Down Syndrome Centre Midlands are holding a coffee and cake morning to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day on Wednesday March 21.
Their annual celebration takes place on this day because people with Down Syndrome have 3 copies of the 21st chromosome – hence the date 3/21.
So after 10am mass on Wednesday, the Down Syndrome Centre Midlands will host their event to raise funds.
Patricia Mulhall, who is a director of the centre, is hoping a big crowd get behind their initiative.
She said: “This is our second coffee and cake morning since we were established.
“Anything raised here will go towards the running of our centre which is growing and thriving all the time.”
The Down Syndrome Centre Midlands is located in Bellingham on the Mountrath road in Portlaoise.
Patricia says the centre is open to all people who have Down Syndrome and their families. She also gave some insight into some of the events that take place there.
She said: “We run therapy sessions, social groups, talks, seminars and swimming lessons.
“We are also running an activity called Lego communication.
“These involves putting the people into groups and using Lego to improve their communicative skills.
“They think they are playing games while in actual fact they are learning skills like communication, sharing, group work and how to follow shapes, sizes and colours.”
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