At Sunshine & Smiles we are committed to raising awareness of Down syndrome and talking about all the wonderful children, young people and families we support. Recently we’ve had two opportunities to do this which we thought you might like to hear about.
As part of a childhood disability module in their Masters in Child Health, a group of junior doctors had a seminar from Ailith & one of our local community paediatricians on inclusion. The doctors found a parental perspective invaluable, and took away many points regarding seeing each child as an individual, listening to families, working collaboratively and carefully considering the language they use.
The following week Francis joined some of the Sunshine & Smiles team to deliver a lecture followed by discussion to a group of student midwives. They were really interested and challenged by what was said, especially on the language used surrounding Down syndrome and disability, and how to approach a diagnosis & screening discussions. They also all plan to visit 21 Co. when it’s back up and running, so the staff better watch out! Tamsin has shared her part of the talk on her blog here.
If you want a chance to share your story and influence the future generation of healthcare professionals, check out our facebook post asking for volunteers to talk to medical students.
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