Oliver has NEVER seen another child that uses a wheelchair. He's almost 2 and is starting to notice the differences. Target's decision to represent disabled people showed a 2 year old boy that there are other's just like him. Every time a company does something like this, it helps people like Oliver to feel like they are not so different!

Edited to add: This post was shared so much that it made it to the family and the boy in the Target display. Thank you Colton in Massachusetts for making a difference!!

*via Ollie's World (shared with permission)
To learn more about Caudal Regression Syndrome, go to www.isacra.org

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Dear Pope Francis,

Just when I think I can’t like you any more, I do. You talk the talk and walk the walk, there’s no quality that is more admirable in my mother heart. I have four children and my youngest has extra special needs and like you, my priest welcomes him even when he circles the altar. It means so much, a smile and words of acceptance. It means so much.

Yesterday, a little girl with extra special needs of her own escaped from her seat and I imagine her mother pondered what to do so as to not make a big scene. We all know chasing causes giggles and running. Her daughter made her way towards you and when your security guards moved in to return her to her seat, you waved them away, paused and spoke to her.

“Come sit next to me,” you said.

And so, she did. The little girl with Down syndrome climbed up in that big old fancy chair and you held her hand as you continued the service. You have remarked that people with disabilities face an “attitude of rejection” in today’s society. Not from you, they don’t.

Thank you for the gesture, thank you for seeing the child, thank you for your kind invitation and thank you for your example of real inclusion. That’s all special needs families really wish for their precious little people, just a kind hand, a welcoming word, a seat amongst the world.

Love,
Adrian H. Wood
Mother to Thomas, Russell, Blair, & Amos

One of my very favorite stories. ❤️