Florence Garrett

My project is about connecting with my grandmother, and sharing her story. Even though she died last year, I can still connect with her by exploring the times we had together, and the ways that she influenced my life, and helped me feel positive about having Downs syndrome.

My grandmother was French. She came to England when she was 18, and worked in a wine bar in London. She went on to have 16 grandchildren. She lived in the countryside in Kent and owned a kitchen shop and then a book shop. When she got older she took up painting.

I love my grandmother a lot. When I was born she helped my parents a lot. She had never met a person with Downs syndrome before, but to her it didn’t matter that I had a disability.

When we were young we traveled a lot, and Mamou came to see us wherever we went. She loved traveling. For the last 4 years of her life, she lived in a care home and she was looked after by nuns. I used to visit her a lot and spent time talking to residents and the nuns.

My plan is to visit the care home where she lived, to support the elderly and those who care for them. I also will write an article about the project and use that and social media to highlight the increased risk of people with Downs syndrome getting Alzheimer’s

I could use your help to:
1. writing an article about my project
2. edit the article
3. plan a social media strategy