Friday achievements !

In my Day Seven blog - "Strength in Numbers" I said The 22Crew (http://www.22crew.org/) is keen to celebrate the achievements of people with 22q11.2 DS.

All of the Trustees of the charity are parents of either children or young adults with the condition and we all live with the challenges it presents on a day to day basis.
As I mentioned in my previous blog the geneticist we saw recommended a number of websites but did warn us that many of them were focused on the negative aspects of the condition. We can't pretend that the negatives such as illness, poor social skills and the challenges of dealing with schools and local authorities do not exist as at times we all have to deal with them and to ignore them completely would mean that we were in denial.

That said, just to focus on the negative is not good for either us or the rest of our families.

One of the most popular items on our closed Facebook site is "Friday achievements" when we invite our members to post details of all achievements during the week.

I hope that our members don't mind me sharing just a small sample of some of the achievements posted in the last few weeks.

"...22Q hockey player is showing off the hardware. 3 tournament medals and one medal and the certificate is an award that was presented to ******* as the most devoted player."

"*****certificate for his school project!! (Photo shows a certificate for outstanding work on class topic)

"behaviour superstar of the week ...........................for being really brave at hospital coming back to school and working really hard....... Every appointment she goes out of school for, she always goes straight back as enthusiastically as ever."

"Today ****** picked up a fiddle for the first time and was amazing has even started reading music."

" **** got her results from her first graded dance exams and passed both"

Finally, one of my favourites which resonates with all of us who have had issues with toilet training our children "**** did a poo on the loo !"

Friday achievements raises spirits and I think is invaluable for parents of children who have recently been diagnosed with the condition. Whilst every person with 22q is unique it does provide an indication of what can be achieved. All these accomplishments should be recognised and celebrated as we know the challenges that our children have had to overcome to reach these landmarks.

The are some great stories about the achievements of people with 22q if you know where to look and I would recommend that you take a look at the following.

Quinn Bradlee  filmmaker and author of A Different Life, a book about growing up with learning disabilities.(http://www.friendsofquinn.com/welcome/)

Tessa Koller Fashion Designer  (http://www.tessakoller.com/)

Aine Lawlor - Special Needs Assistant (http://www.irishmirror.ie/female/health/story-success-against-odds---2058323) 

Nadia Zomorodian  - Graduate in Photography
(http://globalgenes.org/a-young-womans-story-of-living-with-22q11-2-deletion-syndrome/)

Finally to all of our crew members who are embarking on GCSE exams over the next few weeks good luck and we are sure we will be hearing good news about your results in August.

UPDATE

At The22Crew we have decided that achievements are not just for Fridays and we would like our members to share all achievements at any time remember #22qCan-Do