“A Little Bit Different, a Lot the Same”

    Last spring, the people who work at this magazine received an important email. The message was from a high school student named Chelsea Bailey. Chelsea wrote that she is a basketball player, a National Honor Society student, and so much more.

    She is also a person with Down syndrome. 

    Chelsea’s mom helped type the email. It explained that Chelsea enjoys reading magazines like this one. But she never saw stories about people like her.

    “I would like to suggest that an article be written about students with intellectual disabilities and all they can accomplish if given the chance,” she said. 

    Chelsea, now 18, was right. Action has never included a story about Down syndrome. When we learned this, we were embarrassed. So we wrote to Chelsea and promised to do something about it. 

    Last spring, the people who work at this magazine got an email. It was from a high school student named Chelsea Bailey. Chelsea wrote that she is a basketball player, a National Honor Society student, and so much more.

    She is also a person with Down syndrome.

    Chelsea’s mom helped type the email. It said that Chelsea likes reading magazines like this one. But she never saw stories about people like her.

    “I would like to suggest that an article be written about students with intellectual disabilities and all they can accomplish if given the chance,” she said. 

    Chelsea, now 18, was right. Action has never included a story about a teen with Down syndrome. When we learned this, we were embarrassed. We wrote to Chelsea and promised to do something about it.

    Last spring, the staff of this magazine received an important email from a high school student named Chelsea Bailey. Chelsea wrote that she is a basketball player, a National Honor Society student, and so much more.

    She is also a person with Down syndrome. 

    Chelsea’s mom helped type the email. It explained that Chelsea enjoys reading magazines like this one, but she never saw stories about people like her.

    “I would like to suggest that an article be written about students with intellectual disabilities and all they can accomplish if given the chance,” she said. 

    Chelsea, now 18, was right. Action has never included a story about a teen with Down syndrome. When we learned this, we were embarrassed-—so we wrote to Chelsea and promised to do something about it. 

    After our day at Chelsea’s school, we headed to Dunkin’ Donuts. As we sipped our frozen chocolate drinks, Chelsea got honest with us. She wants people to know that Down syndrome is a big part of who she is. But it’s not all of who she is. We’re happy we got to see that for ourselves.

    Chelsea is smart. She’s kind. She’s funny. And she has big dreams. Someday, she’d like to become a counselor who helps other kids.

    But like anyone else, Chelsea isn’t always happy. She gets nervous before dance performances. She feels stressed about running into her ex-boyfriend. And she hates that many people don’t try to truly get to know her.

    In fact, Chelsea wishes more teens were like her best friend, Lauren. Lauren doesn’t have Down syndrome. But she and Chelsea met in chorus class Chelsea’s freshman year. Quickly, they became friends. They both love dancing and cheering on the University of Connecticut basketball teams.

    “Down syndrome doesn’t define Chelsea. It’s just one part of her,” Lauren says. “I wouldn’t change her number of chromosomes—just like I wouldn’t change her eye color or anything else.” 

    After our day at Chelsea’s school, we went to Dunkin’ Donuts. There, we sipped our drinks and talked. Chelsea said that Down syndrome is a big part of who she is. But it’s not all of who she is.

    Chelsea is smart. She’s kind. She’s funny. And she has big dreams. Someday, she’d like to become a counselor who helps kids.

    But like all of us, Chelsea has her struggles. She gets nervous before dance performances. She worries about running into her ex-boyfriend. And she hates that many people don’t try to truly get to know her.

    Chelsea wishes more teens were like her best friend, Lauren. Lauren doesn’t have Down syndrome. She met Chelsea in chorus class Chelsea’s freshman year. They became friends. They both love dancing. They both love the University of Connecticut basketball teams.

    “Down syndrome doesn’t define Chelsea. It’s just one part of her,” Lauren says. “I wouldn’t change her number of chromosomes—just like I wouldn’t change her eye color or anything else.”

    After our day at Chelsea’s school, we headed to Dunkin’ Donuts. As we sipped our frozen chocolate drinks, Chelsea got honest with us. She wants people to know that, while Down syndrome is a major part of who she is, it’s still only one part of who she is. We felt privileged to see for ourselves that Chelsea is a complex person who lives a full life. 

    Chelsea is smart, kind, and funny. And she has big dreams. Someday, she’d like to become a counselor who helps other kids.

    But like anyone else, Chelsea has her difficult moments. She gets nervous before dance performances. She feels stressed about running into her ex-boyfriend. And she hates that many people don’t make the effort to truly get to know her.

    Chelsea wishes more teens were like her best friend, Lauren. Lauren doesn’t have Down syndrome—but when she and Chelsea met in chorus class Chelsea’s freshman year, they quickly became friends. Both girls are passionate about dancing and cheering on the University of Connecticut basketball teams.

    “Down syndrome doesn’t define Chelsea. It’s just one part of her,” Lauren says. “I wouldn’t change her number of chromosomes—just like I wouldn’t change her eye color or anything else.”