Amazing Individuals with Down Syndrome

As I mentioned in my last post, I was very fortunate at the 10th World Down Syndrome Congress to have met many amazing individuals, with and without Down syndrome!

One young woman who really impressed me was Karen Gaffney. Karen is a '30-something' year old self-advocate from Portland, Oregon. Karen has earned a regular high school diploma, and graduated from Portland Community College after completing the requirements for an Associates of Science degree and a certificate to be a teacher's aide. An accomplished public speaker, Karen is also the President of The Karen Gaffney Foundation, which is devoted solely to helping other individuals with Down syndrome. In addition to all of the above, Karen is also an incredible athlete and has even swam the English Channel in a relay swim during the Summer 2001!

Karen's mom, Barbara, said that Karen learned to read at an early age using the whole-word approach and flashcards. She said they are strong advocates of teaching reading this way! They were both very happy to see that eReadingPro had put a reading program together using all of the research that is available on how children with Down syndrome learn to read, making it easy for parents (and educators) to teach their children to read early. She even purchased a program to give to Karen's previous Grade 5 teacher, who had a huge impact on Karen's academic success!

Karen, her family, and The Karen Gaffney Foundation are "dedicated to championing the journey to full inclusion for people with disabilities. Many young families around the country have become dependent on Karen, her messages to help them on the journey to full inclusion for their child." (Quoted from the Foundations's website). I urge you to visit their website for more information on The Karen Gaffney Foundation.

I sincerely hope many of you have the opportunity to meet Karen Gaffney at some point, (if you have not already). She is stunningly beautiful, has an amazing presence, and will inspire you beyond your wildest imagination!

Dylan Kuehl

While I attended the 10th World Down Syndrome Congress in Dublin, Ireland, I was fortunate to meet some really amazing people with Down syndrome.

One young man really stood out for me - perhaps because he was exhibiting at the booth directly across from us (eReadingPro), and that gave me a chance to watch, listen and understand him more than others indivuduals I only met briefly.

Dylan Kuehl is an extremely talented human being. He is an artist who like others, uses his art to express himself. It allows him to be focused and detailed, while enabling him to build confidence and character. Dylan is a visual and performing artist, a writer, and a speaker. His art is simply beautiful.

When I fell in love with one of Dylan's paintings I pointed out how I loved the way the clouds in the picture parted to form a heart shape. His Mom said that they never even saw that until quite some time after he had created the picture. I realized today when I was staring at the beautiful card that he gave me as a token of our friendship, that the existence of this unintentional heart was like a profound reflection of what I see when I look at an individual with Down syndrome. The heart within is so pure and open, and many individuals overlook the joy that can be found from someone with Down syndrome, simply because they have not taken the time to look within. I am eternally grateful that I have 'tripped' into the world of Down syndrome, and devote every day to helping individuals like Dylan learn to read so they can lead rich and fulfilling lives like him.

If you would like to learn more about Dylan and his art, you can find him at: http://www.dylankarts.com/.

10th World Down Syndrome Congress huge success!

Just got back from Ireland, and from speaking & exhibiting at the 10th World Down Syndrome Congress. Wow - what a great success in many, many ways! As a result, I will write a few blog entries about this conference, as there is so much to say!

I was very excited about officially launching our new CD/DVD combination at this conference, as what a better way for individuals to take eReadingPro back to their countries than in a compact pack such as this. It was a big success! So much so, that a number of people are taking the initiative to work with us to translate our reading program into the language of their country so that many, many more children can also gain from using it to learn to read!

Pictured with me here is Mr. Stanley Reddy from Down Syndrome South Africa - Durban group. His son Max is an amazing self-advocate who works full time and drives himself to and from work in his own car! The next World Down Syndrome Congress will be held in 3 years in Cape Town and eReadingPro plans to be there!

NEW Products and NEW Lower Prices!

eReadingPro has a lot of great news to share!

At the 10th World Down Syndrome Congress in Dublin, Ireland we will be officially launching the release of our program on CD, while at the same time introducing a new name for our 14-month reading program. The new '10-Minute Reading Program CD' will be packaged along with our free bonus DVD 'Step by Step with eReadingPro'. (Note: the new name, '10-Minute Reading Program by eReadingPro' simply clarifies what our program is!) This combination package allows our entire program to be in the hands of parents and teachers at a much lower price than ever before!

The new CD-ROM contains our full 14-month reading program and includes:

• Instructional Guide
• 14-month Presentation Schedules (what to show and when to show it!)
• Printable label sets for all word cards
• Printable full-color images for all abstract concepts!
• 36 Full-size downloadable color images to complete 9 books (8.5" x 11")

The NEW Bonus DVD is our all NEW Step-By-Step video featuring 'yours truly' (Denise MacDonald, Founder of eReadingPro) taking you through the set-up and execution of the program making it easier than ever to use eReadingPro! Learn how to create flashcards and flash them effectively, how to create your child's own booklets, and how to follow our full 14-month presentation schedule.

In addition to all of this excitement, we have finally succeeded in finding a new, lower-priced supplier for all of our materials. As a result, all of our prices have been been cut - in some cases up to 45%!

Check out our new product page at: eReadingPro NOW! You will be amazed!

Summer

Well, it has been some time since my last post...!

As you can see, I've been enjoying some time at our cottage and practicing my photography skills.

While summer is a wonderful time for exploring the gifts of nature, it's also a time for planning. We are currently booking eReadingPro workshops for this fall, and are excited about our destinations over the next few months! At the end of July we will be heading to Sacramento, CA for the 2009 NDSC Convention, and then only ten short days upon our return we will be flying to Dublin, Ireland for the 10th World Down Syndrome Congress. I'm looking forward to my first European eReadingPro speaking engagement, and to introducing our incredible reading program to a whole new area! Fall workshops will include more new territory for us when we present in places like North Dakota and Bermuda. Stay posted for more exciting locations!

Parents should remember that summer is not the time to set your reading program aside. Rather, it is the time to pick off where the teachers have left off, and continue the learning process with your child! Take your program on holidays with you - it only takes 10-minutes a day!

10th World Down Syndrome Congress

The 10th World Down Syndrome Congress will be held in Dublin, Ireland in August 2009. The main congress dates are the 20th to 22nd of August, with additional events taking place on the 19th of August. eReadingPro will be presenting a workshop (details will follow at a later date) at this conference!

Personally, I'm very excited about going to this conference. It is an incredible opportunity for individuals outside North America to see our reading program and understand the amazing results it produces - especially for children with Down syndrome!