It’s a dreadful double whammy – people with Down’s are much more at risk of developing Alzheimer’s due to the extra strand of chromosome that causes Down’s in the first place.  Better healthcare and support means many more people are living into older age (in the early 1900s, most didn’t survive beyond 12 years), enjoying more life opportunities than ever before – including acting, gigging, (check out Heavy Load – I knew several of them!) and hitting the clubs and festivals  supported by friends, family, and the likes of Gig Buddies and the Stay Up Late campaign.

But the tragedy of dementia lurks and threatens to peel away the thin layer of icing on their newly risen cake.  What a prospect: a newly realised good quality life expectancy with the almost 100% risk of it all ending in such a dreadful mire of memory and personality loss.

So where is the upside? It’s here: with a population so at risk and a clearly identifiable strand of genetic material to look at, there’s the possibility of finely tuned research into the disease and this will benefit all of us.

ALL. OF. US.

Say thank you – to the researchers, to the participants, to the families and support workers.

ALL. OF. US.

Spare some cash for their funds.

ALL. OF. US.

And next time you hear some ignoramus insulting a person with Down’s, call them out. Sometimes being better than that ourselves and feeling uncomfortable about it isn’t quite enough to challenge those insults (you know the ones well enough), but maybe this will give us all a shove in the right direction.

Because did I say ALL. OF. US?