Why Disney doesn’t need a princess with Down syndrome

One of my friends–and a fellow mom of a child with Down syndrome–wrote on my Facebook wall this morning. She wanted to share information about a mom, Keston Ott-Dahl, who has started a petition in an effort to encourage Disney to depict a princess with Down syndrome in a future film. The Orlando Sentinel reports that Ott-Dahl’s daughter, Delaney, who has Down syndrome, loves Disney characters but is not able to relate with any of them, presumably because none of them have Down syndrome.

As most of you know, I too, have a Disney-loving daughter who also happens to have Down syndrome. She’ll turn fifteen next month, but still she is every bit as caught up in Disney’s beloved movies and characters as she ever was.

At two, she had a thing for Pooh; her favorites have changed over the years. She went through an Ariel phase.

Why Disney doesn't need a princess with Down syndrome | Such the Spot
 

And Pinocchio. And then there was Belle, followed by Tiana.

Why Disney doesn't need a princess with Down syndrome | Such the Spot
 

Her Rapunzel phase lasted quite some time.

Why Disney doesn't need a princess with Down syndrome | Such the Spot
 

But then, along came Merida.

Why Disney doesn't need a princess with Down syndrome | Such the Spot
 

Nowadays she’s all about the Anna.

She loves her Disney favorites so much that she can quote on demand any given scene from the movies that she adores. This from a child who is limited to thirty minutes of screen time each weekday–two hours on the weekend. She can quote the movies not because she spends hours zoned out in front of the TV, watching in a zombie-like state. She can quote the movies because she watches as an active participant, taking in every inflection in a character’s voice, every sweeping movement, every bat of every eyelid.

Without a doubt, she completely inserts herself into the stories that unfold on the screen before her. And when her TV time draws to a close, she opts not to let the story stop when the screen turns off. Instead, she grabs whatever props she can find and she goes outside or into her room and–line for line–she reenacts her favorite scenes. And, boy, I’m here to tell you that this kid can insert herself into the part.

There was this one time, during her Brave phase, that we had a painter over at the house delivering an estimate. Cassidy was in her bedroom, right in the midst of acting out one of her favorite scenes, the part where Merida discovers that her mother has been transformed into a bear. In her room, Cassidy  screamed a blood-curdling, tippy-top-of-her-lungs sort of scream: “BEAR!” The painter froze in place, eyes wide with concern. Jeff and I, meanwhile, waited for him to continue with his pitch.

“Um, do you need to check on that?” he said.

We were dumbfounded for a second on what he was talking about. And then Cassidy screamed again. “Oh, that,” Jeff said. “No, she’s fine.”

I suspect that our nonchalance might have been interpreted as poor parenting. But we knew something the painter didn’t know. That is: our Cassidy was up to serious business back in her bedroom that day, entrenched in a role. Had we interrupted her, I can assuredly tell you that she would have been completely annoyed by our presence. It’s nearly impossible, after all, to flex one’s imagination when your pesky mother keeps interrupting.

My point is this: my daughter’s trouble is not in relating with one of Disney’s characters, it’s in relating with so many of them.

Over the years, Cassidy has grown to love so many of Disney’s characters: princes and princesses, wooden boys and mermaids, pirates, clowns and even one overgrown beast. She has grown to love each of them for different reasons, none of which have a thing to do with Down syndrome. Cassidy doesn’t even know she has Down syndrome. She doesn’t know because it’s a label I don’t want her to wear. Never–not once–has she come to me and asked why she’s different than other kids. Not a single time. While it’s true that her chromosome count proves that she does indeed have Down syndrome, I don’t feel the need to set her apart in that way. More importantly, though, I don’t want her to set herself apart that way.

 

Cassidy relates with Pinocchio’s desire to be included. She relates with Rapunzel’s adventurous spirit. She relates with Merida’s fierce resolve. She relates with Ariel’s curiosity. She relates with Pocahontas’ uncharted life and with Mulan’s independent spirit. She has compassion, like Belle, and an ever-present rumbly in her tumbly like Pooh bear. Indeed, Disney has created characters that my Cassidy can relate with and–in all honesty–I’d rather she relate with a colorful spectrum of characters than just one who wears a label.

Earlier this year my oldest daughter was accepted as a character performer in Disney’s college program. Our family gathered around the dinner table one night and discussed which character Torri might get to portray. While the majority of us stuck with characters that Torri had a physical likeness to, Cassidy had her mind made up. To her, the only reasonable character Torri could possibly portray was a certain princess from New Orleans: Tiana. Never mind that Tiana is black. Cassidy, you see, thinks beyond skin color and cultural background, height and weight and, well, chromosomal makeup. She sees straight to the heart of Disney’s characters and falls in love with them not because of their chromosome count, but because of who they are.

It’s exactly the way I hope the rest of us will see her.

 

Disney employs some of the world’s best storytellers. Storytellers who birth beloved characters by weaving together  the mundane with the unexpected, the carefree with the oppressed, the meek with the bold. There is not a shadow of doubt in my mind that were Disney to create a character with Down syndrome, he or she would be absolutely extraordinary–just like all of Disney’s characters. But here’s the thing: if that character existed, it would probably mean more to me as the mother of a child with Down syndrome than it would to Cassidy, someone who walks in those shoes every single day.  That is not to say that I’m opposed to Disney developing a princess with Down syndrome, not by any means. I have no doubt that such a heroine would bring tears to my eyes. Still, I won’t be signing the petition. I just don’t feel it’s necessary.

Disney may not have a princess with Down syndrome. But I do. And she’s princess enough for me.

Why Disney doesn't need a princess with Down syndrome | Such the Spot
 

20 comments

  1. Thanks for making me cry yet again! Your outlook is always so refreshing and your princess is amazing!

  2. Beautiful. Your words gave me chills. Cassidy is so lucky to live in a love and caring world with a mom who really understands her. Wow. Thank you for writing this.

  3. This post is so artfully written. I just… nothing I can say will improve on it. But I had to comment because I think it is perfection.

  4. Beautifully said!! As a disney lover Myself and raising one :) I totally agree with the sentiment and lovely lovely words :) you go girl lol!! And you too Cassidy, you keep being magically adaptive and creative and awesome :)

  5. My daughter just found out that one of her twins will be born with Down’s. What a great article you have written. I love that your daughter doesn’t see herself as different and doesn’t even know she has Down’s. I’m going to pass this article along to my daughter to read, along with all the other stuff she is reading. Thanks.

  6. I think these are all excellent points!! And I can understand the other mother’s point of view as well. I too, have a child with special needs. But her’s are not noticeable on the surface because she, “looks normal.”

    You see, my little girls birth mother chose to drink and did drugs while pregnant. You don’t realize she’s “special” until you spend more time with her. Or when she is over stimulated from her sensory processing issues and acts out or has a meltdown from it.

    So for me, I think it would be AWESOME to have a Disney princess with downs or any other special need; not just to have a princess for special needs kids to relate to, but to also have a princess for regular kids to learn how to relate to kids who are different. Also to help regular kids see that special needs kids aren’t all that different from them!!! I think it’s high time we have a special needs princess from Disney. Especially since they’ve done the different races.

  7. I am a speech therapist and work with special needs children. I think it would be wonderful to have such a heroine (or hero). The fact that the media is embracing actors who don’t fit the “norm” is wonderful. Characters with learning disabilities would be welcome, as well.
    Siblings of these children would also benefit from relating to these characters.
    By the way, your daughter is beautiful.

  8. Well said. My daughter also has Down syndrome and immerses herself in a multitude of movie characters. Interesting to hear that ours is not the only child that is so involved in acting out movie scenes! Thank you for your perspective.

  9. Just stumbled across this post. Wonderfully written especially the part about how your daughter relates to each character ♥️. I work with children with down syndrome and think this move would make SUCH a wonderful impact on their lives – mostly because kids without disabilities would get the chance to see all of the amazing qualities that these kids have. They can see what great friends they make and how much they actually have in common. There’s so much potential here and I’m so for anything that will make these kids lives richer by helping them feel like an integral part of their school and community.

    I work with one 12 year old girl in particular who loves her Disney princesses, dancing, gymnastics, etc. She notices when other kids treat her differently and feels it when other kids don’t include her. I’ve seen these interactions myself and it’s hard to watch. I definitely think this Disney move would spark more inclusivity and create more awareness for those who maybe haven’t had much exposure to these amazing little humans.

    *I do of course also see how creating a Disney character with Down syndrome could become problematic and come across as stereotyping. Disney would have to have such a careful approach to this but I have all the faith in them : )

  10. I always considered Merida as having Down Syndrome. That’s how I’ve always seen her. I’ve never told anyone that until now, because I don’t want them to think that I’m being strange or mean in some way. I have a disability myself that I’ve always been bullied about… And when I saw Merida, something just said that about her to me. So that’s how “I” think of her. I know I’m probably the odd person out that thinks that about her… But that’s how I feel. She’s lovely and strong.

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