Moms and Kids With Down Syndrome Singing “A Thousand Years”

MICAIAH BILGER   MAR 20, 2018   |   4:40PM    WASHINGTON, DC

A group of mothers and their children with Down syndrome are wowing the internet with a powerful music video to the popular song “A Thousand Years.”

 The video, launched a few days ahead of World Down Syndrome Day on March 21, already has about 1.3 million views as of the writing of this article.

As the name suggests, the “50 Mums, 50 Children, 1 Extra Chromosome” video features 50 mothers and young children with Down syndrome using Makaton sign language to sing “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri.

Its Scottish creators described how the project came about: “The mums are all part of a Facebook group known as ‘Designer Genes’ created for parents who have a child with Down’s Syndrome born in 2013/14. They got together to show the world just how ordinary and fun life with the condition is and how they ‘Wouldn’t Change a Thing.’”

The Daily Record reports Kirsty Davidson and her son Ruairidh were one of the Scottish families who participated in the video.

“Ruairidh is the best thing that has happened to us. He makes us smile and laugh every day,” Davidson said. “We want to show everyone that an extra chromosome is nothing to be scared of or worried about and hope people will get involved in celebrating Down’s syndrome on March 21.”

Another mother and daughter on the video, Julie Britton and Connie Seabourne, of Morley, had no idea how popular the video would become.

“I wanted to get involved in the carpool karaoke to get more awareness out there,” Britton told LeedsLive. “We knew it was going to be shared on social media, but that’s as far as we thought it would go. Within the first hour there was around a thousand views and people were saying: ‘This is going to be quite big’.

“It’s just getting more and more momentum as it’s going. I don’t think any of us ever expected it would quite turn out like it has done,” she said.

Celebrities including James Corden and Christina Perri are supporting the video.

Children with Down syndrome and their families often face discrimination. But videos like this one help to demonstrate how precious and valuable every single child is, no matter what their abilities.

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