With a mission to work toward educating the masses about inclusion in a fun and whimsical way, Cindy Lasi is a local author here in Essex County! ABCD is for Down is filled with colourful illustrations and poetic verses and was inspired by her own little superhero; Noah.
Cindy's book, ABCD is for Down, will also be showcased August 1, 2021 on The Giggle Mat , so you’ll want to tune in for that.
Enjoy my Q&A with author, Cindy Lasi below!
1. Since you will be featured in our “Superhero” episode on The Giggle Mat, “ABCD is for Down” was a perfect fit. How is Noah a superhero to you?
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When I think about where to begin, in answering this question I am immediately reflecting on what a superhero is. To me, superheroes, some of them anyway, started out as regular people that were cast into extraordinary lives causing them to be extraordinary! That is how I feel about Noah. In the eyes of our creator, and in the depths of my heart, he was ‘normal’ upon his arrival and is to live an extraordinary life, bringing with him what I think is his greatest superhero gift!
Different is as natural as night is from day. Somehow Noah seems to remember this! He does not question why he is ‘different’ because to him different IS normal, so why question or judge it?
Noah’s greatest superhero trait is not just the bravery he displays every single day when faced with the fact that clearly he is unable to do things exactly as his peers can do at any age he is in. No, he processes each incidence, in that moment and moves on from it completely.
His greatest superhero trait is not just his ability to know when his family or others are lost in day-to-day stressors and tells you matter of factly to …. Calm Down which is often so blunt that it ends up being funny and resetting you. Noah’s has an innate ability for self acceptance, because he does this so seamlessly that you are constantly in awe of it. Noah is a superhero to me because he has somehow managed to ‘normalize’ the word different.
He has lived his current 9 years of life in such a way that yes, you are clearly aware that he was born with Down Syndrome but you literally have seconds before his radiant way of being and living over takes any predisposed judgments or assumptions about what different means and how we are supposed to feel about it and that has been an incredible gift to witness.
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2. Can you tell me about Noah and how the “No Limit Noah” brand came about?
No Limit Noah came to me one day as I was walking around the Children’s book department at Chapters/Indigo. Noah was 2 years old at the time. I was looking at all the fun, brightly coloured books but did not see anyone in all of these books that looked like Noah. Not a single book that featured a cool cartoon hero that just so happened to have Down Syndrome. This hurt my heart. What would I tell him when he was old enough to know? I wondered if he would ask, Why aren’t any of these characters like me?
“This isn’t right” I thought and I knew I needed to do something about it. A few weeks later I was driving Noah to a doctor’s appointment in Windsor. I remembered that moment and thought, I am going to write a book for Noah. Why cant he be the feature character in a book. He has no limits! No Limit Noah! I saw it in my minds eye.
My mind flooded with the book concept, then a few lines of text and even stronger were the graphics. I could see what they would look like in full colour. I literally had to pull over to write it all down. Noah was asleep. I looked at him and made a commitment right then and there to see it through. That is when No Limit Noah and ABCD is For Down was born.
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3. What are the biggest misconceptions about Down Syndrome and how do you think, “ABCD is for Down” tackles that?
I think the biggest misconceptions about Down Syndrome is that the child or person with Down Syndrome is perpetually compromised and leads a limited life because of the condition. Let’s also stop using the term…Has Down’s. They don’t ‘have Down’s’ they aren’t all sick with Down’s, they were born with DS. It is a condition, a chromosomal anomaly, not something they ‘have’)
So yes, I think that when a person meets someone with DS they immediately feel a sense of pity, curiosity or are figuring out how they feel about it.
ABCD is for Down was created to remove all of that. It was created to inspire others to realize that there are NO limits. That just because a person was born with DS, that does not mean they cannot live fully, with an adventurous inspiring fearless spirit! This little book incredibly has anticipated exactly, how Noah lives each day. He lives knowing No Limits! He has played on soccer and baseball teams and can hit a baseball farther than I can! He has adventured in Costa Rican waterfalls, and is a fierce self taught Ninja martial arts enthusiast! He has navigated the typical school system which was wonderful and lacking all at the same time. No limits. That is what his character inspires, this is how Noah lives.
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4. So you’re not only a professional author, but a nurse, as well as a mother of 4 wonderful children! How do you juggle all these responsibilities?
I will admit that much ‘living’ has happened since the writing of this book. I made the difficult decision to leave nursing in 2013. At the time I was fully immersed in the OT, PT and speech therapies that we had enlisted for Noah to give him every opportunity to live as fully as he was able. People with DS can do anything others can do, it just takes a little longer and a lot more work sometimes, but they truly are limitless. My heart as a nurse was far too big to allow me to leave the job at the door which created a preoccupied mind and so I left it behind. I wanted to be able to give 100% of myself to Noah and my other children. I have never looked back. I am now the General Manager of a not-for-profit store where I oversee 6 staff and just over 100 volunteers.
How do I juggle my responsibilities? Day by day. One bit a time with drive and passion for my work and my family. Do I do it well? I would like to think so, but reality says that there are definitely challenging days. This is where living with Noah is a gift to me. I watch him navigate and manage every challenge that comes before him. He doesn’t over think things or whine about it but rather he just works at it. He has taught me that sometimes today is not the day. Tomorrow. Yup, sometimes it’s a ‘tomorrow thing”. This is how I now live too.
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5. If you could offer a single piece of advice to any caregiver/parent, what would it be?I wrote this book with new parents, families and friends in mind of children with DS and those without.
The advice was simply to know NO LIMITS with your child. To see NO LIMITS even if you are told they exist. I would like caregivers and parents to know that you and your child create the lives they will be living. Not what you are told they will be. Our children, ALL children regardless of challenge, ability only have the limits that we set upon them. So don’t go there. Different is just...different. Like night is just darker than daylight or up is just farther than down. There is real power and comfort in that.
Do not judge your success, happiness or how well you fit in with others, based on what your child can or cannot do. Rather, celebrate their uniqueness and the gifts they bring. And never ever forget to live like No Limit Noah! On the days that you do? Just Calm Down.
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