Welcome to The Holland Committee

Dear Parent,

Welcome to CT Down Syndrome Congress (CDSC) Holland Committee's website. You are here because you are either expecting a child with Down syndrome or you recently welcomed a baby into the world with Down syndrome and are looking for information and support.

Whether you found out prenatally or postnatally that your child has Down syndrome, the Holland Committee is here for you! You will find inspirational letters, up-to-date information on Down syndrome, support from other parents from Connecticut who were at one time, in very similar shoes. Can't find the information you are looking for, contact a Holland Committee immediately using the contact info below and we will get you the information you are looking for.

Start by reading our welcome message as well as stories from our very own CDSC members.

Dear Expectant Parent..

Dear New Parent...

Below, in addition to our contact information, you will find lots of resources that we've found helpful at the time of finding out our child had Down syndrome - or at least information we WISH we'd had at the time. 

Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Thank you for visiting our site,
The Holland Committee

The Holland Committee is proudly named after Emily Perl Kingsley’s poem, Welcome to Holland. In her poem, the author describes what it felt like to find out that her child has Down syndrome after he was born.

Many of us parents who have children with Down syndrome had the same feelings when our children were born that Kingsley did in her poem. Welcome to Holland has been a true inspiration to many of us.

Thank you to Kathryn Soper for this compilation of quotes from members of Down syndrome online groups about things they wish they'd known about raising a child with Down syndrome.

For more insights about parenting a child with Down syndrome, visit www.giftsds.segullah.org

Visit Kathie Snow's People First website that educates everyone on how to talk about people with disabilities. It's wonderful to hear people use People First Language when talking about our loved ones with Down syndrome and this site is an excellent resource. Pass this information on to all the people in your lives! Pediatricians, teachers, principals, grandparents, neighbors... everyone should be using People First Language and everyone should check this site out!

What can we say except these are interesting articles written about being a parent of a child with Down syndrome. Know of an article you'd like to add? Contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Several families, some here in Connecticut, some in other states have found by sharing their stories through blogging, it can not only be therapeutic for themselves but also good for other families to see that they're not alone. We've compiled a list of blogs here.

Thank you to Jessica Heeran for compiling a list of common Down syndrome questions and answers. Have a question you'd like added? Contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Phone: 1-888-486.8537

Or you may call our answering service, leave your contact info and specify it's for the Holland Committee. We'll get back to you as soon as possible.

CDSC Members Yahoo group

CDSC Event Calendar

Membership Info

Remember to become a member of CDSC by filling out a membership form. All new and expectant parents are entiteld to the first year free but you MUST remember to fill out the application so we have your contact info.