What if the ABC’s new series Down Syndrome was a reality show instead of an animated series?
The show, to be broadcast on Monday, June 25, will follow the journey of a three-year-old girl who has been diagnosed with Down Syndrome.
It will be the first time an Australian program has been produced for TV.
The series is the brainchild of Julia Smith, a Down Syndrome advocate, and producer Julie Goggins.
The ABC has already produced a two-part series about a boy with Down syndrome named Alex, and another about a girl with Down with the first episode, released last month, was titled Girl With Down Syndrome and starred a young girl named Zoey.
Goggins said the new series would include a young woman with Down, as well as a boy who has Down syndrome, and the story would focus on the journey from childhood to adulthood.
“It’s a story of perseverance and determination and what that’s like, the journey,” she said.
“You have this amazing journey with Down and then there’s this wonderful journey with the brain that makes that possible, and we want to tell that story.”
Ms Smith said the series was inspired by a book of the same name written by Julie Goulston.
“Julie Goulst is a very special woman who has lived this life and she’s a very inspiring person and a very important person in our community,” she told 7.30.
“I was so moved to see this amazing story of her life and the journey that she has taken, and to be able to tell her story and also make a television series about it is really very exciting.”
There’s a really beautiful simplicity to the way that the story is told and we hope that that simplicity can inspire people who are just coming to terms with their own mental health issues.
“Goggens said the ABC would not be making a show out of Down syndrome but rather an interactive journey that would explore the challenges facing those with the condition.”
The series will be about all the different parts of this life, it’s about the journey, the challenges, and what we can do to overcome them,” she explained.”
We’ll also explore what life is like for the people who have Down and how we deal with the challenges that we have, and how that relates to our family and our friends and the challenges of living with Down.
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