Downside Up charity foundation

Mother D. (participant in the communication group): "Online classes are a real lifesaver for us right now!!! My daughter is occupied and self-organized daily thanks to such classes. We have been living abroad for 4 years now, and for the first two years, we were cut off from everything. And when the online classes started, we just came to life!! Nastya began to understand the days of the week better, tracks what day and which lesson it is, connects by herself, and most importantly, she has communication with her peers and teachers — a connection she previously lacked."

Mother L. (participant of the "Career Guidance" group): "The foundation is distinguished by its atmosphere of respect for the child's personality, its acceptance, and unwavering support, all of which are reflected in the staff's style of communication. This amazed me during the shock period of Lada's infancy when I saw that there are islands where she is sincerely accepted, and her future is believed in. Then, hope appeared that perhaps other similar places would be found, like kindergartens and schools. We have been attending the "Career Guidance" for only 1.5 months, but we immediately felt the atmosphere of support and a positive outlook on the possibilities of children with Down syndrome. The teachers inspire hope that, just as in the early stages of socialization, we will find ourselves in a profession."

Mother A. (participant of the Social Workshops and "Daytime Occupation" group). "One of the main results of the classes at "Downside Up", I believe, is that Dasha has now become involved in almost all household chores and processes. And she copes with most tasks completely independently and is often more attentive to household matters than the other family members. Dasha keeps order in her room and her belongings. She can cook simple dishes and feed the family, clear the table, wash and dry the dishes, and put them away. Dasha takes care of our pets herself (feeds the cat and dog, and keeps their places clean). Dasha knows well what products we usually buy and can do the shopping herself (though we go to the store together, of course), and then at home, she puts everything in its place. In fact, there are quite a lot of household chores that we now don’t even need to worry about if we don’t have time ourselves. I like that Dasha does many things on her own initiative; we don’t have to emphasize, ask, or remind her of anything. For instance, if there's a need to vacuum the floor, Dasha doesn't hesitate—she simply goes ahead and does it."

Mother R. (participant of the "Media Laboratory" group). "Liza really enjoys the classes in the media laboratory; she always looks forward to them and tries not to miss them. I don’t go to the classes because Liza doesn't want me to, and she also does her homework by herself. This makes me happy. I also really like that your classes are very creative, developing imaginative thinking, communication skills, the ability to discuss, compose, ask, and answer questions. Thank you!"