By Guest Blogger Ashley Heath
Hello! My name is Ashley and I am so
lucky to have a twin sister with Down syndrome, Ariel. Growing up, I never
really saw a difference between us. We
celebrated our birthdays on the same day, dressed alike, and liked most of all
the same things. From the time we started talking, we would proudly tell anyone
and everyone that we were twins. Everyone believed us when we were little, but
as we got older less and less people were convinced. Soon, when I started
playing sports, like softball, she became my biggest fan. During high school,
you could see us going to football games on Friday nights and softball games on
Saturday's. Her and I went to prom together and enjoyed every minute of my
senior year together. I didn’t notice the exclusion until I graduated high
school and Ariel was beginning her own senior year. When we were in school
together, I was her advocate. I was the one taking her to the games, pep rallies, and meetings. When I moved to
college, there wasn't anyone trying to include her like I did. She began to
become less and less interested about school and didn't want to go at all. She
slowly began to be more involved in sports and special activities. She plays
softball and bowls competitively for Special Olympics. She has many metals to
show off and is proud of her accomplishments, as am I. There is nothing special
about her needs. She is a loving, fun, energetic (add own adjectives) person to
be around. She deserves to be included and treated the same as everyone else. I
am proud to be her sister.
Ashley was a student in Dr. Cristina Santamaria Graff’s Family as Faculty class in the Fall of 2018 at IUPUI. If you are interested in finding out more about the Family as Faculty project, please check out the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FamilyasFaculty/ .