Shanley run cheered on by students
By DAN SHEEHAN
Everett’s Caitlin Shanley, a speech-language pathologist at the Henderson Inclusion School in Dorchester, embarked on a meandering, 21-mile run across the city on March 21. The 21-mile figure was a nod to the date — World Down Syndrome Day— chosen to symbolize the trisomy of the 21st chromosome, the irregularity that causes Down syndrome.
Shanley said she was inspired to raise funds and awareness for World Down Syndrome Day by her experience working with students with disabilities and as a tribute to a family member with Down’s.
“When I was a child, we found a lost family member of ours who had been living in an institution with Downs… he’s since joined our lives,” she explained. “As a kid, I knew there was something different about him, but also realized how much he lit up our world. A lot of advances have come in recent years with our acceptance of others, but there’s still so much more that people don’t realize people with Down’s are capable of.”
Continue reading “Extra miles for Down’s Syndrome research funds”