Sally: Down’s isn’t a disease, it’s a type of person
SALLY Phillips is one of the most recognisable faces in British comedy, as co-creator of sketch show Smack The Pony, as well as appearing in the Bridget Jones movies as Shazza.
While the 47-year-old’s acting career is jam-packed, she has another full-time job – being a single mum to three young boys.
Not only this, but she’s also on a mission to raise awareness about Down’s Syndrome, a condition that her eldest son has.
Sally said: “The most important misconception about Down’s Syndrome is the idea that living with any kind of disability is incompatible with a happy life.”
Her son Olly, 13, has the genetic condition and Sally wants us to re-think the language we use to refer to conditions like Down’s.
She said: “People say that so-and-so ‘suffers’ from Down’s Syndrome and they think of Down’s as some kind of disease you ‘suffer’ from.
“It isn’t a disease, it’s a type of person.
“Yes, it does involve a learning difficulty and there are a few health things you’re more likely to get but it’s still mainly a type of personality.”
She mentions the video that went viral recently of mothers of Down’s Syndrome children doing their own carpool karaoke.
Sally said: “I think the lovely thing with that is BY PRUDENCE WADE there’s such a diversity of kids in the video.
“People say ‘I wouldn’t want a child with Down’s Syndrome, because you don’t know what you’ll get’. But since when were you able to know what you’re going to get with children?
“That’s one of the things that you learn as a parent – to accept someone no matter what. Parenting is unconditional love.”
Sally says Olly’s relationships and friendships are the most important things in his life. But that’s not the only thing that makes him special. She said: “He really enjoys dancing and he’s very grateful for everything.
“If I bring home cake, he’s really the only child who will say thank you without being reminded. “He loves to laugh and he tells really appalling jokes. They’re so bad that the fact they’ve been presented as a joke is funny. He makes you realise that jokes are almost nothing to do with the words and all to do with the delivery.”
She admits that she has no advice to offer others parents.
But Sally said: “We’re very strong online.
“If you’ve got a child with Down’s Syndrome, we’re an incredibly helpful, loving community.
“The key is to find other parents online, because there’s lots of great support and information.”
As a parent you learn to accept someone no matter what