Added on September 29, 2014 Sara Swanson

Manchester Supports DSST Buddy Walk

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Editor’s Note: The Down Syndrome Support Team’s annual Buddy Walk was held yesterday, Sunday Sept 28th, at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor. The number of Manchester families participating grows larger every year. The Mirror asked Manchester mom Christie Taylor to write a guest column about the Buddy Walk.

Christie Taylor and son Will. Photo courtesy of Christie Taylor

Christie Taylor and son Wil. Photo courtesy of Christie Taylor.

by Christie Taylor

In walking toward a goal with confidence and purpose, sometimes the first forward steps are the hardest ones to take, but with every arduous step, you gain more and more momentum, and with that momentum your confidence builds, your strength improves, and soon, you look around to find yourself surrounded by some amazing people, and you’ve made it further than you ever believed possible.

This process comes to mind when I think of our Down Syndrome Support Team’s annual Buddy Walk. On September 28th, 2014 DSST held its 10th annual Buddy Walk. There will be over 250 Buddy Walks taking place this year to raise awareness and promote inclusion and acceptance of people with Down syndrome. Our local Buddy Walk, which is held at Gallup Park, Ann Arbor, enjoys over 900 walkers!

The Buddy Walk is our local Down Syndrome Support Team’s largest fundraiser of the year and makes possible many beneficial programs for our children with Down syndrome — like speech therapy, therapeutic horseback riding, karate, dance, swimming and more.

My son, Wil, who has Down syndrome, was only 7 months old for his Buddy Walk debut. He is now 7 years old, and we have participated in 8 consecutive Buddy Walks. Many Manchester families have walked right beside us at every one of those 8 Buddy Walks. The support has always been strong, and in those first days, that is exactly what our family needed.

Will with the Rileys at the 2011 Buddy Walk. Photo courtesy of Christie Taylor.

Wil with the Rileys at the 2011 Buddy Walk. Photo courtesy of Christie Taylor.

Wil was diagnosed with Down syndrome very shortly after his birth. Knowing very little about this chromosomal condition, I felt anything but confident, but I knew I had to take steps to find out more about what Down syndrome meant for our son and our family.

Fortunately, our twin daughters, who were 1 ½ years old at the time of their brother’s birth, were involved in Manchester’s First Steps Washtenaw program. Aptly named, this is where I found my first sure–footed steps on this journey in raising a child with Down syndrome.

First Steps Washtenaw is an early childhood parent education program for children to attend from birth until they enter kindergarten. Because parents are fully involved in this program, I met and made many close friends in the Manchester community. The director of the program, Beckie Brewis, also became a friend and someone I felt very comfortable with because of her knowledge, dedication, and open door policy.

I knew Beckie was someone who could guide me on this path in raising a child with Down syndrome, so she was one of the first people I called after learning my son’s diagnosis. As anticipated, Beckie was a wealth of knowledge on the programs and resources available for my son, as well as being kind and considerate of the multitude of emotions I was feeling at the time. After talking to Beckie, I had the tools to take my first forward moving steps in creating a bright future for my son.

Wil & Beckie at his 2nd Buddy Walk. Photo courtesy of Christie Taylor.

Utilizing the resources available to us, Wil immediately became part of Manchester’s First Steps Washtenaw family, I joined and became very involved in our local Down Syndrome Support Team (DSST), and Wil began speech and physical therapy when he was only a few months old.

Wil’s first speech therapist, Theresa Herron, and her family have become huge supporters of Wil and the Buddy Walk over the years. Theresa worked with Wil strengthening his oral muscles, and developing his emerging speech, from the time he was a baby until he entered kindergarten.

The Herron Family creates its own fundraising page for the Buddy Walk every year, assists DSST in setting up the walk, and Wil always finds a way to hitch a piggy back ride from one of the Herrons on the yearly 1 mile Buddy Walk trek.

Will with the Heron family. Wil receives a piggy-back ride from speech therapist Theresa Herron. Photo courtesy of Christie Taylor.

The Manchester families of First Steps Washtenaw welcomed Wil from the first day they met him, and their support continues to this day, years after graduating from the First Steps program. They have walked beside us every year and the group of Buddy Walk supporters from Manchester grows bigger every year!

Now that Wil is 7 years old, we have built many spectacular Manchester family Buddy Walk memories. Manchester Bakery has generously donated their delicious cookies all of the last 8 years, Annabelle Celkis creates her own Buddy Walk collection jar, complete with a picture of her and Wil hugging on the cover, and asks whoever she meets to support her buddy, Wil. Last year she collected over $200! Wil greets Beckie Brewis at the start of the walk with a huge hug, Ashley and Kayley Bobo are sure to be found getting their groove on to our Buddy Walk band “Know Obstacles”, Leah Helquist was once caught double fisting cotton candy, and her brother, Thomas, proudly wears his new Buddy Walk shirt to school every Monday after the walk. And the list goes on of shared Buddy Walk memories with the many supportive Manchester families!

I thank them all for being with us for those first tentative steps and today for walking strong and proud with our family, supporting my son and all individuals with Down syndrome. We have gained a lot of momentum on this adventurous path and when I look around, I see that our family is indeed surrounded by amazing people. I know that Wil has a very bright future, and the families of Manchester step forward with him, confident and with purpose, sharing a lot of fun and laughs along the way.

If you are interested in learning more about Down Syndrome Support Team visit their website HERE. If you would like to know more about the Buddy Walk, please visit Wil’s Buddy Walk page HERE.