Alabama high school senior with Down Syndrome scores touchdown

Amy Hyde shared video of her brother 18-year-old Jake scoring for Vestavia Hills High School during the football team's preseason match-up against Briarwood Christian School in Alabama.

[kdad]

Videos like this show what's great and what sucks about human beings

[pyrotek]

My cousin has Autism and he was a student, was able to play great football and had a good spirit for his high school Allen High School, Allen Texas.. he worked for Allen High School Football team for years past his graduation taking care of his beloved football team mowing the field marking the hash marks, preparing equipment for the game and making sure the team had water/Gatorade, as the story goes Allen Eagles Football team became one of the top teams in Texas they then decided an autistic "water boy" wasn't a good image for Allen Football, fired him and now he works for Aramark in Dallas

[sapienveneficus]

I think it's really sweet that the school was able to arrange this moment for this kid. I'm sure it made both him and his family feel incredibly proud. I just wish people would stop using moments like these to support a narrative that simply isn't true. When it comes to videos like these, people tend to think with their feelings. And while I understand the impulse, it does bother me. This kid has no doubt worked incredibly hard, and his team chose to honor his hard work by staging this touchdown. I think that act of kindness speaks volumes about the teenagers on both teams. They showed a great deal of character in this moment. However, this doesn't support the narrative that "people with down syndrome can do anything." That narrative, while it feels good to say, isn't factual, and ultimately hurts the families its meant to help. Can kids with DS reach certain milestones and grow and learn? Most can. Most, but not all, as DS is a spectrum, and the degree of physical and mental challenges each child faces will differ. But every single kid with DS will face both physical and mental limitations. That is a fact. I read an article recently where a mother was gushing about how proud she was of her 20 year old with DS because he had gotten a job sweeping up at a local McDonalds. People in the comments were writing kind and encouraging messages, some were even sharing stories about kids with DS in their communities who'd been able to obtain similar jobs. And while achieving such a milestone is huge for a young adult with DS, no one in the comments seemed to be able to see the narrative they were all spouting, namely that kids with DS can do anything; they're just like anyone else! No limits! Again, I get the urge people have to think with their feelings, but think about it. If your 20 year old child got a job sweeping up at McDonalds, and that was the best job they could ever obtain, you wouldn't be bursting with pride. Why? Because for any other 20 year old, that wouldn't be an accomplishment. It would be a waste of his or her abilities. So, while I understand people's desires to celebrate a sweet moment like this, I wish the narrative of "See? Kids with DS can do anything!" wouldn't be tacked on.

[LoanSchool]

I got chicken skin, sis (goose bumps in Hawaii). Bravo.