For Rebecca Christiansen, RN, the birth of her twin sons in 2004 was a life-changing event in more ways than one. One of the twins, Ryan, was born with Down syndrome, sending Christiansen and her family down an unexpected but ultimately enriching path.

During her hospital stay after the twins' birth, "I was very shocked at how everybody just stayed away," Christiansen said. She realized in hindsight friends, co-workers and even many healthcare staff just didn't know what to say.

Christiansen thought back to her own nurses' training and realized that, while student nurses are taught the medical and scientific background about Down syndrome and babies born with disabilities, what they don't learn is how to speak with and treat the families of these babies.

Christiansen wanted more people to react as one co-worker did when she visited.

"She ran right in and picked Ryan up and said 'what a beautiful baby.' She treated him normally, just like any other baby. That just made me feel so good. She saw him as a little baby before she saw him as having Down syndrome," she said.

"I saw a need to do more. I heard so many stories from parents of children born with disabilities whose hospital experiences were not the best," Christiansen said, adding many parents are only told by healthcare professionals all of the things their children won't be able to do.

Christiansen wished more people would follow her own doctor's lead. He told her Ryan would walk and talk and run and jump just like other children; he would just do it more slowly.

These experiences inspired Christiansen to form Celebrate Differences. The 1-year-old not-for-profit organization is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities in reaching their fullest potential by providing positive resources and information to families, communities and healthcare providers. Christiansen wants healthcare professionals to treat a baby like a baby, no matter what the newborn's health situation may be. "It's so important to the parents," she said.

Creating and running the organization has been no small task considering Christiansen has four children ages 18, 7 and the now 4-year-old twins. She also works weekends in the resource pool at Rush-Copley Medical Center, Aurora, IL.

Christiansen is proud of what Celebrate Differences accomplished in its first year of operation. The group has offered scholarships to people with disabilities and their siblings, and hosted a seminar on teaching reading to people with disabilities. This year, a math seminar is planned.

The goal is to offer two seminars per year, one for parents and educators, the other for healthcare professionals. In 2009, the group will host its first healthcare provider seminar. Also in 2009, they will host a weeklong bicycle camp for children and adults with disabilities. "Learning to ride a bike is a rite of passage that should also be available to these individuals," Christiansen said.

Being Ryan's mom also has affected Christiansen's own nursing practice.

"It's made me become more caring with my patients. When a patient or patient's family is acting a particular way or being difficult, I realize I need to stop and remember I don't really know what's going on in their lives. You can't judge. You're not in their shoes. There's more to that person than you really know."

For more information about Celebrate Differences, go to www.celebratedifferences.org.

Donna Jones Pelkie is regional editor at ADVANCE.