‘Bringing up Down syndrome’ is a short documentary that shares the stories of two families raising children with Down syndrome. The film explores facing the fears of the future, childhood milestones, learning new skills, entering the work field, and gaining independence.
The documentary is produced by Holly Giesbrecht, a 20-year-old Creative Communications student.
Pam and Ed Friesen, with their 25-year-old daughter Stacey, talk about Stacey learning to ski, starting to work, and looking at the near future of Stacey moving out.
Donna Hrehirrchuk, with her 6-year-old son Grant, talks about Grant going to grade one, learning to read, and taking the future one day at a time.
Hearing your child has Down syndrome is a hard thing to hear and it can instill a fear of the future and how to handle it. My hope is that this documentary can give a visual of what it looks like to raise a child with Down syndrome and relieve some of those fears and negative thoughts because having a child is an incredible thing, whether they have Down syndrome or not.
There will be a free viewing event for ‘Bringing up Down syndrome’ on February 11th at 2:30pm at the Health Sciences Centre. Although the event will be free, there will be a donation box at the door. For more information about the event or the documentary visit the website at bringingupdownsyndrome.wordpress.com or visit the Facebook page Bringing up Down syndrome.