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A 2-year-old Like Any Other Mount Prospect Girl with Down Syndrome Appears on Times Square TV
By: Matt Arado Daily Herald Staff Writer
Source: Chicago Daily Herald
10/18/2005

Most people would consider it pretty unusual for a 2-year-old like Katelyn Spruyt to have her picture splashed across the huge NBC television screen in New York's glitzy Times Square.

But it actually was the fact that Katelyn is generally like most other girls her age that put her on Broadway.

A picture of Katelyn, a Mount Prospect resident, appeared on the screen Sept. 25 as part of a public awareness campaign about Down syndrome.

Her picture appeared in a video presentation that depicted people of all ages with Down syndrome engaged in common, everyday activities, like working at a job or playing in the yard with friends.

The idea was to illustrate that people with the genetic condition can enjoy lives that are as active, stimulating and "normal" as anyone else's.

"It was such an exciting moment when we heard that she'd been picked," said Jessica Spruyt, Katelyn's mother. "It sounded like a great way to raise awareness."

Katelyn was pictured in the video playing on a swing set at a neighborhood park. Hers was one of 250 pictures chosen for the video from more than 2,000 entries. The video was put together by the New York-based National Down Syndrome Society.

Although more is known about Down syndrome than ever before, reactions to people with the condition can still range from insensitive to offensive, Spruyt said.

In public places, people tend to stare at Katelyn, she said. And popular culture is filled with negative stereotypes about those with such genetic conditions as Down syndrome, she said.

"We saw 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' recently, and there's a line in there about how 'even a retard' could do something," she said. "That's the kind of attitude we hope the video will fight against.

"Obviously, Katelyn faces challenges that other children don't. But if you have expectations and set goals, people with Down syndrome can lead very busy, active lives, doing a lot of the same things that you and I would do."

According to the National Down Syndrome Society, the condition occurs in one of every 800 to 1,000 live births in the United States. And though the condition is often associated with older mothers, 80 percent of children born with Down syndrome are born to mothers under 35.

Jessica Spruyt is a good example. She was just 19 when Katelyn was born. Both she and her husband, James, are now 21.

"We were surprised when this happened to us at such a young age," James Spruyt said. "But when we started getting involved with support groups, we saw other young couples going through the same thing."

These are busy days in the Spruyt home. Both Jessica and James are finishing up their college degrees, she at Northwestern University and he at Loyola University.

When not in class, James works while Jessica stays home with Katelyn and Dylan, the Spruyts' 5-year-old son.

Katelyn has to attend speech, language and physical therapy sessions every month.

"Yeah, there's a lot going on," James Spruyt said with a laugh. "But it's not all a big rush. We find to time to be involved in other things, like our church, or to just be together as a family."

The demands of school, work and family kept the Spruyts from traveling to New York City to see Katelyn on the big Times Square screen. But a copy of the video is on the way to their home.

"We can't wait to see it," Jessica Spruyt said.

(C) 2005 Chicago Daily Herald. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved

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