ADDISON'S JOURNEY

Gulf Shores, Alabama

2011-08-14T21:27:00.000-05:00

M&M Gymnastics Exhibition

2011-05-23T21:23:00.001-05:00

End of Year School Program

2011-05-18T21:19:00.002-05:00

Special Olympics

2011-05-12T21:14:00.000-05:00

Family Support

Addi Posing with Her Medal

Addison's 7th Birthday

2011-03-24T21:05:00.000-05:00

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T21:01:00.004-05:00

Last Days of School

2010-05-28T00:32:00.003-05:00

Addi's AWESOME Kindergarten Teacher, Ms. McWhorter

Singing in the music program

Both Kindergarten Classes (Addi is on bottom right)

Special Olympics - Summer Games

2010-05-13T00:11:00.000-05:00

Addi's Teachers - Ms. Blair & Ms. Kidwell (team coach)

Family Support - Sister Kennedy, Aunt Dee, Granpa Ken, Grandma Donna, Dad, Cousin Tiag, Mom, and Addi

Relay Race

T-Ball

Disc Hop

Balance Beam

Reading and Sight Words

2010-04-08T00:12:00.002-05:00

Addison has been working very hard learning to read. Here she is posing with her first 100 sight words she memorized!

Thunder Game (02/28 vs. Raptors)

2010-02-28T23:46:00.005-06:00

Addi & #9-Serge Ibaka

Kennedy, Addi & Bec with #23 - Byron Mullens

Kennedy, Addi, & Bec with #8 - Antonio Anderson & #6 - Eric Maynor

Addi & Kennedy getting autographs from the Thunder Girls

Family Pic

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T20:35:00.003-06:00

Last Day of School

2009-05-29T12:31:00.004-05:00

Addi's last day of pre-k, with Ms. Cheryl, Ms. Stephanie, and Ms. Jana. Thank you teachers for an awesome school year!

Second Gymnastics Competition

2009-05-24T23:18:00.002-05:00

Addison just completed her second "competition" at Oklahoma Gold. Many thanks to her wonderful coaches Lauren and Kayla!!!

Addison's First Swim Lesson

2009-05-06T16:42:00.003-05:00

Addison's completed her first swim lesson today. She loves the pool and really likes Coach Theresa!

John C. McGinley and the R Word

2009-03-05T13:20:00.001-06:00

John C. McGinley, who has starred in Scrubs, Platoon, Any Given Sunday, Wild Hogs, and many other movies, speaking about the R Word on the Bonnie Hunt show.

Addison's First Special Olympics Event

2009-01-10T16:30:00.013-06:00

Addison completed the "Stars of the Future" today held at the University of Oklahoma. This is her first Special Olympics event to participate. At this event, the Stars of the Future athletes go through winter sports stations, receiving training in basketball, volleyball, and bowling events. In the upcoming Summer Games in May, she will go through about a dozen stations, receiving training in track & field events.
Tube Crawl

Big sis Kennedy in the Tube Crawl

Basketball

Hockey

Dad, Mom, Papa Ernie, Addison, Nana Rita, Great Grandma Moberly, Aunt Brenda, Sister Kennedy, Cousin Travis, and Cousin Ashley

Our 2 Little Reindeer

2008-12-12T22:51:00.002-06:00

Big sis Kennedy and Addison

Speech Therapy with Candace

2008-12-06T22:58:00.002-06:00

Addison attends speech therapy at Univeristy of Central Oklahoma Speech Clinic. Each semester, she works with a new graduate or undergraduate therapist and this semester, she worked with Candace. Addison enjoyed her weekly sessions with Candace, who did a great job. Thank you Candace and we wish you the best!

Halloween

2008-11-06T23:23:00.002-06:00

Addison and her big sis Kennedy dressed up for Halloween!

Addison & Bec on TV

2008-09-21T01:28:00.018-05:00

Rebecca and Addison appeared on KWTV Channel 9 this morning to promote the Buddy Walk. Rachel Coleman, host of Signing Time, and Rebecca and Addison, discussed the benefits of signing, as well as described the events of the day. Here's the replay:

Alternatively, you can click here for a replay of the clip from the KWTV website.

Newspaper Article

2008-09-19T23:18:00.005-05:00

The Daily Oklahoman published the following article about Addison, Signing Time and the Buddy Walk.

Speech with Amy & Greta

2008-07-28T20:06:00.005-05:00

Addison receives speech therapy at Mercy. Amy, on the left, is Addison's speech pathologist at Mercy. Greta, on the right, works with Amy. When Addison was first born, she spent 21 days in NICU at Mercy. During this time, she had feeding issues that required the use of a Haberman bottle (bottle designed for children with cleft issues). Due to the nature of the feeding issues, Greta was actually the first person to ever feed Addison by bottle. Greta spent many hours teaching Addison and us how to use the Haberman bottle. She taught us how to support Addison's checks and chin while feeding her.
Thank you Amy and Greta!!!!

Thanks Abby!

2008-07-17T19:55:00.006-05:00

Today was Addison's last day with Abby. Abby has been Addison's speech pathologist at Univeristy of Central Oklahoma Speech Clinic for the past 7 months. She is continuing on with her studies and will be graduating soon. Abby was great with Addison and was able to keep her on task to make the most of their sessions. Thank you Abby!!! We will miss you!!!

Gymnastics

2008-07-16T00:29:00.006-05:00

Addison continues her weekly gymnastics practice at Oklahoma Gold. She's in a regular class and is doing very well, with the help from her awesome coaches, Wendy and Kayla.

Horseback Riding

2008-06-30T01:32:00.005-05:00

Addison continues horseback riding at Coffee Creek Riding Center . "Papa" Ernie and "Nana" Rita take Addison once a week to these sessions, where they emphasize muscle coordination and speech development.

Addison and Nana

Addison and Papa

Addison with volunteers

Karen Gaffney

2008-04-10T00:42:00.004-05:00

This is a very inspirational story that ran on the NBC Today Show. It's about Karen Gaffney, a young woman with Down syndrome. Bec and I saw her speak at last year's NDSC meeting in Kansas City.

Addison and Us

2008-03-24T00:00:00.020-05:00

Addison is a happy, thoughtful 5 year old, who happens to have Down syndrome. The purpose of this blog is to share her story and help other parents who have a child with Down syndrome.

Family:

Mom, analyst for an IT Department
Dad, works for a software company
Kennedy, 9, 2nd grader
Addison, 7, 1st grader
Onyx, 12, family dog

Education:

Day Care: At 6 months of age, she began attenting a "typical" day care, where she is the only child with Down syndrome at the day care. For most of the teachers at the day care, this was their first exposure to Down syndrome and things have gone extremely well. The teachers have been receptive to Addison's very few special needs and we are very pleased with the inclusion. Addison currently is in an age appropriate class and is functioning very well in the "typical" environment.
Public School: At 3 years of age, Addsion started the early intervention program at Angie Debo Elementary. She attends full days and loves school. Oh, by the way, she's been riding the school bus since the first day!

Speech Therapies:

30 minutes/week from Angie Debo Elementary
1 hour/week from Mercy Therapy Services
1 hour/week from Univeristy of Central Oklahoma Speech Clinic

Other Activities/Therapies:

1 hour/week of horseback riding at Coffee Creek Riding Center
1 hour/week of gymnastics at Oklahoma Gold
1 hour/week of swim lessons

Medical History:

Diagnosed prenatally with Down syndrome
Born at 34 weeks, spent 21 days in NICU
Initially diagnosed with hydrocephalus, no need to repair
Cleft lip and palet, repaired at 6 months of age
Patent Ductus Arteriosis (PDA), repaired at 1 year of age
Currently, in good health and no major medical concerns

Addison's Favorite TV Shows:

Speech Therapy Recommendations

2008-03-12T03:34:00.004-05:00

Libby Kumin is a Professor and Department Chair of the Speech-Language Pathology Department at Loyola College in Baltimore. Her books are a 'must read' for caregivers of children with Down syndrome.
http://www.ds-health.com/speech.htm

Chris Burke's Website

2008-03-12T03:10:00.002-05:00

Chris Burke, who played Charles "Corky" Thatcher on the ABC show "Life Goes On" and his recurring role as Taylor, the angel of faith on the CBS show "Touched By An Angel", has his own website. Very inspirational!

Site Written by Parent/Pediatrician

2008-03-04T22:33:00.000-06:00

This is a great site written by a pediatrician, who has a son with Down syndrome.

http://www.ds-health.com/

Divorce Rates

2008-03-04T11:53:00.003-06:00

There's a common "statistic" that's thrown around that states that the divorce rate is 80% for the parents with a special needs child. I've actually never seen the scientific study that backs up this statistic, so I question the validity of this statistic. However, here's an actual scientific study which documents having a child with Down sydrome does not increase the divorce rate probability. Click here for the study.

2007 Buddy Walk Thank You

2007-10-15T23:10:00.002-05:00

As you know, the 2007 Buddy Walk was held on September 29th at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. It was a beautiful day for the Buddy Walk and over 2,000 people attended. Thanks to those who were able to attend and walk with “Addison’s Army”.

The financial support we received from generous supporters, such as you, was overwhelming. The local Buddy Walk raised over $100,000, with Addison’s Army (your donations) contributing over $6,000. As a result of your generosity, Addison’s Army was the one of the highest fundraising teams!

We appreciate your participation and generosity in support of Addison’s Army and the Buddy Walk this year!

2007 Supporters:
Brian & Pat Ahern
American Fidelity
Allan Arnold
Arif Baig
Rita & Ernie Bingham
Justin & Regina Bingham
Joe & Jana Bingham
Larry & Masie Bross
Laurie Brown
Edward Campbell
Ron & Delisa Campney
Joanne Campney
Laura Castrop
Judith & Steve Cherry
Suzanne Dolan
Angela Estes
John & Shannon Ford
Ann Foster
Travis Fuksa
Alta & Herb Garrett
Katie Garrett
Barry & Stacey Garrett
Randy Glasgow
Richard & Mary Goldner
Michael Guerra
Karen Haddon
Brady & Gay Hagood
Scott & Ruthie Hall
Dr. Margaret Hall
Ronnie & Toni Hays
JC, Jayme & Cohen Hopson
Leslie Hoyt Family
Rochelle Huber
Karen & Jody Inman
Liz Johnson & Bob Charrette
Valerie & Jason Jones
Don & Mary Jung
Jeff Kenney & Family
Stephen Kerrigan
Mike & Rebecca Klehm
Donna & Ken Klehm
Bob & Gwen Krenowicz
Naomi Lackey
Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary
Ginger & Jeff Laxton
Pat & Annita Leehan
Stefanie Leehan
Teresa Leehan
A. J. Legere
Janet Mahon
Brandon Mainka
Cheryl Meade
Jack & Janet Melton
Nancy & Ray Melton
Rodd & Kristi Melton
Elizabeth Meredith
Grandma & Grandpa Moberly
Aarron & Emily Montgomery
John & Kim Moore
Joann & Paul Muzny
Drew & Nadia Neal
Sheri & Jr Newsom
Tricia Northcutt
Brenda & Kenneth Paine
David & Julie Payne
Ellen, Dean & Chris Paynter
Cindy & Chad Puckett
Yvonne Ritchie
Bob & Ramona Ritchie
Gian & Melissa Santoro
Paul Schlemmer
Erin & Matt Schovanec
Judy & Bill Seaton
Lavenia Simmons
Amie & Steve Squibb
Chris & Susan Teague Family
Shaina Tollefson
Jane & Glen Veal
Robert & Verlena Ward
Brandon & Jenna Weaver
Bob & Janice White
Ron & Donnita Wilkens
Pat Wilkinson
Darcy Wilson
Richard Winegar
Ashley Witt
Jolanda & Neil Womack
Christina & Brice Woods
Damon & Krista Wright
Erich & Breonda Ziegler

People First Language/Politically Correct Language

2007-06-09T03:32:00.000-05:00

People First Language
The correct name of this diagnosis is Down syndrome. There is no apostrophe (Down). The "s" in syndrome is not capitalized (syndrome).

It is important to use the correct terminology. A person "has" Down syndrome, rather than "suffers from," "is a victim of," "is diseased with" or "afflicted by."

Basic Guidelines:
1. Put people first, not their disability
- A "person with a disability", not a "disabled person"
- A "child with "Down syndrome", not an "Down's child"
2. Use emotionally neutral expressions
- A person "with" Down syndrome, not "afflicted with" Down syndrome
- A person "has" Down syndrome, not "suffers from" Down syndrome
3. Emphasize abilities, not limitations
- A child "receives special education services", not "in special ed"
4. Adopt preferred language
- A "cognitive disability" or "intellectual disability" is preferred over "mentally retarded"
- "Typically developing" or "typical" is preferred over "normal"

Addison's 3rd Birthday

2007-03-24T23:34:00.001-05:00

Cindy's Last Visit

2007-03-23T00:31:00.000-05:00

Cindy has been Addison's Occupational Therapist for the last 3 years. Cindy is with Sooner Start, which handles early intervention of developmentally delayed kiddos up to 3 years old. Addison benefitted tremendously from Cindy's guidance. We had a great experience with Sooner Start and Cindy. We'll miss you Cindy!!!

Repairing Cleft Lip

2004-09-12T01:51:00.002-05:00

Going into surgery

Right after surgery

Removing the stitches

Good as new!!!

Contact

2004-03-24T20:03:00.000-06:00

Send us an e-mail here.

She's Here!

2004-03-24T01:34:00.000-06:00