GRIMES, Iowa — Patty Sneddon-Kisting wears a lot of hats. She’s the executive director of a nonprofit, a mom, a wife, and a Down syndrome advocate. This is the third year she’s visited her daughter Addi’s school to teach kids more about it. 

“We try to find ways to celebrate Down syndrome and individuals just being their unique, authentic selves with their, whether it’s a disability or just something that makes them unique.”

She has the kids play games to help them understand what it’s like, whether it’s trying to make sense of a jumbled up sentence or writing their name with their non-dominant hand.

“Sometimes it may be a little hard to understand what she’s saying or sometimes it may take a lot of extra work for her to do some things that come natural to other kiddos.”

Julie Parnu is the Special Education teacher at Addi’s school and says Addi brings joy to everyone she meets.

“I think the biggest part of it with Addi is that she is in the classroom. She learns so much being in there with her friends and on the other side of it, they also learn from her.”

The kids are learning about kindness, empathy and accepting differences.

“Inclusion 100%! The students grow together and they all learn about one another no matter what.”

And that’s everything from social interaction to science.

“This year they’re asking bigger questions, like, okay, these are our chromosomes. How did they get there? Can they change? Do we all have these? And it’s almost like, oh, we’re going to get a medical book for these kids and explain so much more and I’m watching as their brains are growing and developing!”

A few hours every year, making a big impact.

“I mean, all parents want the best for their kids,” Patty says, “they want their kids to have a sense of belonging and to have meaningful friendships and to be supported, you know, just as who they are and where they are.”