Michelle (Palmer) McCarthy (BS ’93) and her husband, Troy (BS ’91), started the Hawkeye Area Down Syndrome Association in 1999, when their twin sons were six months old. One of the twins, Nathan, was born with Down syndrome, while his brother, Gabe, was not.

Michelle is a first-grade teacher at Riverside Elementary School . She said she hopes her group inspires parents of Down syndrome children and encourages them to have high hopes for their children’s futures.

“People shouldn’t limit their expectations based on an extra chromosome,” she said. “Potential is huge nowadays for people with Down syndrome. They can get married. They can drive a car. They can go to college. You don’t know what their future holds, and I think it’s important to strive for those goals and that’s what we do for Nathan.”

The Hawkeye Area Down Syndrome Association has a mailing list of 55 families in the Eastern Iowa area. Members attend monthly meetings where they hear from a speaker, share advice and stories, and let their children play together.

“I’m hoping that when parents walk out of a meeting, they feel good about themselves and their children’s lives,” she said.

Danyel Hinson, who joined the group when her family moved to Marion five years ago, said the meetings are a place where she can “just breathe.”

“You get to be part of this group and they understand you and they know you. You’re just you and you’re accepted. That’s an irreplaceable feeling that I felt we needed to have for our kids,” Hinson said.

Hinson’s son, Anthony, is almost 10 and has Down syndrome. Anthony has two younger sisters who do not have Down syndrome.

Hinson said McCarthy’s group provides a wonderful chance for her three kids to spend time with more children like Anthony.

Photo by Matt Holst © 2008 Iowa City Press Citizen

“He’s the only child in his school with Down syndrome and he has been for five years,” Hinson said. “There’s a much-needed community here for him. Everybody wants friends that are like them and he needs that too.”

In addition to monthly meetings, the Hawkeye Area Down Syndrome Association participates in an annual Buddy Walk to raise money to buy books about Down syndrome for local schools and to provide scholarships for parents to attend national conferences.

This spring the group hosted its first major conference in Iowa City involving The University of Iowa and area educators. Nationally renowned speaker Susan Peoples, who spoke at the National Down Syndrome Congress Convention in 2007, presented a day-long workshop titled “Teaching Tools for Special Children.” Peoples has developed a curriculum of reading, writing, and spelling for children with Down syndrome and other developmental delays. The event had a special price break for college students and also offered six CEU credits for teachers.

McCarthy said she saw the conference as a chance to reach out to the community and spread her association’s message.

“I think it’s important that we not only are teaching parents that have kids with Down syndrome all the possibilities for the children,” McCarthy said, “but also that we link up with the community and teach them as well.”