Here's the latest article from the Children with Special Needs site at BellaOnline.com.

Homecoming and Down Syndrome
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art178153.asp

High school homecoming stories about a student with Down syndrome being elected King or Queen are rare enough to be newsworthy but more common than ever before as young people with developmental disabilities grow up included and supported in mainstream classrooms in their neighborhood schools.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art178153.asp

Please visit specialneedschildren.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Children with Special Needs.

Snapshots, Photography and Childhood Disability
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art60026.asp

Photography Lessons for Children
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art63595.asp

Check out Childhood Disability messages on Twitter with 2,181 others, at:
http://www.twitter.com/downsynadvocacy

Join our community on Facebook with 241 other parents and advocacy organizations who post about events, information, resources and support at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Children-with-Special-Needs-at-Bellaonline/232298623459587

Browsing (and making purchases) at our Amazon aStores benefits the Children with Special Needs website. There are also links to books and other products beneath almost every article at the Children with Special Needs website. I appreciate your support! Most of the books are available at your public library or local bookstore, but the reader reviews and list of related resources on Amazon have been helpful to many parents and other advocates.

Down Syndrome Advocacy - Books, toys and other items
http://astore.amazon.com/downsyndrome-20

Children with Special Needs - Books, toys and other items
http://astore.amazon.com/specialneed0e-20

To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Children with Special Needs located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=57

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!

Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!

Pamela Wilson, Children with Special Needs Editor
http://specialneedschildren.bellaonline.com

Halloween Costumes and Childhood Disability
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art63629.asp

Costumes for Children with Special Needs
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art36415.asp

Assistive Listening Devices for the Classroom
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art62237.asp

FM Devices May Improve Reading Skills
http://tinyurl.com/9olocbw

Supported Housing Options and Caregiver Choices
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art177747.asp

Down Syndrome and Autism Dual Diagnosis
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art33178.asp

Paraprofessionals, Aides and Classroom Volunteers
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art178065.asp

Interviewing Caregivers for Your Baby, Child or Teen
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art62519.asp

Disability and Future Planning for Parents
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art59032.asp

Wrights Law - Future Planning Links
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/future.plan.index.htm

12 Rules of Friendship from a mother of a child with special needs at Living & Loving with Down Syndrome
http://blogs.babble.com/babble-voices/living-and-loving-with-down-syndrome-eliana-tardio/2012/09/27/12-rules-of-friendship-from-a-mother-of-a-child-with-special-needs/

DOWNTOWN - Available in English December 2012!
http://tinyurl.com/9vwebpb

A Land We Can Share: Teaching Literacy to Students with Autism by Paula Kluth and Kelly Chandler-Olcott
http://tinyurl.com/8w8pfpk

Teen with Down syndrome named homecoming king at Marysville High School
Mike Bogumil ... is a teen who just happens to have Down syndrome.
http://bit.ly/S9cSNl

Six-year-old becomes successful model; speaks through a computer
Schoolboy Joshua was born with cerebral palsy quadriplegia and communicates with his family and friends via a special talking machine in a similar way to renowned physicist Professor Steven Hawking
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2090542/Six-year-old-successful-model-despite-able-speak-computer.html

Caroline White, the mum of Marks & Spencer child model with Down's syndrome, tells the People her story - and explains why attitudes should change
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/mum-of-marks--spencer-downs-1351909

E:60 - Perfect
There was a time when Heath White chased perfection. E:60s Tom Rinaldi tells the story of a how the birth of his daughter with Down Syndrome led to the re-birth of a man who thought he had everything, until he discovered the joy of pushing Paisley.
http://m.espn.go.com/general/video?vid=8450488&wjb

Special Treatment for Special Kids - The Experiment
http://www.juliakinder.com/down-syndrome/special-treatment-for-special-kids-the-experiment/

For Parents Who are Not Ready to Celebrate Down Syndrome - Gillian Marchenko.
http://www.gillianmarchenko.com/for-parents-who-arent-ready-to-celebrate-down-syndrome/
Celebrating the diversity of our community this October - Down Syndrome Awareness Month, where we live. Loving someone with Down syndrome does not mean loving Down syndrome. Our feelings may change from year to year, or from day to day - or they may not. There is as much diversity within the community of parents and families as among our mainstream peers - maybe more. We acknowledge and validate one another where each of us is at any point on the journey of our lives.

'Indelible' has been nominated for the people's choice award at the Delhi International film festival.
Amazing and wonderful adults with Down syndrome in India
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AaWhKiZ9yU&feature=plcp
" Indelible (The short) is an introduction to a feature length documentary created specifically for the World Down Syndrome Congress (2012), South Africa and is the official film for the Down Syndrome Federation of India. The film opens with a montage of everyday activity in urban India. A girl cycling, a lady offering prayers at a temple, a young lad heaving the ball over long-on in a game of cricket; common sights in India, but are these really common people? What we discover over the next few minutes instead are glimpses into the lives of 7 extraordinary people with Down syndrome in India.
Dr. Surekha Ramachandran, Co-Founder and present Chairperson of the Down Syndrome Federation of India introduces us to the world of Down syndrome and these 7 remarkable stories by sharing her own association which began with the birth of her child, Babli. ..."

Clinton Global Initiative announces $12 million for Healthy Athletes
http://bit.ly/Qd9bcC
Former President William J. Clinton announced September 23 that businessman and philanthropist Tom Golisano will provide $12 million to expand Special Olympics’ health-related services to people with intellectual disabilities - one of the largest and most medically underserved disability groups in the world – which will allow for the launch of a new Healthy Communities initiative.
Athlete Leader Ioana Ciobano
http://tinyurl.com/8lobolo

The Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bren/wholehearted-parenting-manifesto_b_1923011.html

The Lil Journal Project
http://blogs.babble.com/babble-voices/hey-look-at-me-ashley-hackshaw/2012/10/02/everyone-who-is-interesting-has-a-past/

My son is looking forward to the 2012 Puget Sound Buddy Walk Sunday October 7 at Seattle Center. So am I! Wonderful families and great entertainment make the hours pass so fast. 1pm-4pm. I can't describe the amazing feeling of seeing so many individuals with Down syndrome of all ages all in the same place.
http://tinyurl.com/9a7qcu7
Our top fundraisers are families of such cute babies and toddlers!

The Buddy Walk is to raise awareness and provide a place for families to meet one another and have a great time - please be there to start a new tradition or continue an old one, so we can meet one another each year and celebrate the joys and accomplishments of every baby, child, teen and adult.
You being there means more than anything else.
Showing up is more important than raising money, but it's also pretty cool to spend $2 on a raffle ticket and take a chance on winning a wonderful prize. :-)
My son is not even close to the top fundraisers this year!
He is thrilled to see the 'darling babies' who have such great support from their communities - and so am I. Very cool kids, teens and adults are also in the mix!
http://www.firstgiving.com/14286/fundraisers