Down Syndrome Association Of Minnesota

Programs: Our step up for down syndrome walk continues to be the highlight of the year for many of our families. It is one of the largest public awareness/celebratory walks in the country promoting acceptance of individuals with down syndrome. In 2017, we again held a walk in st. Paul with an attendance of approximately 5,500 people. Major sponsors of both walks had informational booths available for families to gather resources. The event included a new member welcome tent which allowed families to meet up with new members at the walk and to spend time with staff and board learning about the resources offered by dsam. Dsam hosted eight topic specific webinars in 2017. All have been uploaded to the website for a period of one year for members of the community to access.

our mission statement calls for support, information and resources to parents and individuals with down syndrome. The initial support is accomplished through our information kits which are available in all hospitals in mn that have birth centers and through genetic counselors. Parents are supported by dsam at the moment the contact is made with us. Two dedicated staff members handle calls from new as well as expectant parents. Resources are sent them immediately upon the diagnosis being made, connections are made and our new parent gifts are forwarded to them welcoming them to the down syndrome association of minnesota. We support 22 physical parent groups throughout the region and 5 facebook groups were launched this year. These groups have a dedicated staff member who trains the facilitators, supports them in all areas of administrative and clerical needs. Grants are also awarded to each parent group yearly, monitored by the staff parent group manager. These groups continue to grow in number as well as size and provide monthly support and socialization opportunities for our families. Our support also includes families who do not wish to attend parent groups but do in fact wish to make parent to parent connections with trained volunteers from the association. These connections are also supported by our parent group manager.

ongoing education to all families as well as those who support people with down syndrome in other areas is provided through out many conferences: yearly conferences are held for grandparents; young adults and adults with down syndrome as well as a conference for their parents and siblings; educators have a day dedicated to topics specific to their needs. We also hold a bi-annual regional conference which draws parents, siblings, medical and educational professionals. In an effort to provide more educational opportunities to families, dsam has begun hosting webinars. In 2017 there were four webinars on the topic of down syndrome, autism and four additional webinars on behavior, potty training, inclusion and relationships. All have been well attended live as well as accessed via our website post presentaiton.