media
I was fearful of my daughter’s down syndrome diagnosis. i had much to learn and more to unlearn.
The Guardian, 19 January 2021
We talk a lot about Down syndrome in our house. My youngest child Greta, now 5, was diagnosed with mosaic Down syndrome just before her second birthday. My partner and I have fielded many questions from her older brothers . . .
Race, disability and the search for genetic supermen
Overland Literary Journal, 16 September 2020
About two days before George Floyd was killed when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck, a four-year-old Queensland girl named Willow Dunn died in squalor. I say ‘about’ because Willow died some days before being found – exactly when, will never be known. We will never know her last thoughts, her last words. What we do know is that vermin ate away at her malnourished body as she lay surrounded by filth. Willow Dunn had Down syndrome.
For children with disabilities, the lockdown has opened new doors
The Age and Sydney Morning Herald 13 September 2020
Finding silver linings in the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t easy. As the mum of a child with a disability who is receiving early intervention services in Melbourne, I’ve seen service provision turned on its head.
But for us, some of these changes have been for the better.
Down Syndrome Australia CEO Ellen Skladzien with members of the Down Syndrome Advisory Network (Photo: Leticia Hodson)
Risk and reward: dna tests alone shouldn’t make our biggest decision
The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, 16 March 2019
If you ask prospective parents what they want for their child, most would say "I just want them to be happy and healthy". But as prenatal genetic screening and other genetic technologies become more widely available, is "happy and healthy" enough?
My greta: finding a world of possibilities
The Sunday Age, Sydney Morning Herald and Canberra Times, 30 August 2018
A year ago I could not have imagined the events that would lead me to a bridge in Glasgow on a sunny afternoon in late July. But there I was in a crowd of a thousand strangers, would who not remain strangers for long. Already I was arm in arm with a new friend.
How did I get there? Through my daughter, Greta . . .
Letter to GRETA
Down Syndrome Australia Journal Voice, December 2018
Dear Greta,
I’m just back from the World Down Syndrome Congress in Glasgow and can’t stop talking about it with everyone I see. But most of all it’s you I want to tell. . .
world down syndrome day 2018
A few weeks before her second birthday, we received the test results confirming our daughter Greta has a rare form of Down syndrome called Mosaicism. . .
Elizabeth speaks with penny johnston on the ABC podcast Babytalk
podcast about disability research ‘One in five’
The Melbourne Disability Institute has launched a podcast series One in five. Elizabeth was interviewed as part of Episode 6: A whole new language which explores the topic of early intervention. What does it mean? What does it look like for families?