Natalie Bassingthwaite hosted the 8th annual World Down Syndrome Day event last week at Federation Square.
Guests included Vanessa Amorosi and Dancing With the Stars star Jessica Raffa, who were accompanied by the e.motion 21 dancers.
Celebrations of awareness kicked off at Federation Square with the e.motion21 dancers, a group designed especially to aid children and adults with Down Syndrome.
“It’s about helping society understand that people with Down Syndrome have the same needs and dreams as everyone else in life. And they just need a little bit of extra support to get there,” said CEO and Founder of e.motion21, Cate Sayers.
Children born with down syndrome can suffer from:Down Syndrome is caused by the presence of part, or all, of a third copy of the 21st pair of chromosomes.
- hearing deficits
- congenital heart disease
- intestinal abnormalities
- eye problems
- heart disease
- obesity
- thyroid dysfunction
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Sayer’s second daughter was born with Down Syndrome. After having her daughter enrolled in mainstream dance schools for several years, Sayer believed it was not meeting her needs. Sayer then founded e.motion21.
“A program that started for one child has grown to have such an impact on so many peoples lives, and not just the students, but also their families.” Said Sayers.
“My daughter has lost a lot of weight, she’s really fit, her self esteem has increased significantly.”
“We’ve got kids that really struggle in their mainstream settings, and they are bullied and it is difficult for them, and there is a lot of concern about their self esteem in those settings; that’s why the mums and dads are happy to drive three of four hour round trip every week, because they can see how happy and enriched they are through the 50 minute class every week.”
E.motion21’s patron Paul Matley performed a special dance with Ms Raffa at Federation square to the theme of ‘I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly.
“I actually believe in myself, in my heart and to everyone here, that everyone can fly, just like me,” said Matley.
