Our partner, Global Down Syndrome Foundation, reports that they convened the national experts in Denver last month to finalize recommendations for the second edition of the GLOBAL Medical Care Guidelines for Adults with Down Syndrome.  This is a significant milestone for this project as these guidelines are updated every five years with new articles and updated recommendations across the original nine topic areas, reflecting new evidence and clinical insights including: 

• Four entirely new topic areas: 

• • Blood Cancer 

• • Solid Tumor Cancers 

• • Sleep Apnea 

• • Eye & Vision 

• A substantially expanded Musculoskeletal section, addressing mobility, strength, pain, and orthopedics in greater depth. 

• A new “Future Research Needs” section, offering a blueprint for clinicians and researchers to guide future studies. 

• An expanded workgroup, featuring many returning members, eight new authors, and 15 new volunteers, including clinicians, researchers, and specialists across multiple disciplines. 

• This strengthened and broadened authorship reflects the growing momentum in the field and the ongoing commitment to increasing equity and excellence in care for adults with Down syndrome. 

Read further in the newsletter to Julie’s Jems about how EDSS is advocating to distribute the current guidelines to families and medical practitioners across our community. 

Updates  

Keep your eye on the “Mark Your Calendar” notice included in the newsletter for more events and opportunities to get involved. We are open to volunteers so if you have some time and interest in volunteering, please let us know by contacting our volunteer coordinator at volunteer@edss.ca. 

Cold Weather Policy Reminder: 

In the event of temperatures, including wind chill, reaching -30°C or below, according to Environment Canada’s website, all programs will be canceled to prioritize safety. This excludes programs that run during office hours at the Edmonton Down Syndrome Society building. 

The office will remain open, and programs and services that are delivered at our centre will continue unless you are otherwise notified. 

Thanks to funding support from Canadian Tire Jumpstart Foundation, we are very pleased to share that we will be starting a new Floor Hockey Program in the new year!   Like Jumpstart, we understand the importance of sport for the health and well-being of kids and are proud of the work we do to provide sport and play for the community. Meghan Schritt, Program Manager will be sharing the details in early January so stay tuned for more information.  If you know someone who may like to volunteer Tori our Volunteer Coordinator can be reached at volunteer@edss.ca

Volunteer Opportunity – Part-time Administrative Assistant 

We are looking for someone who would be interested in working a few hours 1 day a week to support the office with a variety of administrative duties.  Please share your resume with admin@edss.ca if you have skills and interest to learn more.   

Did you know?

Through the Eye See…Eye Learn program, children in kindergarten are eligible to receive free glasses and frames. Be sure to ask your optometrist about it!