Connor Long: 'Do all the good you can', The Arc's Catalyst Awards - 2016

29 October 2016, Orlando, Florida, USA

Thank you Marlio and Wilfred for that very nice introduction! You are two great friends and examples of the awesome Catalysts we have in Colorado's thirteen chapters of The Arc.

Thank you all for this great honor. I am humbled to be in the company of this evening's other awardees and even more to follow in the sure steps of last year's advocacy recipient, Adonis Reddick.

While many of us here did not know Adonis, certainly he lives on, tonight and every day in the hearts of those who did and those who will be touched by his service and his story. He lives in the mission of each of us who call ourselves “advocates” and service providers. He lives on in us as a joyful and better angel. Adonis did his job and we must continue to do ours, as best we can, while we can, for our time to do so is, simply... unpredictable.

While you are here to help honor me, you should know that I am here to honor you. The work you do, the commitment you bring, the love you show to your community members.

Thanks to your work, more and more People with developmental challenges are doing wonderfully ordinary things, each and every day. Our future is brighter than ever as we work together to raise our standards of healthcare, our networks of social supports, our educational and workplace opportunities, and our rightful place in communities of our choosing.

My path to a brighter future has not been, is not now, and will not in the future be "easy." BUT I know that I am not alone as I continue to work hard to be the kind of person we all want to welcome into our schools, our businesses, our places of worship and our neighborhoods all across the country and indeed, around world.

I am here not as a singular “winner” of an award, but as a representative for many millions in the US and around the world. I appreciate this recognition of what my supportive family and friends and I do to advocate for others. We try to live in the spirit of John Wesley who said:

“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”

Now, that is not always easy or achievable, but always important and worthy of our best efforts. I am here because someone believed in me, in my abilities, my potential, my humanity, and my right to not only exist, but flourish … as Me.

Imagine how much better our entire world would be if every community was a community of Believers. Imagine!

IF it is possible – and we must believe it to be as possible as it is necessary – then we should strive to be catalysts for not just change, but for a belief in… love. Yes, “catalysts for love.“ Imagine that!

Imagine if we were catalysts for a love that fosters sharing over scarcity and greed, help instead of hindrance, justice instead of retribution, clear-eyed understanding instead of blind-hate, war, abuse, neglect, and indifference. Imagine... that we can do more, and do it better, because we have love in our hearts, warmth in our embraces, compassion in our words, kindness in our eyes and smiles on our faces.

You are here because you are people with great heart and commitment, who on a daily basis give service to others in need of supports, respect, kindness, compassion, fellowship and community. You are great “catalysts” because, even without a cape, sword or shield, you wield a hero's heart, a believing human heart.

SO, TONIGHT, let's celebrate the human catalysts within us and around us, in this room and those still out in the community. AND TOMORROW (or maybe Monday), let's get up, go back out and with humble hearts, be courageous and committed, believing and loving in those small moments that add up to creating greater lives for our family, friends, and neighbors, and clients.

Let's imagine that. Let's Believe in that. Then... let's go do it.

Thank you.

You can find out more about Connor at his website.

John Franklin Stephens: 'See me as a human being, not a birth defect', United Nations - 2018

15 March 2018, United Nations, New York City, USA

Good day.

My name is John Franklin Stephens. I am a man with Down Syndrome and my life is worth living.

When my body was first forming, when the first two cells were dividing, each of them had one extra chromosome. People like me tend to be a little shorter because our arms and legs are shorter. Our faces are a little bit flatter because our cheekbones and noses don’t stick out from our faces as much.

All that adds up to a person who is a little bit more uncommon .. in my case uncommonly handsome.

Don’t worry I am very accepting, very inclusive. I won’t think less of you just because I have more chromosomes than you do.

I have been asked to tell you how to improve the lives of people with Down syndrome. The key is right there in my opening paragraph. It begins with ‘I am a man.’ See me as a human being, not a birth defect, not a syndrome. I don't need to be eradicated. I don't need to be cured. I need to be loved, valued, educated and, sometimes, helped.

What should that help be? Provide training to parents and babies as soon as possible. Provide medical care, eye exams and glasses. Send us to school with everyone else. Provide job training and coaches until we learn to work on our own. Most of all, expect competence, not failure. By the way, the cost to the rest of you of providing that help is the cost of a single cup of coffee per month.

What difference will inclusion, acceptance, and early intervention mean? Allow me to use my life as one example of what's possible. If it sounds like I'm bragging, it's because I am. I went to school with my neighbors; I was included in ordinary classes. The common kids and I learned from each other. I learned to fight for the right to be treated like everyone else. I have been to the White House twice, and I didn't have to jump the fence either time. I have had a lead role in a movie and a recurring role in an award-winning TV show, and my writings have been published all over the world. Last October, I spoke to the U.S. Senate. That testimony went viral. Over 160 million people have viewed it.

So, what is the point of all my bragging? Simply, that a life with Down syndrome can be as full and exciting as any other. My generation owes an awesome debt to organizations like the Lejeune Foundation and Special Olympics for freeing us from the prison of neglect.

I truly believe a world without people like me will be a poorer world, a colder world, a less happy world. To those who believe the world would be a better place without us, let me make three points.

First, we are a medical gift to society. Our extra chromosome makes us a blueprint for medical research in areas that include soft tissue cancer, heart disease, immune system disorders, and Alzheimer's disease.

Second, we are an unusually powerful source of happiness. A Harvard-based study has discovered that people with Down syndrome, their parents, their siblings, and people close to them are all happier than society at large.

Finally, we are the canary in the eugenics coal mine. Genomic research is not going to stop at screening for Down syndrome. We have an opportunity right now to slow down and think about the ethics of deciding that certain humans do not get a chance at life.

So, I have been a good guest. I have made you smile, maybe even laugh. Now, before I go, let me be Frank. How would the world react if a nation proclaimed that it would use genomic testing to make itself "Unpopular Ethnic Minority Free by 2030?" The U.N. has all a name for this – but we need not go there. Instead, let us pledge together to welcome diversity. Let us decide from this day forward to include, not exclude; educate, not isolate; and celebrate, not terminate. Thank you.