Down Syndrome

Dear Elon Musk,

As the father of a young man with Down syndrome and the leader of a business where more than half of our colleagues have differing abilities, I feel compelled to address your recent comments using the R-word.

There is no denying your place in the world. As an entrepreneur, you employ thousands of people and serve as a role model for millions. As the owner and one of the most prominent voices on X, you influence millions of people. That power and influence comes with a greater sense of obligation. Your statements matter. Your words matter.

Which brings me to your use of the R-word. You have used that term repeatedly over the last few years, most recently when insulting another user on X. There was a time when using that term was acceptable. Yet in those times that word dehumanized people with differing abilities, people like my son John. That term denied people a sense of dignity and a place in our society.

That word gained prominence during a period when people with intellectual development disabilities were often shunned, relegated to institutions, denied an education, barred from employment and rejected by society. They were treated as sub-human.

Thankfully, times have changed. People with differing abilities have become full members of our society, many playing a prominent role. My son John is an entrepreneur like you and has co-founded the world’s largest sock store. And John is only one of a growing number of entrepreneurs, business leaders, artists, actors, athletes, and political activists with a differing ability. At our business, more than half our colleagues have a differing ability, and we succeed because of the excellent work they do.

People with differing abilities have been patient waiting for the rest of us to catch up, to recognize their strengths and ability to contribute to our society. We need them. We need them in our schools, our businesses and our communities. Terms like the R-word have faded away as people learn how much it hurts, see the negative impact it has and, most importantly, how wrong-headed the description is.

I urge you to consider how your words and actions might advance this progress rather than hinder it. Language has the power to uplift or harm, to unite or divide. You have the opportunity to champion a vision of inclusion, where every person—regardless of their abilities—is treated with respect and celebrated for their unique gifts.

I invite you to visit our business, John’s Crazy Socks. Come meet John and our colleagues with differing abilities. Come see first-hand the potential and humanity that outdated stereotypes obscure. As someone who has defied expectations and pushed boundaries, you have the ability to model a future that leaves no one behind.

This moment can be a turning point, not just for you, but for the millions who look to you for leadership. By choosing compassion, understanding, and inclusion, you can inspire others to do the same and help build a world where dignity and opportunity are extended to all.

Will you join us in this mission? Your voice could be a powerful catalyst for change.

Regards,

Mark X. Cronin

Father, Advocate, and Co-Founder of John’s Crazy Socks

#Inclusion #inclusionmatters @downsyndrome

Simply remember or find/Google/ask Alexa or Siri……a line or part of a line from a song or a song title that was written for Empowering all of us.

You are welcome to add in even just one. This is easy because it is not even your words that you are adding in or articulating. The words have been given to us.

For example: I often think of this part of line from a song: “I am going to dance on broken glass.”

And this part song title, part of a line of the lyrics:
“Better Days are coming, if no one told you.”

And this longer one section of another great song:
“DON'T YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK THAT I COULD BE;
I'M THE ONE AT THE SAIL
I'M THE MASTER OF MY SEA.”

And this small section of a song that I hold close to my heart:
“Just remember who you are; how you were never one for folding; how you never liked the corner; how the dark don’t even know you.”

Let’s Go Big on this one.

Let’s make this a holiday gift you can give for free that could be exactly what Many others need Right Now.

This ties in with the image I chose for this because we are going to be taking inspiration from Christopher Reeve aka Superman in the 1978 film who famously said "A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles".

So, I say YOU are a hero.

One of our Mighty family with a boatload of reasons to question this quote and anything, just a couple days ago, found, and in a way, smartly challenged my about 4 months old post with Christopher Reeve’s other famous quote “Once you choose hope, anything is possible.”

So, if you know anything about me, you know I accepted this challenge to help her and to help even more of us.

So I went to work for all of us— researching and drafting an impactful reply (and I can at times put hours into this work for all of us.)
Because YOU are worth fighting for.

So, I researched how he could say these profoundly optimistic and empowering statements when he, Christopher Reeve, a former role model to the world as Superman, was paralyzed from the neck down after a horse riding accident at age 42. His mother wanted doctors to remove his life support, because she thought that he wouldn’t want to live like this, but he fought back.

So the meaning to his quote about HOPE is: Hope, in this sense, is a decision. It is the most important decision we can make.

This choice of Hope also is not just wishful thinking, it has to be rooted in a Believing, it must be in the form of Optimism, and it must be held together by handing it over to a trust in ourselves, a trust in the universe having our back, to any form of spirituality that does not even need to be religion based faith.

Absolutely Right Now, All of Our Mighty Family Needs help with feeling Empowered to be Hopeful and Optimistic And YOU can be a hero and participate in this mission that is greater than all of us, greater than our own social anxieties, greater than our own fears and doubts, greater than our fatigue…

Whenever you see this post, especially through the rest of the entire holidays —All of them coming up for all denominations and through and past New Years…add in a line or part of a line from a song, or a song title, that was written for Empowering all of us. That was written to speak to all of us. To Connect All of Us.

GAME ON.

GAME FACE.

YOUR friend in this hard thing called life,
Dawn

#Depression #Anxiety #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #MajorDepressiveDisorder #PersistentDepressiveDisorder #MoodDisorders #Selfharm #Selfcare #Grief #ChildLoss #BipolarDisorder #Suicide #SuicidalThoughts #SuicidalIdeation #SuicideAttemptSurvivors #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #ComplexPosttraumaticStressDisorder #ChronicPain #ComplexRegionalPainSyndrome #Fibromyalgia #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #ChronicFatigue #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #PTSD #Trauma #PostTraumaticStressDisorder #AlopeciaAreata #AutoimmuneThyroidDisease #CrohnsDisease #AdrenalInsufficiency #AutonomicDysfunction #Cancers #LymeDisease #Migraine #ParkinsonsDisease #MultipleSclerosis #RareDisease #ADHD #BipolarDepression #AnorexiaNervosa #EatingDisorders #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #POTS #AutismSpectrumDisorder #AspergersSyndrome #Addiction #CerebralPalsy #RheumatoidArthritis #Arthritis #Disability #AddisonsDisease #ChronicIllness #CysticFibrosis #DownSyndrome #Epilepsy #MyCondition #musictherapy #Music #Songs #MightyMusic #IfYouFeelHopeless #WarmWishes #Agoraphobia #SocialAnxiety

I love dogs. Always have.
I hate leaving our dogs when we go on vacation, and this morning is no different as I say goodbye to our sad and sleepy Golden.
Walking through the airport on one of the busiest travel days of the year, I envy people bringing their dogs, ribbons and festive scarves around their harnesses and leashes.
My disabled adult son, however, is totally terrified.
The simplest way to explain his reaction is that when a dog barks, Charlie’s anxiety skyrockets and he physically recoils spiraling quickly into a full blown panic attack.
Will the dog bark?
Will the dog bark again?
Where is it?
Which way is it going?
Am I safe?
It can take Charlie hours to recover emotionally and physically from an attack triggered by a barking dog. And, unfortunately, today we see 6 dogs en route to our gate, only one a service animal. They are all quiet, well-behaved and honestly add to the happy excitement of families gathering for the Christmas holiday.
But then we hear the 7th dog, a shaggy, little pup sticking its head out of a carrier. The AirPod-wearing owner is seemingly oblivious, even as many passengers turn to see what’s happening. My husband and I glance at each other, and then at Charlie who sees the dog but is working hard to maintain calm.
Unfortunately the pup keeps barking non-stop, yip-yip-yip-yip-yip-yip all the way down the very long echo chamber concourse. There is no escape.
The damage is done, and we frantically search for an airport lounge or quiet zone for Charlie to calm.
But let’s pause here for a moment as I am pretty certain I can hear readers thinking: give him anxiety meds, have him wear headphones, don’t travel with him.
Let me clarify that Charlie has tried all three options and many, many more at different times of his life. What I can share is that medication makes him inconsistently woozy, headphones hurt his ears and head and leaving our son behind on a family vacay is heartbreaking.
Especially because Charlie French loves to travel.
He is an adventurer. He is a 33-year old man who works very hard for primarily three financial rewards: vhs tapes, gifts for the siblings he loves and flying Business Class.
No matter how bad of a trip we have experienced, Charlie eventually wants to try to go out in the world again.
Arriving at our gate we encounter a family with 4 small dogs waiting to board. A 5th pup comes inside from the decking at the end of the concourse where I see an outdoor seating area, and surprisingly, a giant pee pad.
Pretty nice.
I glance at Charlie struggling to find equilibrium staring at all the little dogs and their entourage of humans.
Why isn’t there a space for Charlie? And other individuals with sensory challenges or auditory processing needs? How can public spaces support these humans?
Accessing public areas seems like something everyone in society should be able to achieve fairly easily. Right?
There are children’s areas in airports Lounges have games and spaces for teens. There are notifications about food allergies at restaurants and food courts. There are family restrooms and baby changing rooms. There are smoking areas. There are carts assisting travelers with mobility issues. And, there are pee pads.
I won’t presume to speak for the disability community on how to problem solve this issue (#nothingforuswithoutus), but I can share Charlie’s perspective: I don’t want to hear barking dogs. I want it to be quiet.
Well, we pre-board (hooray for accommodations), take our seats in disappointing First Class (if it isn’t Business, Charlie is always a bit bummed), and wouldn’t you know it: 2 pups and their owners are just behind us.
Not sure how this trip will turn out, but I am proud of my brave son who continues to go out in a challenging society to chase his desires despite the hurdles he faces.
Here’s hoping the air bnb doesn’t have any barking dogs nearby!