In celebration of Trisomy 21; a 21 hour, 21 DJ virtual dance party is taking place Sunday March 21st, 2021.
During the World/Ontario Down Syndrome Day celebration, the community is hoping to break a Guinness World Record of most people raising the roof for awareness. The Down Syndrome Association of Ontario (DSAO) can be the first organization to break this record, and on a global scale.
“We have an achievable goal, in my opinion. We have to break 100 people which is the current record,” says Domenic Gentilini, chair of the DSAO.
He says with the ongoing pandemic, keeping the interaction amongst a community who’s demeanour is happy and positive has become very trying.
“Being out of sync or out of routine to their normal day to day lives, has been very, very difficult. The darker side of things as well, we’re seeing a lot of mental health issues that have come out of this, some addictions. Which have not traditionally come out in the past,” Gentilini says.
Music Therapy / London Down Syndrome Association
The DSAO has been able to connect with the Music Therapy Association of Ontario to work on keeping that connection in the community, and provide activities and therapy to do at home. Gentilini says the 30 minute sessions on their Youtube channel have been a great success.
“We have it in multiple languages as well. So even someone that only speaks English now could actually understand the song but in Polish or Russian or French or another language.”
Happy2BMe Campaign / DSAO Youtube
Also launched this year is the “Happy2BMe” awareness campaign. The 5-part video series showcases the triumphs of individuals synonymous with Down syndrome. The videos are available on their website.
The DSAO is having active discussions with the COVID-19 Task Force and Public Health in regards to the vaccine rollout. In partnership with the Special Olympics, the province is working on providing clear and concise information to families in Down syndrome and Special Needs communities.
“What we have designated is some sort of direct connectivity between the public health unit via the DSAO so that it will reduce the amount of confusion and anxiety of when those families are in queue to do so,” Gentilini says.
Gentilini says they hope to have information released prior to the second phase of vaccines in April.
