Last week Adyson (Ady) and Nolan Petty helped Clearview Elementary first and fifth graders ‘rock their socks’ during World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) in honor of their three-year-old sister, Quinn, who has Down Syndrome.
Down Syndrome is caused by a person having three copies of chromosome 21, people without it only have two copies.
WDSD is held each year on March 21. The date, 3-21, represents Trisomy 21, which is the medical term for Down Syndrome. Greatly magnified, chromosomes look like colorful socks, which is where the idea for ‘rock your socks’ came from.
The purpose of wearing crazy, colorful socks on WDSD is to bring awareness and acceptance of Down Syndrome by reminding others that things that are different are still beautiful. Like the socks, people with Down Syndrome may not be “typical” but they’re still awesome.
Each year on WDSD the Petty siblings give presentations at their school. Ady is a fifth grader, this was her third year presenting.
“The lesson learned is that people with Down Syndrome are more like us than different,” she said. “What people like to do in general is the same.”
She talked to the fifth-graders about “person first” language, which means you identify the person first, such as saying, ‘The child is deaf’ instead of ‘the deaf child.’ They also talked about chromosomes and genetic code.
Nolan is a first grader, this is his second year presenting.
“Everyone looked at their friends next to them and said what things are different and what things are the same,” he said. “Then we read a book called Charlie’s Way.”
They asked their classmates to wear wild, colorful socks to help celebrate the day.
Richard and Shannon Petty are the parents of the three siblings. Mom Shannon brought Quinn along to help with the presentations.
“The cool thing about the first graders is when they looked at each other to find things alike and different,” said Shannon Petty. “I told them Quinn likes to do the same things as them but in her own way. One of the students told me afterwards that, ‘I learned today that my friends and I have a lot of things in common and things that are different. And that’s awesome.’”
She and Quinn also gave a presentation to Quinn’s class at Quarry View.
Shannon said one of the biggest things Quinn has brought to their family is advocating for inclusion and being nice.
“We use words like exceptionality and differabilities,” she said. “Quinn works extra hard at everything she does, whether it’s occupational, speech, or physical therapy. She’s a great example of hard work and perseverance.”
Richard and Shannon say another benefit has been getting to meet lots of new families. A group of families that have children with Down Syndrome often get together; Richard stated they learn from what each other are doing for their kids. Once a year Shannon goes on a ‘rockin’ mom’ retreat for moms with kids five and under.
The Petty family has been involved with Young Athletes (a Special Olympics organization), and taken the Polar Plunge. They also participate in the “Step up for Down Syndrome” walk at Como Park each year.
Shannon is also involved in Jack’s Baskets, an organization that provides a gift basket to every child in Central Minnesota that is born with Down Syndrome. She meets with the families to talk to them about their babies; mission of the organization is to ensure that when results from the Down Syndrome test come back positive the families are delivered the news in a positive way.
“Having Quinn has projected our family in a direction I never would have thought of,” said Shannon. “But it’s been awesome. The connections we’ve made, the advocacy we do, how Quinn has impacted others.”
Quinn has inspired Ady to one day become a physical therapist for young children like her sister.
“They love to be a part of Quinn’s therapy,” said Shannon. “CentraCare has been great, they let them come back and help.”
Next year Quinn will be in preschool at Clearview.
“We’ve come so far,” said Shannon. “There’s so much more inclusion now. Minnesota does a good job at that.”
