In Recognition of Down Syndrome Awareness Month

Floor Speech

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Mr. KEATING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of October as
National Down Syndrome Awareness Month.
During the month of October, we celebrate the abilities of the more
than 400,000 Americans who have Down syndrome and raise awareness of
their accomplishments. We also recognize the difficulties that their
families often face and the many opportunities that exist to support
them.

Individuals born with Down syndrome face more natural and societal
challenges than others, including barriers in access to quality
education. We, as Americans, have made great strides over the years in
better understanding the difficulties these individuals, and their
families, face. Given that 1 in every 691 babies in this country is
born with Down syndrome, it is imperative we continue our efforts.

Good work is being done all across this country to improve the health
and quality of life for people with Down syndrome, but I want to give
special attention to the efforts of the Massachusetts Down Syndrome
Congress. The MDSC is an organization I have had the honor and pleasure
of working with in recent years, and can attest that it has worked
tirelessly for over thirty years to improve the educational and
employment opportunities for children and adults with Down syndrome. To
this end, I want to highlight the MDSC's annual Buddy Walk in Falmouth,
which this past July brought people from all over the Commonwealth to
advocate for heightened awareness, inclusion, and acceptance of people
with Down syndrome. MDSC also held its annual National Buddy Walk on
Washington, bringing over 150 people from more than 25 states together
to Capitol Hill to advocate for legislation that positively impacts the
lives of people with Down syndrome.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in continuing our
efforts by recognizing October as National Down Syndrome Awareness
Month. There is much work yet to be done. But, as our steadfast
Massachusetts and national partners have demonstrated, together, we can
make a difference for people with Down syndrome.

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