Janet Evaline Moore, founder of L'Arche Cape Breton, died peacefully last night at her home in Orangedale, two days before her 63rd birthday. [caption id="attachment_5983" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="Tom and Ann Gunn and Janet Moore"][/caption] Tom and Ann Gunn invited Janet to live with their family in 1983, marking the start of an intentional community that is now home to some 25 Core Members and a varied group of assistants from Cape Breton and around the world. Janet Moore was a gentle, funny, loving woman, with an out-sized capacity to move and inspire people around her. She and her long-time...

16 July, 2010
Josh glasses-csThis thread  (starting here and here) questioning efforts to "cure" Down syndrome began with a quick email from Jenn Power, community leader at L'Arche Cape Breton, mother of identical twins with Down syndrome, and—disclosure—Contrarian's daughter-in-law. At Contrarian's request, she has elaborated:
In the end, for me, this all comes back to people. Josh, Jacob, Mary, Cathy, Kate, Janet…these people have Down Syndrome. These people are my family, my friends, my teachers. Without the benefit of that extra chromosome, they would not be who they are. Their intellectual “impairment” gives them an insight and an emotional intelligence and maturity that I can only aspire to. They do not need a needle in their brain to make them more functional, to help them find their car keys. What they need is a society that values what they have to offer. I would like to think that I can be a part of creating that society
Full post after the jump.
27 November, 2009

[caption id="attachment_3540" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="Cathy Brady"][/caption] Many readers have responded thoughtfully, and at length, to our post about  Jenn Power's reaction to news that Stanford University researchers had made headway toward a potential treatment for the cognitive impairment that is one feature of Down syndrome. I've received a wide range of views from parents and researchers, about both Down syndrome and autism. Thanks to all who contributed. Contrarian is on the road with limited Internet access. I'll be posting these as I can over the next few days, more or less in the order I received them. Several are quite long, and deserve to...

27 November, 2009