Proclamation 6049—National Down Syndrome Month, 1989 and 1990

During National Down Syndrome Month, we Americans recognize the rights, needs and potential of individuals with Down Syndrome. We also pay tribute to the scientists, physicians, and teachers whose labors have enhanced our understanding of this congenital disorder.

During the past 20 years, scientists working in molecular genetics and other fields have been carefully studying Down Syndrome. Researchers are looking for the genes, or combination of genes, on chromosome 21 that are related to the development of intelligence and to the physical disorders associated with Down Syndrome. Their efforts are important because, among all the genetic disorders associated with developmental disabilities, Down Syndrome has the most frequent incidence.

Recent progress in the study of Down Syndrome and advances in treatment of its related health problems are enabling more and more of those affected to enjoy greater participation in our life as a Nation. Today, children with Down Syndrome are benefitting from early intervention and mainstreaming. Parents of babies with Down Syndrome are receiving the education and support they need to cope with this condition and to prepare for their child's future. Young people with this developmental disability are now participating in special education classes within mainstream programs in schools, and many have begun to reap the rewards of vocational training and independent living programs.

All of these accomplishments have been made possible through the vision and hard work of concerned researchers, service providers, physicians, teachers, and parent-support groups. Government agencies such as the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health and Resources Development, and the President's Committee on Mental Retardation continue to work in concert with private organizations such as the National Down Syndrome Congress and the National Down Syndrome Society. The dedicated professionals and volunteers in these agencies and organizations are not only helping to promote public awareness about the nature of Down Syndrome, but also fostering greater respect for the rights, abilities, and needs of those affected by it.

This month, we recognize their efforts and rededicate ourselves to learning more about Down Syndrome and the concerns of the individuals and families it affects. We do so in order that all Americans might be worthy of the praise found in the "Beatitudes for Friends of Exceptional Children": Blessed are you, when, by all these things you assure us that the thing that makes us individuals is not in our peculiar muscles, nor in our wounded nervous systems, nor in our difficulties in learning, but in the God-given self which no infirmity can confine.

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 122, has designated the month of October 1989 and 1990 as "National Down Syndrome Month" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month.

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of October 1989 and 1990 as National Down Syndrome Month. I urge all Americans to unite during October with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities directed toward helping affected individuals and their families enjoy to the fullest the blessing of life.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fourteenth.

GEORGE BUSH