Down syndrome
awareness campaign
Slated to appear in
Down syndrome
awareness campaign
By jane meggitt
Staff Writer
VERONICA YANKOWSKI Natalie Joye, 6, sports a big smile while playing on the swings in her back yard on Friday. Natalie, Upper Freehold, is slated to appear in a Down syndrome awareness campaign.
UPPER FREEHOLD — Six-year-old Natalie Joye’s surname fits her perfectly.
She is a typical kindergartner, who enjoys playing with her Barbie dolls, reading books, watching cartoons and looks forward to dressing up as "Madeline" on Halloween. She plays soccer and takes karate lessons.
Although Natalie has Down syndrome, her mother, Kelly Borden-Joye, stresses the ways she is more alike than different from other kids her age.
Natalie is the first child with Down syndrome in the Upper Freehold Regional School District (UFRSD) to be included in regular classes. She spends her mornings in Leslie Nielsen’s kindergarten class, and her afternoons in an individual, self-contained special education program.
In 1999, she started in a Millstone developmental preschool program, because at the time her home district did not offer this, but has spent the past two years in the Upper Freehold school’s program.
Borden-Joye noted that, previously, she would have been sent out of the district for schooling, but the experience in UFRSD has been "really positive."
"There’s been no resistance to inclusion. It’s been a process, with learning on both sides," she said.
A former dance therapist, Borden-Joye had worked as a job coach in Brooklyn, N.Y., for people with developmental disabilities while going to graduate school. When Natalie and her twin brother, Ryan, were born, she already had familiarity with those with special needs.
A strong advocate for those with developmental disabilities, Borden-Joye is the chair of Recognizing Issues in Special Education, a group which provides information and support to parents and school personnel, and is a member of the Manalapan-based Becoming Educated And Motivated about Special Education (BEAM).
According to Borden-Joye, with inclusion of special needs children, "kids have more typical peer models. There’s more progress socially, and more challenges."
She emphasizes that each child is unique, with different needs.
"They need higher expectations," she said, "and a higher goal. Not so high they can’t reach it, but they need to be and feel like their peers."
When asked what she liked best about school, Natalie replied, "I like to do my homework." She likes to play with Ryan, who is in first grade, and her other brother Dylan, age 3.
"We play pet store, and hide-and-seek," she said, and confessed that what she would really like to have is a dog. She also plays checkers with her great-grandmother, 96-year-old Mildred Ireland, who lives with the family.
Her mom believes that having a "typical" twin has helped Natalie a good deal. With such an active family, Borden-Joye doesn’t feel that her daughter is treated much differently from her siblings.
But, she said, "you get so excited when special needs kids can do things like open the refrigerator," explaining that Natalie has low muscle tone and undergoes physical therapy.
"Some things took more time for her [than Ryan], and she needs more guidance," said Borden-Joye.
On Sept. 29, the Joye family was slated to travel to New York City to take part in the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) Awareness Campaign.
Natalie’s photo was selected to appear in a video production to be shown in Times Square on the NBC Astrovision screen.
The campaign and video, called "Steps for a Brighter Tomorrow," was also to include actors from the sitcom Scrubs.
Actor John McGinley, who appears on the show, is the father of a child with Down syndrome and will be featured in an NDSS public service announcement. Nine of Natalie’s relatives will be participating in a walk to raise money for the campaign.
Natalie’s mom hopes that someday she will be "able to work and be part of the community."
"It’s the same hopes and dreams you have for all children — to be happy. She’ll have to work harder for some things, but it doesn’t mean she won’t be able to do them," she said.