Educating Emmerdale

Whilst I haven’t felt able to say much more about the Emmerdale storyline (in addition to my original post) as I have not watched it, I’ve tried to share positive stories and vibes about living with someone who has Down Syndrome across social media wherever possible.

‘Educating Emmerdale’ is also doing just that. Family members of people with Down Syndrome have rewritten some of the things said by the characters in the storyline I have mentioned in previous posts, in a way that reflects reality more accurately. They start with 'Dear Emmerdale' and address things like the use of language by professionals, the worries that the couple express when discussing their decision, things that the couple who have a child with Down Syndrome might have actually said in response and regularly end with the message ‘which you would have known, had you done your research’.

This is not about the choice made by families who have received a prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome, it is about the information given around diagnosis of Down Syndrome and the way it is presented. The alternative scripts are prepared by people with lived experience and those featured make clear that Emmerdale could have used this opportunity to present the information and conversations differently, in order to use their platform to educate viewers as to reality.

So this blog is to stand in support of Educating Emmerdale. I’d love to record something to contribute but to do that I’d need to watch it and I’m still really not prepared to do that.

Check out the videos on either Facebook, Instagram or Twitter (search *Educating Emmerdale*) and please do share if you like what you see.