Voting for the 2013 Readers' Choice Awards is in progress on About.com's Parenting Children With Special Needs site, and several Down syndrome resources are among the contenders. Check out the Down-syndrome-related finalists below, and vote for your favorites daily through March 19:
+ Big Blueberry Eyes, a finalist for Favorite Special-Needs Parenting Blog.
+ Down Wit Dat - The Group, a finalist for Favorite Special-Needs Online Community.
+ The Sparkle Effect, a finalist for Favorite Special-Needs Regional Resource.

The global community will raise awareness and honor those with Down syndrome during the seventh annual World Down Syndrome Day on March 21. Activities and events will take place in 60 countries, all with the goal of highlighting the talents and accomplishments of people with Down syndrome, one of the most common genetic conditions. Learn more by visiting Down Syndrome International.

Get the facts on Down syndrome.

Just in time for Down Syndrome Awareness Month comes the wonderful story of Monica and David, two people with Down syndrome whose wedding and first year of marriage were turned into a documentary by filmmaker Alexandra Codina. "When Monica and David were born, both mothers were told to institutionalize their children," Codina told Disability Scoop. "To later in life realize that things have evolved and there are opportunities available is very challenging. The solution is not to villainize parents because they need our support just as much as their sons or daughters." Monica & David will premiere on HBO on October 14.

Stories of happy, successful adults with Down syndrome are especially important because the stigma of Down syndrome persists, as shown by this story in the National Post. A Canadian couple who hired a woman to be a surrogate mother for their child. When they found out that the child was likely to be born with Down syndrome, the genetic parents asked the surrogate mother to terminate the pregnancy. She refused at first, but eventually agreed because the genetic parents would not support the child and she was unable to raise the child herself. This sounds like a very difficult and painful situation all around. If they had known that many cases of Down syndrome are mild, lots of resources are available for parents, and many children with Down syndrome can do well in school and grow into adults who lead satisfying lives, might these three prospective parents have made different choices?

For Down Syndrome Awareness Month, reach out to the people around you. Show them what daily life with Down syndrome is really like, help dispel some of those myths, and ask for the support you need. Together we can make the world brighter for people with Down syndrome and their loved ones.