Dawn Grunwald flipped the page of a book and showed it to her son James. “What does this say James? Can you read it to me?”
James studied the page and replied.
“I can ride the bus.”
They were sharing a book James wrote and illustrated while in first grade at Linkhorn Park Elementary School (LPES) last year.
Entitled I Can, the book describes all of the things that James, a student with Down Syndrome, can do. The book not only made James an author, it also opened up an opportunity.
“I saw a contest on the National Down Syndrome Society’s (NDSS) Facebook page,” said Dawn Grunwald. “They were looking for photos of people with Down syndrome to feature in a video to be shown in Times Square. That’s pretty big.”
She snapped a photo of James holding his book and submitted it to NDSS. Out of more than 2,000 submissions nationwide, his photo was selected along with 400 others for inclusion in the video. The video will be shown on the Times Square jumbotron Saturday, Sept. 17, to kick off Down Syndrome Awareness Month.
For James, it’s the latest accomplishment for someone who has worked to overcome obstacles throughout his young life. After attending a small, private preschool, entering Linkhorn Park for kindergarten was a big transition for him. However, thanks to his hard work and with the support of his family and teachers, he is blossoming at school.
“He actually sits down to do his homework. He wants me to read. He says, ‘Mom, I want to do math.’ He didn’t want to do that before, so we’re counting money,” Grunwald said. “He wants to do the work, once he learns and starts to understand something, he wants to do more and more. He’s really excited about it. He gets off the school bus with a big smile on his face and he’s excited to show us what’s in his backpack and the books he chose from the library.
Linkhorn Park Principal Barbara Sessoms credits the teamwork between the school and family.
“The key to making all of this work is having the commitment of the parents, the support of the parents and clear communication. Because of his parents’ willingness to try different things and the staff’s willingness to try different things with James, I think we’ve had tremendous success with this young man,” Sessoms said.
Those efforts at school are having an impact at home. Dawn is pleased that her son’s efforts are recognized by others.
“Some parents have expressed to us how much their children talk about James at home and care for him,” she said. “He’s a bright boy and we want to keep pushing him forward.”
As for James, college and career can wait. Saturday, he will join his parents and his brother and sister for a trip to New York City for the premiere of the video in the bright lights of Times Square.
And what is he most looking forward to?
“The jumbotron,” he replied excitedly.