Down Syndrome Week, and a message on the importance of seeing the ability, not the disability
Robbie Page is on a roll with his knock-knock jokes. He’s already told about five of them, and his audience — CTV News — is eager for more.
“Yes please, I do want to hear a pizza joke,” I say.
“Never mind, it's too cheesy!" laughs Page in delight.
Page is a natural performer. The 10-year-old, who has Down syndrome, performs stand-up comedy and has been singing in public for the past five years.
"He’s got good timing,” says his mother, Mary Souter.
“Like, he really, really has skill — beyond what anybody could teach him, it’s really just innate,” she says of the Cowichan Bay resident.
What’s no laughing matter, however, are the feats performed by 26-year-old Miranda Yates, who also has Down syndrome and does equestrian vaulting — basically, gymnastics and dance on a moving horse. If you think that sounds hard, consider that she does it with limited vision owing to a degenerative condition that's causing her to go blind.
“I look at her and just laugh, because people underestimate her all the time and then they go, 'woah,'” chuckles her mother, Barb Yates, as Miranda practices her vaulting at a facility out in Metchosin.
She is clearly bonded with her horse, Sam.
“He became my best buddy,” she says happily.
But vaulting is just one of many sports the junior black belt in Kung Fu excels at.
“Rhythmic gymnastics, she does baseball, she’s done basketball, she’s done snowshoeing and swimming and also enjoys kayaking,” says her proud mother.
Yates and Page are two shining examples of the importance of seeing the ability, rather than the disability, when it comes to Down syndrome. That's a message emphasized by the Greater Victoria Down Syndrome Society as it marks Canadian Down Syndrome Week.
“(People with Down syndrome) are just living their lives just like we all are. They’re going to school, working and also have interests and have some real talent,” say Erin Mazzoni, the co-president of the Greater Victoria Down Syndrome Society.
Talent, like that possessed by 53-year-old Sue Anthony. A Victoria resident who has Down syndrome, she's an actress who has appeared in multiple movies and TV shows, dating back decades.
She has a message for young Page as he embarks on his own journey as an entertainer.
“Just believe in yourself and go for it,” she says.
Anthony, a graduate of Oak Bay High, lives on her own with some supports.
“It’s more important to believe in yourself and then not worry about what other people think of you,” she says. “I don’t see my self as disabled. I see myself as an adult, and that’s all that matters to me.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.