and Noble CEO's child discusses her life with Down syndrome

[Guest guest]

01/30/2007

and Noble CEO's

child discusses her life with Down syndrome - Children with the genetic,

chromosomal disorder need to be included

Midland Reporter-Telegram

http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17781840 & BRD=2288 & PAG=461 & dept_id=475591 & rfi=6

Some might call 18-year-old

Riggio, daughter of and Noble CEO Steve Riggio, just a typical senior.

She often pens poetry. She rides horses to

unwind. And when she graduates, she hopes to be a famous singer. Of course,

to her dad, she's not one bit typical.

" There isn't a day that goes by since

my daughter was born 18 years ago that she doesn't surprise and amaze me and

exceed my expectations, " he said.

Those who meet her might agree she's not

typical, but for a different reason.

" When I first started to work on this

story, I thought maybe I shouldn't do it, " she explained last year in a

National Geographic Kids article. " I thought you might see that I have

Down syndrome, and that you wouldn't like me. "

Down syndrome is a genetic condition that

causes delays in physical and intellectual development, explains the National

Association for Down Syndrome Web site. It's caused by an extra chromosome,

and is characterized by mild to severe impairment.

Living with it, Riggio said, can be

a challenge.

" I just want to be like everyone else,

so sometimes I wish I could give back the extra chromosome, " she said in

the article. " But having Down syndrome is what makes me 'me.' "

On Feb. 4, visitors to & Noble

can hear about her experiences with the condition during a special

" story time " scheduled for 4 p.m.

While Riggio won't be present, her words

will; employees will share the article and Silverman, the school

psychologist for Ector County Independent School District, will share some

insights.

The reading will be one of 500 similar

events planned at & Noble stores throughout the month of February,

according to Carolyn Brown, a spokeswoman for & Noble.

These events are important, her dad said,

because children like , (and several in the Permian Basin), " have

the same hopes, dreams and aspirations, " Steve Riggio said.

" The challenge comes in breaking down

the barriers that prevent them from reaching their dreams and aspirations. "

Silverman agreed with Riggio, saying

incorporating Basin children with Down syndrome into regular classrooms helps

non-disabled children as well.

" I very much support that; there is

loads of research that shows how positive it can be, " he said. " It

helps reduce the stigma of disabilities, and the other kids are learning to

help others because they get into peer teaching, supporting. "

The goal of telling 's story across

the country, Steve Riggio said, is to advance inclusion of children with Down

syndrome into " normal " society.

" (Inclusion) begins principally in

education, in working with tools (in) preschool, elementary, middle school

and high school to make sure that our kids are offered the opportunity for as

inclusive an education as possible, " he said.

" The inclusion movement has made a

great deal of progress since my daughter was born 18 years ago, " he

said. However, he said, " ... there is more work to be done. "

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On the Net

www.nationalgeographic.com/ngkids/0612/2.html