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We’ve been hard at work making the DSDN app more user-friendly! Just a reminder on the recent updates: You can reply directly to comments.  All comments are in sequential order to help with readability.  You only get notified about comments that directly relate to your posts or tags. We've resolved the random logoff issue for smoother usage. You now see more text in post previews, so fewer posts will require you to click "read more."  ️ ⭐️ What’s Coming Next? We’re working on user profiles! This will include options for sharing contact information to make it easier for users to connect through direct communication systems like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.   In July, we asked for your feedback on which improvements matter most. While priorities vary from person to person, some common areas rise to the top: Newsfeed functionality Direct messaging More reactions, similar to Facebook Ability to comment with just a GIF or photo More personalized notifications Moderators having the ability to push notifications for posts needing urgent support These priorities help shape our plans ahead. And, we aren’t done - we are ready for you to weigh in again! We’ve added new ideas that have been requested by the community, removed the ones we’ve implemented, and kept outstanding requests on the list. Let us know what you’d like to see next! https://form.jotform.com/DSDN/dsdn-app-priorities-sept24 Do you have a new suggestion or issue we haven’t addressed yet? Submit it here: https://form.jotform.com/DSDN/dsdn-app-feedback-form Thank you for weighing in and your continued support of DSDN and the app!

Exciting news! Our app has just received a major update that you won't want to miss. First off, you can now reply directly to comments! This highly requested feature is finally here, and we can't wait for you to try it out. But that's not all – we've also reorganized the order of comments to make sure they appear in a sequential order, and we've revamped our notifications. You will no longer be notified when someone comments on a post that you also commented on, cutting down on the number of notifications to those that are most relevant to you. You will receive notifications for comments on your posts, tags in a post, or replies to your comments. We believe that these changes will enhance your app experience and make it even more enjoyable. To take advantage of these new features, be sure you are using version 1.0.12 of the app. Thank you for your continued support, and we hope you enjoy using this new feature as much as we enjoyed creating it for you!

DSDN has some awesome Back to School Resources, including a link to an editable One Page Student Profile sheet. Check it out here: https://www.dsdiagnosisnetwork.org/for-parents-of-children-with-down-syndrome/back-to-school-resources

We welcome your ideas for enhancing the app! Two major updates are coming soon: 1. Nesting of comments so that you can reply directly to another person 2. User profiles We already have a list of great future improvements to make. Although we wish we could do them all right away, we need to prioritize and introduce enhancements over time. That’s where YOU come in—we need you to weigh in on the improvements that are most important to you! Weigh in here: https://form.jotform.com/DSDN/dsdn-app-suggestions Do you have an app issue or suggestion that isn’t already on the list? You can submit that here: https://form.jotform.com/DSDN/dsdn-app-feedback-form Not yet in the app? Get connected here: https://www.dsdiagnosisnetwork.org/dsdn-app

DSDN is proud to offer two $500 adoption grants to families who adopted a Rockin' child this year. If you're a US citizen who adopted a child with Down syndrome of any age between August 2, 2023, and August 1, 2024, we invite you to apply today! https://www.dsdiagnosisnetwork.org/rockin-family-fund ❗️Applications close July 31, 2024 at 11:59 PM Central Time. Randomly selected winners will be contacted August 2. These grants are made possible by our DSDN Rockin' Family Fund. To learn more about how RFF benefits our families, check out the website above.

Navigating a diagnosis or potential diagnosis can be confusing and completely overwhelming. Genetic counseling exists to help you get the right information, resources, and connections so you can move forward. Join us for this special webinar about genetic counseling with Katie Stoll, MS, CGC, Executive Director of the Genetic Support Foundation, and Dr. Stephanie Meredith, Medical Outreach / Lettercase Program Director with the University of Kentucky. We'll cover: - what a genetic counselor does - the difference between a genetic counselor and a geneticist - what insurance covers related to genetic counseling - what a good experience with a genetic counselor should be like - what you can do to empower your clinician so the next patient they see has the best diagnosis experience possible Genetic Counseling 101 Webinar

We are thrilled to share that our “daily highlight” notification system is now up and running. At 8pm local time, if there are any new, unread posts from that day in ANY groups you are part of, you’ll get a notification to let you know! 🥳 With this new app improvement, there are a couple additional changes we’ve made based on feedback and user experience so far. 1. Your Recently Active section on the homepage will now only show groups with new posts. Before, it also showed a group had been recently active if there were comments on older posts. 2. The order of posts within the groups is also now updated to show newest to oldest. A new comment on an old post will no longer move that post up to the top. Of course, once you make a comment on a post, you’ll know if others are commenting because you’ll receive a notification for that If you receive a daily highlight notification, you’ll know that you missed a new post from another Rockin' parent in the app that day. Once you click on the notification, if there is more than one new post, you’ll be taken to your homepage where you can find the groups with new posts at the top of your Recently Active list. Otherwise, if you have just one new post, you'll be taken right to it. New posts are indicated by a red dot within the groups. If you want to turn off the daily notification, you can do so within your settings. Be sure to confirm you have the latest version (1.0.6) of the app for all of these improvements to take effect. We hope this improvement helps ensure you don't miss anything and without having to remember to check the app. 💙

The Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress is excited to offer this upcoming webinar and hopes you can join! "A Journey to Successful Toilet Training" will take place Monday, June 17 from 7:00-8:30pm ET. Cost is $10 per registrant. Join us for a dynamic webinar about navigating the complex journey of toilet training specifically for individuals with Down syndrome. Dr. Lina Patel, PsyD will discuss potential medical, behavioral, learning, and environmental factors that can impact successful toilet training and provide strategies to overcome unique challenges for those with Down syndrome. For more information and to register, click here: https://mdsc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Rg1-3B8oRf65yfTDSjezpQ#/registration This webinar will be recorded, but we encourage registrants to attend live to participate in the Q&A. If you have any questions, please email Kristen Tenglin at ktenglin@mdsc.org. Lina Patel, PsyD is an Associate Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, practicing at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Dr. Patel is the Director of the Down Syndrome Behavioral Health Collaborative, a virtual clinic providing tele-behavioral health services to children, teens and young adults with Down syndrome. She provides consultation with schools, parent training regarding the management of challenging or unsafe behaviors, toilet training, and desensitization to medical devices (such as hearing aids and CPAP) and evaluation for dual diagnoses, including autism. She has worked with hundreds of individuals with Down syndrome. Outside of her clinical work, she conducts research as the Director of Neurodevelopmental, Behavioral and Cognitive Assessment at the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome. Additionally, she has presented to numerous organizations across the country and internationally and is the coauthor “Potty Time for Kids with Down Syndrome: Lose the Diapers, Not Your Patience”.

DSDN is proud to offer rockin' parents from around the globe a time to gather for a weekend retreat to connect and recharge. 🎸 This year, our Rockin' Dads are heading to Nashville the weekend of July 12-13. 🏖️ And just a couple months later, our Rockin' Moms are going to Las Vegas the weekend of September 27-28! If you have a child with Down syndrome and would like to join one of our retreats, you can learn more here: https://www.dsdiagnosisnetwork.org/dsdn-retreats

We're so glad you joined us on our new platform! This space is just for you - parents of children with Down syndrome. We've worked really hard to create an experience that takes the best of what we had in Facebook and elevates that experience in ways that are meaningful to this community. We hope you can more easily find the DSDN groups that are relevant and important to you. When you post, trust that your community will see it (no more fighting the FB algorithm)! We hope that you can more easily keep up-to-date on all the programs, information and resources that DSDN offers. We hope that you feel supported her. And that you can easily support your fellow Rockin' parents here. This is a custom-built app that is fully owned by DSDN. We will continue to improve and add to the app over time, so please feel free to share your feedback with us at support@dsdiagnosisnetwork.org . The app is being rolled our in phases over the next several months. During that time, you may notice that some of our groups are low on numbers - and that is expected. Each DSDN group is being moved over on a schedule, so new people are being added every few days. Thank you for your patience during this transition. To learn more or download the DSDN app, the transition from Facebook, and how to get the most our of this new platform, check out our website at https://www.dsdiagnosisnetwork.org/dsdn-app .