{"id":300487,"date":"2023-10-22T15:35:58","date_gmt":"2023-10-22T20:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=300487"},"modified":"2023-10-20T17:43:28","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T22:43:28","slug":"head-down-syndrome-sense-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/head-down-syndrome-sense-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"Head of Down Syndrome clinic says his work gives him a ‘deep sense of purpose’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dr. Brian Skotko<\/a> isn’t just the director of the Down Syndrome Program at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He’s a Harvard-educated, board-certified medical geneticist, an author, a public speaker… and older brother to Kristin, who has Down syndrome. He’s dedicated his life to Down syndrome research, advocacy, and education, and in a recent interview<\/a> with Word On Fire, he spoke about the value of his work and and what has changed in recent years.<\/p>\n

Skotko began by explaining that both his sister and his patients with Down syndrome teach him valuable lessons.<\/p>\n

“They teach me to pause when I am tempted to rush, to feel when I want to rationalize, to cherish bronze when I am looking for gold,” he said. “Yet the Down syndrome community pushes me beyond just happy life lessons; its families have gifted me a deep sense of purpose. Rather than focusing on my ego-centric dramas, I am reminded daily that our work is far from over in ensuring that all neurodiverse persons are valued.”<\/p>\n