Latest news with #DownSyndrome
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
NCAD could not ‘wipe slate clean' after student with Down syndrome failed exam, WRC hears
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has heard a third-level institution made 'every effort' to support a young artist with Down syndrome pursuing a degree – but that it could not 'wipe the slate clean' after she failed a crucial first-year module. The director of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) gave evidence on Thursday that in the wake of a 'heated' meeting with the student's parents, the woman's mother, a journalist, told her 'they would make sure that my reputation was damaged'. Ellie Dunne (25) – who is said by her legal team to be the first student with Down syndrome to enrol on a degree programme at NCAD on Thomas Street in Dublin 8 – is pursuing a complaint under the Equal Status Act 2000 against the college. Her case is the college failed to provide her with reasonable accommodation during her first semester after starting in September 2023 and that disability discrimination continued when the college required her to re-sit a failed first-year module. The college's lawyers have denied discrimination 'in the strongest possible terms'. READ MORE At an earlier WRC hearing on Wednesday , the college's head of academic affairs, Dr Siún Hanrahan, said some 32 per cent of the college's approximately 1,400 students had self-declared additional needs of some description. She said the college offers a range of supports to these students. Some were 'tailored' packages on foot of a needs assessment while 'less tailored' support was available more broadly to those who had simply self-declared additional needs. Dr Hanrahan said there was a 'significant difference' between the requirements of the level-five art course completed by Ms Dunne at Stillorgan College of Further Education and the level-eight bachelor's degree at NCAD. Ms Dunne had access to assistive technology and an educational support worker who was available for two days a week, the tribunal heard. After Ms Dunne failed a module, the college made the support worker available for five days. . The witness said Ms Dunne's parents, Katy McGuinness and Feidhlim Dunne, took it as 'a very offensive thing that Ms Dunne had not successfully achieved the learning outcomes of the module'. Ellie Dunne, centre, with her parents Katy McGuinness and Felim Dunne at the WRC in Dublin. Photograph: Stephen Bourke '[Their] view was that the slate should be wiped clean,' she said. 'Under the [academic] regulations, that's just not possible.' . The tribunal heard the college proposed to allow Ms Dunne re-sit the assessment with access to workshops and without academic penalty, and to have it considered by an exam board the following autumn. Barrister Rosemary Mallon, for the respondent, instructed by Paul McDonald of AJP McDonald Solicitors, pointed out she asked Ms Dunne in cross-examination last year whether she 'knew about that offer'. Ms Mallon said Ms Dunne had indicated she did not know about it and would have liked to have availed of it. 'If Ellie didn't know, it was because she was not told by her parents?' Ms Mallon asked Dr Hanrahan. 'Yes,' Dr Hanrahan said. At a January 2024 meeting 'any suggestion of a repeat was met with a lot of opposition,' the college's director, Prof Sarah Glennie said, but mediation was agreed to by the family. Prof Glennie said that during a phone call two days later Ms McGuinness said 'they would make sure that my reputation was damaged' and that 'they would bury me in the process'. 'That was directly said, that they would 'bury you' in the process?' adjudicator Breiffni O'Neill asked. Prof Glennie confirmed this. In cross examination, counsel for the complainant Aisling Mulligan, appearing instructed by KOD Lyons, put it to the witness that Ms McGuinness had 'disputed' telling Prof Glennie she 'would be buried'. Prof Glennie said: 'That is my recollection.' When the disputed remark was first raised last year by Ms Mallon, Ms McGuinness said it was 'a phrase not familiar to me'. The case has been adjourned to October.
Time of India
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Sitaare Zameen Par Movie Review: A wholesome and feel-good slam dunk for inclusion
Story : Gulshan Arora ( Aamir Khan ) is a brash basketball coach suspended for punching the head coach and facing a jail term for drunk driving. Instead, he is sentenced to community service — training a team of players with intellectual disabilities to compete in a national basketball tournament. As he coaches them, he embarks on a journey of personal growth and learning valuable life lessons. Review : An official remake of the 2018 Spanish hit Champions , Sitaare Zameen Par serves as an indirect sequel to 2007's Taare Zameen Par . While the earlier film highlighted developmental disabilities through the lens of dyslexia and remedial education, this one shifts the focus to individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID), like Down Syndrome and invisible autism, on a basketball court. Despite a sensitive and layered subject, R S Prasanna's directorial venture, written by Divy Nidhi Sharma, remains a wholesome, feel-good watch. It strikes a commendable balance between delivering a message and educating viewers about ID, all with a lighthearted touch. At its core is a message of inclusivity—conveying that people with ID are employable, independent, full of life, and deeply empathetic. The film sensitively portrays the characteristic traits of the players' conditions without reducing them to labels—Bantu's (Vedant Sharma) stimming through ear-scratching, Guddu's (GopiKrishnan K Verma) aquaphobia, Sharmaji's (Rishi Shahani) speech impairment, and the less-recognised invisible autism in high-functioning Hargovind (Naman Misra). These are presented as facets of their personalities, not just symptoms. The film mixes sentiment with spunk, avoiding overly preachy tones. ID is described through relatable lines like, ' Humaari kismat haathon pe nahi, chromosome pe likh ke aati hai (Our destiny isn't written on our palms — it's written in our chromosomes).' While the underdog sports narrative and troubled-coach arc feel familiar, the film's heart and humour keep it engaging. That said, the story does wander. Subplots involving his mother, Preeto (Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari), and their butler Daulatji (Bijendra Kala) contribute little to the core story. A few other sequences feel stretched, and pacing suffers in parts. The climax gets overly sentimental in parts. Some scenes, like the team managing airfare and accommodation for the final match, come across as convenient and trite. Aamir Khan stands out as the brash, initially insensitive, and politically incorrect coach. He convincingly portrays a man who evolves while retaining a certain swagger. Genelia Deshmukh is sincere as his wife Suneeta, though her character lacks depth. The ensemble cast—Ashish Pendse, Aroush Datta , Aayush Bhansali, Rishi Shahani, GopiKrishnan K Verma, Rishabh Jain, Vedant Sharma, Simran Mangeshkar, Samvit Desai, and Naman Misra—deserves applause for bringing energy, authenticity, and warmth to the film. Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari, Bijendra Kala, and Gurpal Singh offer solid support. If Taare Zameen Par had the soul, Sitaare Zameen Par brings the spirit. It's a heartwarming family watch that blends comedy, compassion, and charm, and is definitely worth a trip to the theatre.
Indian Express
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Sitaare Zameen Par movie review: Aamir Khan delivers fully committed performance in heart-winning comedy
Sitaare Zameen Par Movie Review & Rating: An insensitive, full-of-himself basketball coach, suspended from his job, finds himself doing community service: in three months he has to shape a group of young adults, largely with Down Syndrome, into a team that is capable of participating in tournaments. Based on the 2018 Spanish film Campeones, 'Sitaare Zameen Par' adopts the original's determinedly cheery vein to win its matches; in the process, it also wins our hearts. Gulshan (Aamir Khan) is the guy with an attitude problem, and he uses it to make everyone around him unhappy. His wife Sunita (Genelia d'Souza) wants a baby. He doesn't. His senior coach wants compliance. Gulshan behaves badly. A drunk driving incident leads him, reluctance and truculence firmly in place, to a vocational centre for people with special needs. Where he encounters a group of spirited youngsters who challenge his idea of 'yeh bechaare bachche': Satbir, Guddu, Bantu, Hargovind, Sharmaji, Lotus, Raju, Kareem, Sunil, Golu are all young people with specific personality quirks which go beyond their facial Downs distinctiveness, often unclear vocalisation and other limitations which are part of the autism spectrum. These are young people who have a sense of self, and fun, and slowly but surely, Gulshan finds himself being drawn into their circle, and what started as a punishment becomes pure affection. This film wouldn't have worked as well as it does if Aamir hadn't been fully committed to putting himself out there as a hero-who-is-a-jerk, letting us walk past the annoyingly noble Lal Singh Chadha character which never hit any of its marks. One of Aamir's strengths is to play a regular, flawed guy who learns the error of his ways –yes, 'Dil Chahta Hai' is also part of this pantheon– and Gulshan is a welcome addition. How the insufferable Gulshan finds a better side of himself, replacing the smirk with a smile, is a big part of 'Sitaare Zameen Par': you can call that out for what it is, but you can also see how a star can power a story like this, in the way it platforms and makes visible those who live with disability. It teeters very close to becoming an Aamir Khan vehicle– look, look, I am not irredeemable, even if I start out by calling these adults 'paagal' and 'mental', so of a piece with of how society at large views 'differentness' –but it manages to strike a balance by letting it be a film about the neurodivergent young people who may not lead the narrative but have an equal share in it. To make a film revolving around intellectual disability is fraught with risk. If you make people cry, people within the community can accuse the filmmakers of being miserabilist ; if you make them laugh, you can be charged with making light of a tough situation. Borrowing the tone from the original, 'Sitaare Zameen Par' chooses to stay on the side of laughter, and it's a wise decision, because what you can convey to the average person through laughs sometimes has more weight than wrung-out-tears. The last time I watched an effective film showcasing a character with Downs was Nikhil Pherwani's 'Ahaan' which should have been watched by more people; 'Sitaare' has the starry heft to go out far and wide, and I'm happy that it's more feel-good than feel-bad. Watch Sitaare Zameen Par Movie trailer here: Because, make no mistake, this is a film whose express intention is to normalise 'everyone's normal'. It doesn't shy away from being message-y –sab ka apna apna normal hota hai—but it is not, praise be, preachy. It is here to tell us that parents and caregivers who live with youngsters with Downs (autism is also mentioned in a couple of places, which is fine because one of the youngsters in the film has Aspergers Syndrome, but in one startlingly misleading instance, a character mentions 'invisible autism': what's that?) are allergic, and rightly so, to the word 'bechaara': the need of the hour has always been acceptance, not pity. Because acceptance means taking collective responsibility for those who are 'different', not off-hand pity which can be brought out and stuffed back inside when the occasion arises. The 2007 'Taare Zameen Par' brought dyslexia into the forefront, with Aamir playing a teacher who coaxes a near-suicidal student out of the hole he's dug himself into. 'Sitaare' is a near-reprisal, but also a neat flip, in the way the teacher becomes the taught. Which is not to say that 'Sitaare' doesn't have flaws. In some parts, the explanations become a bit stage-y, even though Gurpal Singh's character brings a lovely restrained emotional core to the man who runs the remedial centre; in other bits, the humour is heavy-handed. Occasionally, the film flattens. But none of these are deal-breakers. It sticks to its middle-of-the-road story-telling without trying for any sophistication which would have been wrong for this film, and keeps drama to a minimum, or let's say as much as it can in a Bollywood film. A sub-thread, featuring Dolly Ahluwalia as Gulshan's Lajpat-Nagar-ki-mummyji and her soft spot, played by Brijendra Kala, is entertaining enough to run away with the film; it circles back to our sporty gang just in time. It's good to see Genelia d'Souza back after a gap, even though her wobbly Hindi diction distracts you from thinking of her as a Dilli girl. Aamir is the star who has done the green-lighting and the heavy-lifting and staying the course. But the young adults who try and make the most of their challenges– on a learning curve that never stops, a situation which can be both exhausting and encouraging– are the true 'sitaare' of this film: the one who dyes his hair in rainbow colours, the one who hates having baths because of a childhood trauma, the one who can look at a plane in the air and tell you which route it is flying, the one who is forced to work long hours with low wages, the one who has had a bad experience with previous coaches, the one who wears a helmet and a smart mouth, and the lone girl in this gang, who personifies feisty. Director RS Prasanna and the writers have taken the trouble to show them as real people, with feelings and thoughts, who are what they are because of an accident of an extra chromosome, not objects of pity. It is their guts and their glory. Sitaare Zameen Par Movie cast: Aamir Khan, Genelia D'Souza, Gurpal Singh, Gopi Krishna Varma, Aroush Dutta, Vedant Sharma, Naman Mishra, Rishabh Jain, Rishi Sahani, Ashish Pendse, Samvit Desai, Ayush Bhansali, Simran Mangeshkar, Dolly Ahluwalia, Brijendra Kala Sitaare Zameen Par Movie director: R S Prasanna Sitaare Zameen Par Movie rating: 3.5 stars
New York Times
a day ago
- Health
- New York Times
‘Little Lobbyists' Urge Senators to Oppose Trump's Bill Cutting Medicaid
Landry Bell, a 1-year-old boy who was born with Down syndrome, wriggled and smiled in his big sister's lap on the floor outside Republican Senator Mike Lee's office this week as he took a break from going office to office with his mother while she explained how cuts to Medicaid would devastate their family. Wearing a bright blue T-shirt emblazoned with the words 'Little Lobbyists,' Landry was among a group of children with serious medical needs who crisscrossed the Capitol with their parents urging senators to vote 'no' on the sprawling Republican bill carrying President Trump's agenda. The legislation would cut deeply into Medicaid to help pay for large tax cuts that would benefit businesses and the richest Americans. The Senate version of the legislation would make even more aggressive cuts to Medicaid than the version of the legislation that passed the House last month. Those proposed reductions, and the elimination of some clean-energy tax credits, are among the most contentious provisions driving debate on the bill among Republicans, as party leaders push to complete it and send it to Mr. Trump's desk within weeks. The Little Lobbyists formed in 2017 during Mr. Trump's first term to push back against Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, taking to Capitol Hill to demand that lawmakers oppose the move. Their successful campaign to save the law was part of a broader backlash against the proposal, which was driven in large part by major health care lobbies, like hospitals and insurance companies, as well as patient groups worried about losing insurance coverage. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Age
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
Bridget has Down Syndrome and is non-verbal, but still expresses herself Vividly
The work of artist Bridget Kelly, who has Down Syndrome and is mostly non-verbal, received a strong response at the Vivid Festival this year. Bridget communicates by expression, limited words and writing. I interviewed her by text with the help of her sister, Morag. Fitz: Bridget, congratulations on your art. When did you take it up? BK: I have been drawing since I was little but I started using Posca Pens in Year 12 at St Scholastica's College, Glebe, which I attended with my two sisters. That was when I got really excited about my art. Fitz: When did you realise you were not just good at it, but seriously talented? BK: When I finished high school, I kept doing my art because it made me happy. When I was 21, I won the Inner West Blooming Arts prize. I won a mentorship to University of Sydney College of the Arts. I felt happy because people started to call me an artist. Loading Fitz: Who are your greatest artistic influences? BK: I get ideas from the world around me. I like colours and shapes and showing people how I see things. Fitz: What did your parents and sisters say when you told them your work was to be displayed at Vivid?
