The Canadian Down Syndrome Society (CDSS) had a goal of raising awareness of the abilities of their community, on a minuscule budget. But there were two issues with the ask:

Issue #1: Too Broad. With a small budget, the CDSS didn’t have the resources to breakthrough to a mass audience. We needed to hone our efforts in two ways: by focusing on supporting parents of children with Down syndrome, and by focusing on specific moments in their journey when they most needed our support.

Issue #2: Too Expected. The desired creative approach was generic, and frequently employed by disability advocacy groups, “see the ability”. But we knew that simply saying it doesn’t make people believe it.

CDSS is “pro-information”, combatting the stereotypes and stigma of Down syndrome. To fulfill their mission, we set out to demonstrate people with Down syndrome’s humanity instead of merely talking about it.

We established a creative platform that didn’t just say what people with Down syndrome can do – it demonstrated it. We let the community speak for themselves, a humanizing approach employed throughout the journey.

Year 1: Have the true experts answer parent’s questions

Down Syndrome Answers- a series of searchable videos where people with Down syndrome answer the 40 top Googled questions on Down syndrome. A self-sustaining resource.

Year 2: Make Sorry a Bad Word

At the birth of a baby with Down syndrome, our Down syndrome experts once again explained that any profanity-laden reaction is better than the worst word of all: “Sorry”.

Year 3: Position a community as endangered

To advocate for resources, for the first time in history, a group of people applied to be on the endangered species list.

Year 4: Becoming Google’s teachers

The Down syndrome community became Google’s teachers, changing voice technology for all.