Events Calendar

New moms of children with Down syndrome ages 0-18 months are invited to join us for a virtual group hosted by Mary-Frances Garber, CGC.

Please email Sarah Cullen at scullen@mdsc.org to request Zoom registration link

Does your teen or adult loved one with Down syndrome also have a mental health diagnosis such as Depression, Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or Bipolar Disorder? Often these illnesses bring on a change in daily living skills, mood, or interest in activities once enjoyed. Seeing these changes and regression in your loved one can be very difficult.

Please join other parents and caregivers for a support group meeting facilitated by Mary-Frances Garber, a licensed genetic counselor providing supportive genetic counseling in her private practice, Listening, Reflecting, Healing in Needham. She has been a consultant with the MDSC for the past 8 years providing insight and support to many families.

Please note that individualized psychiatric treatment will not be provided at this meeting. This meeting is meant to serve as a venue for families with loved ones with Down syndrome and mental health concerns so that they may obtain mutual support with professional supervision.
Please email mentalhealth@mdsc.org to register or for more information.

With the ever-changing community guidelines surrounding Covid-19, many families have questions about quarantine and isolation guidelines, vaccinations, and general Covid-19 safety. In this Webinar, Dr. Nicole Baumer of Boston Children’s Hospital, Dr. Brian Skotko of Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr. Helen Lyon of UMass Memorial Medical Center answer frequently asked questions on this topic, share the most accurate up to date information and provide resources to guide this process.

Please submit any questions you would like to be answered during the webinar when you register.

If you register but are unable to join us live, you will receive a recording.

The MDSC in collaboration with the 3-21 Foundation is pleased to present this timely webinar.

Meaningful Inclusion: Inclusion is not a location, but a student-centered process. We want to see our children form fulfilling relationships, acquire academic skills, gain independence, improve their communication, and self-regulate their behavior in order to lead independent and happy lives. How do we develop programming in school to help our children develop in all of these areas? Join Ariel Klemmer, 3-21 Parent Educator and Educational Consultant, as she details the key elements to inclusive educational experiences that are meaningful to each unique student.

Ariel Klemmer- Parent Educator / Educational Consultant

Ariel has worked in the field of special education for 15 years supporting students with a wide spectrum of unique needs and abilities. She began her career at the May Institute, receiving training in Applied Behavior Analysis before moving on to the public schools in Cambridge and Winchester where she led substantially separate classrooms and a learning center. A graduate of Simmons College, where she received her Masters degree in severe disabilities, Ariel was awarded the Mary Carlyle Holmes Award for excellent practice of inclusion. Her areas of expertise include designing and delivering specialized instruction with academics, social skills, work habits and behavior, supporting students with special needs in general education classrooms, and incorporating assistive technology to facilitate access to the curriculum. She has presented on these topics at Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University, and at Cambridge College. Ariel is committed to the philosophy that all children can learn, and she enjoys sharing her experiences and expertise with school teams to develop and modify curriculum to promote inclusion in the least restrictive environment.

Moms of children with Down syndrome ages 18 months – 3.5 years are invited to join us for a virtual group hosted by Mary-Frances Garber, CGC.

Please email Sarah Cullen at scullen@mdsc.org to request Zoom registration link

Teens and young adults ages 13-22, are invited to attend this creative workshop designed to encourage laughter, emotional expression, and possibly some rhyming! Participants will have the opportunity to practice poetry and/or song writing in breakout groups and then share their work of art with the group!

Meet us on Zoom!

Free to attend!

Register for Poetry Writing!

Single moms who live in MA are invited to join this support group facilitated by Mary-Frances Garber, CGC.

Please email Sarah Cullen at scullen@mdsc.org to request Zoom registration link