Living with Down syndrome

18 Dec 2012

The Probus Club of East Canberra had two very interesting guest speakers in October. Dr Rhonda Faragher and her daughter Ruth presented a talk on ‘living with Down syndrome’.

Dr Faragher is a senior lecturer in Mathematics Education at the School of Education, Australian Catholic University. She has taught at all levels of education from early childhood to adulthood and has a particular interest in helping those who have difficulty learning mathematics.

In 2009, she was awarded a Commonwealth of Australia Endeavour Executive Award to travel to Singapore to work with the Down Syndrome Association Singapore and the National Institute of Education. She is currently working on a research project investigating the mathematical development of young children with Down syndrome and is working with staff in remote indigenous Australian schools helping children with Down syndrome to learn mathematics.

Ruth is the youngest guest speaker at East Canberra Probus; she is 16.

In 2009, she received the Audrey Fagan Award, an enrichment grant for young women to learn to be a self-advocate. She is now working towards a Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Ruth introduced herself with a PowerPoint presentation that included photos of her trip to the Kimberley area of Western Australia and of her gymnastics abilities. She told of how her life differs from others of her age and of the way she has learned to cope. On her visit to two communities in the Kimberley she provided encouragement to local children with Down syndrome.

By sharing her personal experience with Down syndrome, she hopes to increase awareness of the condition. Ruth endeared herself to club members with her confidence and easy manner.

Dr Faragher explained that on learning that her third child had Down syndrome, a condition that was found within a few hours of birth, like most of us, she and her husband Michael had no understanding of the condition. They set out to find more information about Down syndrome and how they could best raise Ruth.

Dr Faragher has since used her knowledge to help others and describes Ruth as “the making of me”. She is now an international speaker with the aim of making people aware of the problems that are involved with raising a child with Down syndrome and how they can be resolved.