A little make-up can go a long way in building self esteem: Nerida Lamprill
The children too were overjoyed and inspired when they were shown how they too could look good
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-08-22 05:46 GMT
Chennai: For many parents and their children at the World Down Syndrome Congress, a focus on looking presentable and good was a completely new thing. Many of them from the city were actually surprised that they had never focused on this aspect before. The children too were overjoyed and inspired when they were shown how they too could look good.
One of the popular sessions at the World Down Syndrome Congress was ‘About Me’ by Nerida Lamprill (from Australia), principal consultant at the Success Foundations who is also an award winning fashion designer.
This session focused on how appearance and looking good can automatically boost the self esteem of an individual with Down Syndrome and also help them in inclusivity within the society.
“To increase inclusivity of people with Down Syndrome we first need to break the negative stereotypes that exist in the society,” said Lamprill. As per research conducted, it has been found that a positive first impression for a person with disabilities does leads to social inclusion, she said.
Stressing on the fact that those with Down Syndrome too have a right to dress well, she said this aspect was never looked into before. But during the Congress people were actually seen opening up to this idea.
Some of the parents, after seeing their children get a makeover, commented that they did notice a change of positive confidence in their children. “This shows the power of dressing well,” one of the parents at the Congress said. Some of them also admitted that this aspect was a vital tool for children to present themselves well at job interviews.
President of Down Syndrome International, Dr Surekha Ramachandran, too added, “Nerida showed us a new direction. If people are well dressed and looked after well it does improve the health as well.”
“Nobody focuses on something like this. It's a new thing but we saw that kids do care about their looks regardless of their syndrome. If people with Down Syndrome can do modelling at the New York Fashion Week, it's time India too wakes up to this side,” M. Monika Rao, Psychologist, Vistara Child Development Centre, said.