Events Calendar

Join us for an informal way to meet other newer families, share and connect for families whose child with Down syndrome is 0-3 (until 4th birthday).  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.

The webinar will present the principles of effective reading instructions for individuals with disabilities, including a summary of relevant research. It will identify the links between language and reading and show how reading activities can improve spoken language for children across a wide spectrum of abilities. It will set out the ways in which parents and educators can and should work together to develop both reading and language during and after a pandemic.

Presented by Professor Sue Buckley OBE, CPsychol AFBPsS, Director for Science and Research, Down Syndrome Education International, Emeritus Professor of Developmental Disability, Dept Psychology, University of Portsmouth, UK

Part of the MDSC Educators Forum Webinar Series. This webinar will be recorded.

Join the 21 Shades group, an inclusive support group for all families of African heritage in Massachusetts who love someone with Down Syndrome, for a monthly meetup. The group meets monthly on the 2nd Thursday of every month from 7-8 pm. Monthly support meetings consist of check-ins, topic specific educational workshops, and social activities to engage families.  For more information please email Jessica at javila@mdsc.org.

Self-advocates ages 13+, their friends and family members, are invited to bundle up and join us for a fun-filled fall afternoon! We will start with a hayride through the vegetable fields to a pavilion where there will be warm drinks, s’more making, crafts, music, and more! It might be a chilly afternoon, but there will be a bonfire to keep everyone warm!

$7 for self-advocates
$10 for family & friends

Attachment, separation, and loss in students with Down syndrome and other ID/DDs present extraordinary challenges. Indeed, loss of a primary attachment figure can lead to devastating disruption with regression in already gained adaptive skills, social and physical withdrawal, and inability to participate in previously enjoyed activities. Persons with Down syndrome are also exquisitely sensitive to loss of a familiar place, transition between classes, schools, and community programs. Families, teachers, and all caregivers working with students with Down syndrome need to be aware of, anticipate, and attend to such vulnerabilities. Instances of psychosocial regression especially relevant to the pandemic will be highlighted with suggested interventions to alleviate recovery.

Presented by Kerim Munir, MD, MPH DSc, Director of Psychiatry, University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), and Leadership Education Program in Neurodevelopmental Disorder (LEND), Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

Part of the MDSC Educators Forum Webinar Series. This webinar will be recorded.

Self-advocates ages 13-22 are invited to join us on Zoom for a virtual dance lesson to learn some moves from our friend Kelley St. Hilaire of Kadanse Ballroom & Latin Dance Studio!

Ka Danse means “can dance” because everyone can!

Free to attend!

ABLE Accounts Presented by MEFA

Parents and caregivers of individuals with Down syndrome ages 13-22 are invited to join us for virtual a presentation given by Mary Rubenis from MEFA (Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority). With an Attainable Savings Plan, individuals with disabilities and their families can save and pay for qualified disability expenses while keeping benefits such as Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid. In this webinar Mary will discuss the basics of an ABLE account as well as share some of the tax advantages that these accounts provide.

Free to attend!

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.