Down syndrome advocates attend annual Buddy Walk
While in Washington, D.C., advocates from the Down Syndrome Association of Central Oklahoma met with legislators for the annual Buddy Walk on Washington, which was held in April.
Organization members who attended included Heather Hancock-Blackburn, Fara Taylor, Mike Klehm and Josh Harlow.
Hancock-Blackburn is a self-advocate who serves on the board for DSACO. Taylor and Klehm represented the organization as parent advocates, and Harlow serves as the communications director for the National Down Syndrome Society and is also a DSACO board member.
The annual twoday advocacy conference brings the Down syndrome community together to advocate for legislative priorities that impact those with Down syndrome.
During the conference, DSACO advocates met with members of Congress on Capitol Hill to advance education, research and health care for people with Down syndrome. More than 300 participants from 27 states attended this year’s Buddy Walk on Washington.
Hancock-Blackburn, Taylor, Klehm and Harlow attended a training sponsored by the National Down Syndrome Society, which provided information and resources on how to advocate for legislation.
They were given briefings on four major legislative acts, which are still pending: Transition to Integrated, Meaningful Employment (TIME) Act; Advancing Care for Exceptional (ACE) Kids Act; and Medical Improvement of Neurodegenerative Diseases (MIND) Act.
In addition, they were asked to encourage congressional leaders to join the Congressional Task Force on Down Syndrome.
The task force works to increase awareness in Congress about Down syndrome and promote bipartisan policies, which further the understanding of important issues relevant to families.
The Oklahoma group met with U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore; U.S. Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City; U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas; and U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, R-Washington, along with legislative assistants for others. The advocates also presented each member of Congress with fact sheets about Down syndrome and a packet from National Down Syndrome Society on legislative initiatives.
The Down Syndrome Association of Central Oklahoma was founded in the mid-1990s by a determined group of parents, and officially became a 501c3 nonprofit in 2000.
DSACO serves nearly 700 families with a loved one with Down syndrome, from prenatal diagnosis into adulthood, in the central Oklahoma region. To learn more, go to www.dsaco.org.
For more information on National Down Syndrome Society legislative initiatives go to https:// www.ndss.org/advocate/ndss-legislativeagenda/
Sarah Soell is executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Central Oklahoma and a mother of a child with Down syndrome.