On March 21, 2024, World Down Syndrome Day, Coor Down, launched their worldwide campaign, Assume That I Can, with the support of six international Down Syndrome associations, including the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. The breakthrough video starring actor Madison Tevlin went viral.
“Our negative assumptions about people with Down syndrome can lead us to treat them in such a way that these assumptions become reality. In sociology, this is called a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. Why not reverse our perspectives? If we have positive assumptions about people with Down syndrome, we’ll give them more opportunities in their schools, workplaces, relationships and activities. And maybe these positive assumptions will become reality.” YouTube Link
Madison Tevlin inspired Teresa’s true life video!
Madison’s video inspired us to create a video for Teresa Heartchild for World Down Syndrome Day that told Teresa’s story and how she upended assumptions in her own life!
“Ten years ago, people assumed my sister’s life at 49 was over. Teresa Heartchild fought back. 25,000 people signed her petition. Her supporters sent a public letter to the Ontario Minister of Health. Finally, the government apologized,” says Franke James. “Now Teresa is free. But thousands of others are getting put into nursing homes showing that what happened to Teresa is not a rare event. She represents the tip of an iceberg.”
Although, the old institutions have closed, the sad reality is that today there are thousands of young people with disabilities who are forced to live in nursing homes. This is a key civil rights issue for all people with disabilities—the right to decide where you live. As the UN Special Rapporteur Catalina Devandas-Aguilar said, “The deprivation of liberty on the basis of disability is a human rights violation on a massive global scale.”
Read the award-winning book Freeing Teresa: A True Story about My Sister and Me by Franke James, with Billiam James and Teresa Heartchild. It tells how low expectations almost closed the door on Teresa’s future.
Freeing Teresa is also available as an audiobook narrated by Jackie Blackmore. The full-cast includes Lauren Potter, Dayleigh Nelson, Cynthia Potvin, Bill Mackie, Paula Hoffmann, Rob Cottingham, Sidika Larbes, Geoff Sugiyama, Laurel Bailey, Divina Soriano-Leacock, Justin Smallbridge, and Roshni Kashyap.
2024 Awards for Freeing Teresa
WINNER of 4 HUMAN RELATIONS INDIE BOOK AWARDS, 2024
Gold Award: Family Challenges
Gold Award: Special Needs (Disability Rights)
Silver Award: Leadership
Silver Award: Inspirational
WINNER of 5 INTERNATIONAL FIREBIRD BOOK AWARDS 2024 (2nd quarter): Winner, Judge’s Pick
1st place, Social/Political Change
1st place, Special Needs (Disability Rights)
2nd place, Leadership
2nd place, Inspiration
#WDSD2024 #WorldDownSyndromeDay #EndTheStereotypes #assumethatican #FreeingTeresa