He's just four years old but Julius Panetta is already a modelling veteran, with four major fashion campaigns under his belt.

Ann Sherry – head of cruise line Carnival Australia – is one of Australia’s most respected CEOs. She is the woman credited with introducing maternity leave to corporate Australia in the mid-’90s  when she was an executive at Westpac, the former head of the Bank of Melbourne and the first woman to run a bank […]

To some people, Katrina Abianac’s eight-month-old son Parker is just another Down syndrome baby but to her, he’s a beautiful little boy who just happens to have Down syndrome. It’s a small but significant distinction Katrina wishes more people understood. My world spun and clicked when I was told my baby son had Down Syndrome. […]

Julius is four years old, he has Down syndrome, and he is featuring in his second advertising campaign. Here, his mum Catia Malaquias tells us what makes him unique, and what makes him just like any other kid. “So, what is different about Julius?” I asked my 5 year-old daughter Laura, trying hard to sound […]

I’m not sure how most fathers react when they are told that their newborn baby has Down syndrome, but if I am anything to go by it involves crying for a week. Six hours after the birth of our youngest daughter Emma we were told that she most likely had Down syndrome. The news wasn’t […]

Like many mothers of children with Down syndrome, Connie Feda was frustrated by the lack of dolls that looked like her daughter. But unlike thousands of others who suffer in silence, Connie decided to do something about it. The US mother-of-six, who lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has created a range of dolls that have the […]

Kylee Davie’s four-year-old daughter Veronika was born with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and a congenital heart defect. She wasn’t supposed to live, let alone walk, but last month, Veronika strode into school for her first day with all the other kids. To celebrate World Down Syndrome Day on March 21, Kylee shares a letter she’s […]

Julius is like any three-year-old, energetic and curious. He is also a child model, which his mum, Catia Malaquias, hopes will challenge the negative stereotypes that come with his Down syndrome. “Julius is going to be a model for eeni meeni miini moh, a children’s fashion brand, and the photo shoot is in Brisbane,” I […]

Over 40 years ago, Kevin and Shirley Orr defied doctors and kept their baby with Down syndrome. Now, the caring roles have reversed and the real dilemma is this — what happens when Mum and Dad die? Kevin Orr remembers well the joy running through the house the first day he brought his newborn son, […]

A Special Olympian with Down syndrome has penned a touching open letter protesting against the use of the word “retard” as an insult. US political commentator Ann Coulter provoked a barrage of criticism when she called Barack Obama a “retard” during the third presidential debate yesterday. “I highly approve of Romney’s decision to be kind […]