HappyDowns offers guidance to Family Caregivers of teenagers and adults who have Down Syndrome. We want to help you and your loved one to live your best lives.
Above all else, we at HappyDowns believe that caregivers must put their care and health first. You have to be your best in order to give your best! We want to remind caregivers that they matter. We believe that caregivers should achieve their goals (live their best lives), whilst helping their loved ones reach their full potential.
We are here to provide inspiration, direction, advice and information to families. We acknowledge that being a caregiver can be quite challenging and we invite you to be as honest as possible about the hard times…this is a safe space for you to be honest about your experiences. We also encourage you to be positive and solution oriented amidst the difficulties.
HappyDowns is about accepting your reality and then choosing your destiny. Having a loved one with Down Syndrome is a lot, but we want to encourage you to rise above these difficulties. We believe that from there is life, there is hope and we must fight, we must continue, there is no giving up.
HappyDowns hopes to be a tool to help caregivers on their journey as they care not just for their loved ones, but for themselves as well.
P.S. 🌟 As a dedicated caregiver, if your focus in on:
- “Future Planning” for your loved one, grab our “Important Documents Checklist” (it’s totally FREE). Things can happen suddenly and “being prepared” is one of the best gifts you can give your family 💙.
Hi, I like what you are doing here. You are creating awareness by educating people on how to handle situations with regards to down Syndrome.Not only for those who are experiencing it first hand with their love-ones, but the society as a whole.i think this is very important and what most of us normally neglect or sometimes avoid to tackle.I wish you nothing but the best. Cheers!
Hi markadhel,
Thank you for your encouraging words. All the best in your endeavors as well!
Cheers.
Hi Alicia,
Years ago I worked as a counselor for a camp that catered to kids and adults with Down Syndrome. I read your post with interest because I think that often people are afraid or uncomfortable with an illness or condition they don’t understand.
On the positive side I found that if you take the time to establish trust, you’ll often find a personality that’s unique and sets that person apart from his or her condition–meaning they don’t have to be defined by their condition.
I also admire how you balance your information by reminding us that even people with Down Syndrome must be made aware of boundaries that should not be crossed.
Hi Thabo,
Thanks for stopping by HappyDowns and taking the time to look around. Yes indeed they have a unique personality that is separate and apart from the Down Syndrome. Very happy to hear that you had some time to meet such persons and thank you for being understanding of another person’s differences.
Take care!
What a wonderful website. Most of us, have experienced or been exposed to loved ones who suffer with handicaps from birth. Thank you for taking the time to extend information, training and hope for parents and caregivers who find themselves in these challenging situations. To be honest, as special as those with Downs Syndrome are, the parents and caregivers are equally so.
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your encouraging words.
Cheers!
Hi Alicia!
Great initiative. I’ve worked at a public hospital in Saudi Arabia where I had the opportunity to take care of kids with Down syndrome (DS). These kids are wonderful in every way imaginable. Even those aged well above 10 sometimes have the mind of a five year old, and I always felt for parents who appeared embarrassed when they brought their kids with DS and had to sit in the midst of other children and their parents at the pediatric clinics. We always had to reassure and encourage them because we knew these parents had a lot of challenges to deal with, ranging from the social issues to medical problems that some kids with DS have.
Blogs like yours remind me that there’s so much we can learn about other people and their difficulties. It makes it easier for us to understand our differences and be more open to helping those around us who have kids with trisomy 21.
Thank you and lots of blessings!
Hi Princila,
Thanks for the encouragement. I indeed hope that persons will see from this blog that they should be more understanding of persons who just happen to be somewhat different from them, but are still human the same.
Cheers!
Hi Alicia!
I really like your site.
It made me feel so happy inside. I know some people with Downs syndrome, from back home, and in all my memories they are always so positive, happy and smiling, and they LOVE sports!
They always put a smile on my face.
I pray one day, we will all be accepted and respected for who we are, despite our differences and with a site like yours we are on the right path.
Øssur
Hi Øssur,
Thank you so much for your kind words. I am so happy that HappyDowns could send some of the “happy” to you. I too hope to see the day when we embrace our differences.
One Love!
Hi Alicia,
A very good friend of mine had Down Syndrome. He is no longer with us (the Lord rest his soul). He had the warmest and most caring of hearts and even so, he was still abused and limits and boundaries that should have be respected were crossed. So, in short I really appreciate what you and your team are doing, because from what I know, it was challenging for him and his caretakers and for too long now the awareness for others have been very minimal.
Thanks guys
Hi Hughrel,
Thank you so much for visiting HappyDowns. I am so sorry your friend had a difficult life, but let me thank you for deciding to be a friend to someone with DS…too many persons don’t even give people who are deemed “different” a chance, and that is just unfortunate.
You are right…too many persons with DS are treated poorly by society due to ignorance. We hope that the work that we do at HappyDowns will help the world to see that persons with disabilities are human beings with lives worth living and we should all do what we can to help.
Come back and visit HappyDowns anytime and feel free to share your thoughts with us.
Take Care!
I have a daughter with Down Syndrome it has been a long journey. My daughter lives with me and now she is 47 yrs old and I will be 77 yrs old God is good!
Hi Suzette,
Thank you so much for visiting HappyDowns and for taking the time to leave us a comment. God is indeed good. Wow, you and your daughter have been on this journey for quite some time. If you don’t mind sharing, is there one thing you would share with other Family Caregivers that has helped you along your journey?
Thanks again for stopping by. We hope you will visit us again and feel free to share your thoughts/experience with us!