Dakota's Pride Documentary

Parenting does not come with a handbook. Sure, you have the experts you can turn to, but there is a lot of on the job training. For the most part, however, you can be sure of a few things:

1. Your child will go to school and graduate from at least high school;
   
2. Your child will get a job and eventually support himself;


3. Your child will move out of your home; and


4. In many cases, your child will get married and raise a family of his own.

When you have a child with Down syndrome you have a lot of questions and unknowns. These four points are no longer a given. Unless you have had the opportunity to meet a person with Down syndrome, you most likely have no idea what they can accomplish. Add to that the negative attitude many people have about Down syndrome and you begin to feel very lost.

A local father in my community had many of these questions when his son, Dakota, was born. Dakota was his second child so he was familiar with the basics of fatherhood. He took these questions and set out to find answers, not only for himself, but for other families raising children with Down syndrome. The result of this quest is his documentary: Dakota's Pride.

You often hear of all the extraordinary things people with Down syndrome have accomplished. I myself have marveled at the accomplishments of Karen Gaffney. These stories give you hope, however, in a realistic world, most of our children will not achieve these accomplishments. I do not even expect my other children to swim the English Channel or Lake Tahoe. Dakota's Pride takes a look at what everyday people with Down syndrome have accomplished in their lives. What I find most amazing is Dakota's dad did not have to go any further than 50 miles from his home to find these wonderful people.

I would recommend Dakota's Pride not only to parents but to grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends. The goals of Dakota's Pride are to, "increase understanding of individuals with Down syndrome, reduce underemployment for people with Down (syndrome), and reduce post-depression for new parents of children with Down (syndrome)." I believe they have achieved these goals and so much more.

Dakota's Pride will air on PBS in October, however, you can purchase the DVD now. The PBS showing has been cut down to 30 minutes while the DVD is 72 minutes long. Members of our Guild have been offered a 25% discount and Dakota's father was kind enough to allow me to share it with you. The code is: XXG5LVHD. When you order the movie, be sure to include the code to get a discount.