The Mayo branch of Down Syndrome Ireland was created in 1976 by parents of children with Down Syndrome to create independence and inclusion of their children. As of May 2021 we have over 140 active members with our office being based in Castlebar.

Activities/Events we Offer:
Regularly our office is used by our members for activities, seminars and education. Due to the pandemic we moved our activities and supports to members and their families to online platforms. This enabled us to stay connected.
Over the last year, a sample of the classes that our members took part in include: yoga, mindfulness, personal development course, cooking, art and movement, art and crafts, cycling lessons and lots more.
We offer our members subsidies towards the cost of a wide range of private therapies which can include speech therapy, physical therapy, play therapy, counselling.

The highlight over the last year - the Art and Movement Group created a short film called 'I love art' an event which was covered by local newspapers and radio stations; leading it to be a huge success. This can be found on our YouTube channel Down Syndrome Mayo.
Our adult group created their own book writing and creating stories in their own words and art work. This group also took part in an amazing photography class and produced some fantastic photos, we hope we can do an exhibition of this work soon.
Education and Talks
We provide training for parents/guardians, SNA's and teacher's who work alongside our members. The courses that we offer include: Lamh, Numicon and the See and Learn course. The See and Learn training is carried out by the Early Years Advisor for Down Syndrome Ireland, Olive Buckridge.

For families we have offered seminars such as Bereavement and Loss, Sibling Workshops, See and Learn, Special Olympics and we hope to soon have seminars about Wills and Trusts, Behaviour and Sleeping, Transitioning to Secondary school and lots more.

Groups
We cater for all ages from babies through to adults.

The main fundraisers for Down Syndrome Ireland Mayo Branch includes countywide Church gate collection, pub quiz's, mini marathons, bag packing and much much more.

Down Syndrome Ireland Mayo Branch advocate on behalf of and support all of our members. We are also proud of the link we have with the Member Support Team in the Dublin head office, members of whom travel to Mayo on a frequent basis and further aid us in the advocacy and support offered to our members.

Please follow us on Twitter @downmayo, Instagram @mayodownsyndrome, Facebook @downsyndromemayo

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