TV Shows featuring Down Syndrome

I thought I would start a new thread for this because there seem to be a few happening lately.

Last year? we had All Saints have a storyline about Down Syndrome.

I think it's been mentioned in Home & Away/Neighbours? (I can never remember which is which lol...).

Just a couple of weeks ago, Packed to the Rafters had a storyline about the new baby possibly having Down Syndrome.

A Country Practice used to have an actor on it with Down Syndrome. I'm not 100% sure if they were regular or if it was this episode: Mixed Blessings

There's a long running tv series in Germany with a child actor who has Down Syndrome. He's been on the show ten years so far (since he was a baby). The show is called Lindenstrasse and it's kind of like Coronation Street. There's a story about it here: http://www.rehacare.com/cipp/md_rehacare/custom/pub/content,lang,2/oid,22167/ticket,g_u_e_s_t/~/Child_with_Down’s_syndrome_Grows_up_in_TV_Serial.html

There's also a show in England called The Street and they have an episode about a character meeting their child with Down Syndrome for the first time. You can watch it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008cbds

Cas

There is also a show on Foxtel called 'the secret life of an american teenager' that has a young man with Down Syndrome on it.
The show is pretty pathetic but am addicted to watching this guy act!

lol I was just about to say that show! It IS pretty lame but that guy is gorgeous! I watch it just to see him.

MillyMoo wrote:

lol I was just about to say that show! It IS pretty lame but that guy is gorgeous! I watch it just to see him.

Me too, he is just gorgeous!

Eastenders has had a brilliant storyline about 2 of their main characters having a baby only to discover she had Ds, the mother rejected the baby and wanted her adopted out only to decide later that they really wanted to keep her.


Instead of just sticking to what this family was dealing with they did off shoot storys involving other cast members and how they reacted to her birth. One character then went and looked for her sister who had Ds and who had been put in an institution when she was little only to discover she had passed away but that she had led a very fullfilling life and had actually married.

They have incorporated Ds in many episodes regarding the cast fundraising for Ds etc and in every scene that is shot in the cafe there are Ds awareness posters on the walls.

We are now watching the little girl growup on the series.
Ive always watched this soap but this storyline started the week i got my amnio results so it was very heartwarming for me to follow.

I dont watch Aussie soaps as i dont think they have the guts to break the *rules* and follow a Ds storyline longer than a *maybe*

Law and Order have also had a storyline where a young girl with Ds was raped and fell pregnant (very thought provoking).

Has anyone seen the show House Gang? It features Ruth Cromer, who has DS and was an actor in A Country Practice.

Cas

I LOVED House Gang Cas. My family was obsessed with it. Saxon, the young man with Ds that played Trev, was just gorgeous. Mum met him at a Special Olympics event a few years ago and told him how much I loved him.,.... he came back 5 minutes later with a photo signed 'To Rachel, my number one fan'. It was great!

I found an old video labelled 'House Gang' in the DSAQ archives last week so am taking it home to see if I can transfer it to DVD. Will let you know if it works for anyone who wants a copy!

Quote :

Will let you know if it works for anyone who wants a copy!

Me please, i used to luv that show too. I'd forgotten all about it.

Never heard of it but I'll snatch a copy if I can next time I see you Raych

Raych_dsaq wrote:

Will let you know if it works for anyone who wants a copy!

Me too please!

There was a show on the ABC YEARS ago, it was about Drs working in a surgery together and one of the Drs had a teenage daughter with DS. Man its annoying me that I cant remember what it was called LOL

Hi- I cant remember the name of the show on the ABC with the Doctors- but I do remember watching it- the one I remember watching was an Australian show. I think I may have watched re-runs of it.

Hi- I just found it's name on the internet...the show was called GP- the actress also appeared in A Country Practice.

There is an actress with DS that is joining the Home and Away cast - not sure for how long but apparantly was introduced as the girlfriend of the character Brendon on Fri (he is autistic from what I've read).

Anyways, there must be some Home and Away watchers there that may know more . But prewarning to watch for Monday if you're interested.

here is the link for the episode - my connection is too slow so couldn't view.

http://au.tv.yahoo.com/home-and-away/video/-/watch/15604767/home-and-away-sneak-peek-friday-18th-september/#fop

Here is a pic out of Mondays episode.

http://au.tv.yahoo.com/home-and-away/galleries/article/-/article/6029981/image/4/gallery-21-25-september-2009/

Di wrote:

here is the link for the episode - my connection is too slow so couldn't view.

http://au.tv.yahoo.com/home-and-away/video/-/watch/15604767/home-and-away-sneak-peek-friday-18th-september/#fop

Here is a pic out of Mondays episode.

[url=http://au.tv.yahoo.com/home-and-away/galleries/article/-/article/6029981/image/4/gallery-21-25-september-2009/

http://au.tv.yahoo.com/home-and-away/galleries/article/-/article/6029981/image/4/gallery-21-25-september-2009/[/quote[/url]]



I watched the friday night episode and had a chuckle, i thought the young DS actress in was fantastic and very up front ....
I don't know about anyone else but i feel with having DS actors/actresses in tv story lines it opens viewers eyes to the fact that DS people are just as whitty and funny as any normal person....and as i have always said i have come across quite a few DS people who are quite smart and intelligent and you'd be suprised at how many of these people are smarter than us.

I have a neighbour he is 43 with DS, he is so funny ... if he see's me in my pj's he always tells me to go get dressed and if the Tigers and the Bulldogs are playin he tells me the bulldogs are gonna win, i give as good as i get and he loves it....David has grown up with his sister looking after him, she has looked after him since he was diagnosed at the age of 3 with DS, when his other siblings found out he had DS they have nothing to do with him although these past few months one of his brothers has been in his life.
I see David everyday as he walks his dogs past my house, if he see's my partener or myself he always stops to chat and if he see's Allanah his face lights up, you see David knows that Allanah is like him and he thinks that is great that he has a friend who is just like him although when he is out and about he is no different to anybody else.
I have grown up with 2 DS neighbours and i think with having them around when i was young opened my eyes a lot more, i also worked in a 10 pin bowling alley where we would have groups of disabled people come in and a few of them had DS, there was 1 young guy that would come in with the group and his name was Darren i took a real shine to him he new who i was and anytime i seen him and said hello he would look at me so i would tell him who i was and where i new him from and he then would say hello.
I read somewhere just after i had Allanah and what i read was God gives these children to those that he knows will cope, i don't fully agree with this as i met a couple one day in a shopping center and although the father was over the moon with his little girl the mother was ashamed i think to myself how sad, i also read something on another forum where a mother who found out she was having a DS child only to terminate the pregnacy and then fall pregnant again later only to discover she was having another DS child this time though she kept the child and now regrets aborting her other pregnacy as she has had so much joy in her life from her DS child.

My husband caught an episode of Summer Height High on Friday night on Foxtel Comedy channel. This had a young man who was auditioning for a part in a play and he got the lead role. The actor has Down syndrome. Didn't catch his name in the credits but I am sure his mum is very proud.