Category Archives: Leo’s Letters

It was a beautiful fall day in Greater Denver as we listened to a presentation by Xavier about himself, his family, and his recent activities. His fellow students in the elementary school class listened intently along with his mother, father, and grandparents. There should be nothing unusual about a class presentation, but my grandnephew, Xavier, happens to be a young man with Down syndrome. I may be biased, but Xavier showed a talent for showmanship – perhaps a direction for his teen and adult years. Continue reading

How do you educate a community? It starts with us but if we only speak to ourselves and don’t enlist others, how far will we go... Continue reading

This Saturday, Andrew Lawson will enter the Norwell High School Hall of Fame. I wrote earlier this year about Andrew’s passing and how he had brought so many people together during his life. Andrew’s life was full of achievements; the local news article announcing his induction shows Andrew embracing soccer coach Jack Browne. Continue reading

The Arc’s 2017 Survey of Families (FINDS) with the University of Minnesota found that 48% of caregivers were either “very” or “extremely” stressed. Of those, many reported frequent work interruptions with about 25% of all respondents having to cut back their work hours due to the lack of assistance at home with caregiving. Continue reading