It’s a busy time at the NDSC Center as we put the final touches on this year’s NDSC Annual Convention!  We’re all very excited to see you – old friends and new – when the world’s Down syndrome community comes together in Pittsburgh.  If this is your first time attending an NDSC Convention, I strongly encourage you to attend the First Timer Orientation session Thursday night – it will help you get the most out of your conference experience.  No matter how many times you’ve joined us, it will help to get familiar with the Convention App well before you arrive.  You’ll find instructions on how to download this handy tool below.

Spring has sprung, which means we’re entering the homestretch leading to this year’s NDSC Annual Convention in family-friendly Pittsburgh!  For those of you who have attended before, you know that there’s nothing quite like the NDSC Convention. Nowhere else in the world can you access as many world-class speakers and as much information in person as you can at the NDSC Convention.  Included in your registration are additional free learning opportunities that you can only access this one weekend of the year: the Global Down Syndrome Foundation Research and Medical Roundtable; the LuMInd IDSC Foundation Research Rally; the NDSC Advocacy Training Boot Camp; the Film Festival; Exhibit Hall; and, this year’s inaugural College Fair.

At the NDSC, serving you and your family is our mission and our privilege.  Since my last “Mission Moment”, we have delivered a Spanish-language workshop for adult siblings in McAllen, Texas; an Educators Conference in Nashville, Tennessee; two free webinars – one on transition by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Alyssa Siegel, MD, and another hosted by NDSC staff designed to help prepare attendees for the upcoming registration; and, we attended the Down Syndrome Affiliates in Action Conference in St. Louis, where NDSC Policy Director Heather Sachs provided a policy crash course and where we shared free information and materials with affiliate leaders. This weekend, we’re bringing our latest Down Syndrome Summit to Fort Wayne, Indiana, covering topics including inclusion, advocacy, behavior, health & medical, adult sibling issues, and special needs law.

Happy New Year!

This year is off to a great start, as NDSC recently received a grant of $500,000 over three years to expand our ongoing work in rural, tribal, and urban outreach, and to take our renowned Educators Conference on the road.  We are so grateful for this wonderful gift and appreciate that the private benefactor recognizes the transformative nature of NDSC’s educational programs for parents and professionals. For nearly five decades, NDSC has been the Down syndrome community’s leading information and advocacy resource–one particularly recognized for its caring, family-oriented approach.