Category 1: 5th–8th Grade (Middle School)

Prompt Option 1: Seeing through a New Lens

Sometimes society focuses on what persons with Down syndrome might not be able to do instead of celebrating who they are — unique people created in God’s image.

Write about what society would look like if we all saw people with Down syndrome through a new lens — one that focuses on courage, joy, and possibility instead of limitations.

To help you get started, visit:

teamironwill.org/myths

teamironwill.org/champion-possibility

OR

Prompt Option 2: Choosing Hope Over Fear

Many parents fear caring for a child with Down syndrome. Those in the medical profession and others within our communities focus more on disabilities and medical challenges than on potential.

Write about a myth or misunderstanding about Down syndrome, why it can be harmful, and how students your age can help replace fear with truth. Explain also the importance of choosing hope over fear when talking about Down syndrome and how that hope can have an enormous impact on the child and on the community at large.

To help you get started, visit:

teamironwill.org/myths

teamironwill.org/champion-possibility

Category 2: High School

Prompt Option 1: Challenging the Narrative

Many public conversations about Down syndrome focus on limitations instead of personhood — the fact that a human being is a person from the very first moment of creation.

Choose one common myth or misperception about Down syndrome and explain where the myth or misperception comes from, why it’s dehumanizing, and how individuals or communities can challenge it.

To help you get started, visit:

teamironwill.org/myths

teamironwill.org/champion-possibility

OR

Prompt Option 2: Defined by More Than a Diagnosis

"Our kids are not defined by a diagnosis. They are defined by their courage, perseverance, and light."

Every human being, regardless of ability, is a person created in the image and likeness of God. Their personhood rests in the fact that they are human beings. Write an essay exploring what it means to define someone as a human being rather than by a diagnosis and explain how believing in someone can transform their lives and increase their possibilities.

To help you get started, visit:

teamironwill.org/myths

teamironwill.org/champion-possibility

Category 3: College

Prompt Option 1: The Power of Expectations

Medical professionals, educators, and even family or friends often have low expectations for people with Down syndrome, and we know that expectations typically shape outcomes in education, medicine, and culture.

Analyze how lowered expectations impact individuals with Down syndrome and discuss the ethical responsibility of educators, medical professionals, and community leaders to set expectations high and see the dignity of all people with Down syndrome.

To help you get started, visit:

teamironwill.org/myths

teamironwill.org/champion-possibility

OR

Prompt Option 2: Championing Personhood in a Performance-Driven Culture

In a culture that often measures human worth by productivity or independence, individuals with Down syndrome challenge us to rethink worth and achievement.

Explain the importance of understanding a person’s intrinsic value and how that shapes our treatment of people. Then explain what it truly means to champion possibility today in the context of that intrinsic value.

To help you get started, visit:

teamironwill.org/myths

teamironwill.org/champion-possibility