Ten years ago, two researchers noted that a painting from almost 500 years ago depicted some surprising visitors in a Nativity scene. In their article, An Angel With Down Syndrome in a Sixteenth Century Flemish Nativity Painting,” Andrew Levitas and Cheryl Reid explain the significance of historical paintings in documenting certain types of disability.
Find out more »Category: Uncategorized
Who really decoded Down’s syndrome?
The Frenchman credited with finding the genetic cause of Down’s is in line for sainthood. Now his colleague says it was her who made the crucial breakthrough. New Scientist April 2014.
Find out more »How actor Brian Rix has been putting learning disabilities centre stage
Lord Rix, at 90, on his furious fight as a campaigner for Mencap following the birth of his daughter. The Guardian 22 January 2014
Find out more »Dr John Langdon Down recognised in Torpoint
See article in This is Plymouth 16 July 2013
Find out more »We are deeply saddened to hear about the death of Lady Elspet Rix
I was deeply saddened to hear about the death of Lady Elspet Rix earlier today. Many supporters of the DSA would naturally associate Lord and Lady Rix with MENCAP and may not necessarily know about the key role that they both played in the process of helping me to acquire Normansfield, the building that we now occupy which has been re-named the Langdon Down Centre. Lady Rix was one of the founding Trustees of the Langdon Down Centre Trust and both she and Lord Rix became Patrons of the museum when the building was subsequently handed over to the DSA. Continue reading “We are deeply saddened to hear about the death of Lady Elspet Rix”
Pullen Press Release 13 July 2012
Pullen Ships Set Sail – Press Release | July 2012
New exhibition is launched by Business Secretary Thanks to the Support of Hertiage Lottery Fund
On Friday 6th July a new exhibition by Down’s Syndrome Association, Pullen: Ships of Reality and the Imagination, was formally opened by Business Secretary and MP for Twickenham the Rt Hon Dr Vincent Cable MP.
Some forty special guests gathered for a private viewing of the exhibition at the Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability, which the charity opened at its offices in Teddington earlier this year.
Dr Cable spoke briefly before formally opening the exhibition, describing his memories of visiting Normansfield 20 years ago when the building was derelict, and the campaign to restore the historic building to its former glory. He paid tribute to Dr John Langdon Down, the Victorian physician who first identified Down’s syndrome and who built Normansfield, highlighting the importance of his work in humanising the way that people with learning disabilities were treated – ideas which were revolutionary in his day. Continue reading “Pullen Press Release 13 July 2012”