Episode 225: Inclusive education and Down syndrome advocacy – with Sheri Brynard

The episode transcript is below.

Carolyn Kiel: Welcome to Beyond 6 Seconds, the podcast that goes beyond the six second first impression to share the extraordinary stories of neurodivergent people. I’m your host, Carolyn Kiel.

Before we get started, I want to give you a quick heads-up about some of the content in this episode. During our conversation, my guest talks about her experience with the removal of her reproductive rights. If this is a difficult topic for you, please use your discretion when listening to this episode.

On today’s episode, I’m speaking with Shéri Brynard. Shéri is the only person with Down syndrome in South Africa with a tertiary education diploma in Educare, without any special assistance or amendments made to the coursework.

Additionally, all of her lectures and her study material were only provided in English, which is her second language. She’s currently also a full time qualified teacher’s assistant at a primary school for learners with special education needs, and presents motivational speeches to advocate for the rights of people with Down syndrome all over the world.

Shéri is an international ambassador for all people with Down syndrome, appointed by Down Syndrome International, or DSI. She represents people with Down syndrome in South Africa at the DSI meetings, as well as many other international meetings, and at the United Nations, focusing on disability. Shéri believes that all people can choose to make the best of their circumstances, and she is a living example of this choice.

Shéri, welcome to the podcast.

What was your childhood like for you growing up with Down syndrome?

Sheri Brynard: Hello everyone. I’m Shéri Brynard from South Africa. I was born with Trisomy 21, which means I have an extra chromosome 21 in every cell of my body.

When I was born about 42 years ago, my mother thought it would be a big effort to raise me, because all the people who came to see her in hospital, cried. But she soon realized that the Lord made me perfect, perfect in my own way.

My mother soon realized that although I had changed her life in a way she did not choose, she was still free to choose her attitude. Sadly, in some parts of Africa, parents of children with disabilities are judged as sinners and are pushed out of communities. When I was born, many parents still tried to hide their children to avoid judgment. But my parents were proud of me and showed me to the world as a child with Down syndrome.

I faced many challenges when I grew up. The one that stands out to me is when I wanted to attend a mainstream school. The principal told my mother that if he allowed me in the school, it would give the school a bad name. In his eyes, people with intellectual disabilities did not belong in mainstream education. But, I did not give up. I asked him for just one month to prove him wrong. And that one month changed everything.

It showed him that every person, no matter their abilities, has something unique to offer. With the right support, I achieved more than he could have imagined. The learners and teachers embraced me, and they said they learned from me, just as much as I learned from them. The experience showed everyone that inclusion is not just about helping people like me, it enriches everyone’s life.

I grew up in a happy home. My family treated me the same way as my sisters. We sang songs, played games, and spent time together. I took piano lessons, ballet, and drama classes, just like my sisters did. We watched musicals and went to the theater. Although I did not have access to special therapists to help my mother, my mother believed that everything we did together was educational and helped us to develop our potential.

Carolyn Kiel: Wow, thank you for sharing your experience growing up and, and being in mainstream school. You really overcame many barriers to getting your education.

So why did you decide that you wanted to be a teacher?

Sheri Brynard: My mother was a teacher and later a university lecturer. My siblings and I often accompanied her to her classes in the afternoons. Watching her teach, inspired by her, I decided I wanted to teach, but I wanted to teach small children.

When a nursery school opened near my grandmother’s house, I told my mother I wanted to work there. So, in my final year in school, my mother asked the principal of that nursery school if I could help at the school in my free time. I loved it! But then some parents decided to remove their children from the school because I worked there. I was devastated and I remember my whole family crying because it seemed so unfair. At that time, not all people were ready to accept people with disabilities as part of the community.

My mother believed that the only way to overcome this prejudice was for me to earn a qualification. No one with Down syndrome in South Africa had studied at tertiary college before, and my mother was unsure if I would be accepted.

However, attending a mainstream school helped me become the first person with Down syndrome in South Africa to attend a Further Education and Training College.

Carolyn Kiel: Wow, that’s that’s amazing. And that’s, yeah, that that’s so horrible that people were concerned about you teaching in the nursery school and you really turned that into something that made you determined to get your tertiary college education and continue your dream of being a teacher.

What was it like pursuing your tertiary education? Was it different from your experience in primary and secondary school?

Sheri Brynard: At college, I had to be more independent than in school, but because I never had a tutor in school or after school to assist me, it was not too difficult to adapt at college without extra assistance.

I was used to being treated like everyone else. My mother always told me to blend in and do what everyone else did.

At college, no exceptions were made for students with intellectual disabilities. My biggest challenge was that my college classes were presented in English, while my school taught us in Afrikaans, which was my home language. At that time, I barely understood English, so a friend translated everything for me into Afrikaans. I studied from those translations and sat for three hour exams, which were set and marked externally. Eventually, I passed the N6 Diploma, the highest qualification at a technical college. I was awarded an education diploma in Educare.

However, ladies and gentlemen, you must understand that I had to repeat some of my subjects and work much harder than most other students. To this day, I am still the only person with Down syndrome in South Africa to have earned an N6 diploma.

At the college annual graduation ceremony, when I received my diploma, all the academics on the stage, followed by the entire audience in the city hall, stood up for me. As I looked over the sea of faces, I saw my mother crying. All the hard work was worthwhile. My sister, who lives in England now, surprised me by coming home to attend the ceremony. It was the best day of my whole life.

Carolyn Kiel: That sounds awesome. Wow. And to not only go to college and be a trailblazer in South Africa, you did it with English as your second language. And as you said, not really knowing English when you first started college. You’ve achieved so much, and that’s, that’s incredible, and really speaks to your determination and your talent for this.

I’d love to learn about your teaching that you’ve done. So what kind of teaching have you done so far?

Sheri Brynard: I am a qualified assistant teacher with 14 years of experience, working in different primary school classes, at a school for learners with intellectual disabilities. Over the years, I have taught myself some sign language to communicate with a deaf student in our class.

I lead the morning circle every day, and often take over the class when the teacher is absent. I prepare my own lessons and strive to stimulate and support the learners with their learning challenges. I honestly love what I do.

I cannot have my own children, which sometimes makes me feel very sad. So the children in my school fill a huge empty space in my life. This empty space was created by a hysterectomy when I was just 11 years old and I had no say in this operation. I did not have the most basic female right, like most of you listening today.

I think parents should talk openly to their children before doing something drastic like a hysterectomy. When I visit my sisters and I see how demanding it is to raise a baby and later a teenager, I understand that it might have been a problem for me to do it by myself. But I still feel sad about the operation, although I understand why they did it. I never menstruated, which they wanted to prevent, to help me.

Carolyn Kiel: Wow. Yeah. That’s, that sounds so horrible to have that choice taken away from you. And unfortunately that is something that has, has happened to, to many people with disabilities and Down syndrome and other types of disabilities as well, is that sometimes other people make those choices for them. And that’s, yeah. Wow, that’s, that’s awful.

And, um, I’m glad that the children that you teach at least fill at least some of that part of your life and help you feel, you know, fulfilled in that way. So thank you so much for sharing your experience with that. It’s really important for people to understand that this is something very unfair that happens to many people with disabilities.

And you now are a very outspoken and public advocate for people with Down syndrome. So how did you become a public speaker and advocate for people with Down syndrome?

Sheri Brynard: Because my parents and I are comfortable with my disability, I can identify with other persons with Down syndrome, even those who have plastic surgery, to look more typical.

My mother, who was a university lecturer, was often invited to speak about her experiences raising a child with Down syndrome, which was a topic not widely discussed 42 years ago. I always accompanied her, and she often asked me to say a few words after a speech. Over time, my speech grew longer, and her speeches shorter, until I was the one being invited to speak.

I wanted to improve the lives of future generations of persons with disabilities, because I noticed people often looked away when they saw me. So I started to try to change the wrong perceptions people had of persons with disabilities by telling them how I feel and sharing my dreams with them. In time, my speeches changed into advocacy for all people with disabilities. Vanessa Dos Santos and later Ancella Ramjas from Down Syndrome South Africa helped me to understand the laws to protect persons with disabilities from discrimination.

Carolyn Kiel: And you’ve done so much amazing work in, in that area over the past many years that you’ve been advocating.

What are the biggest stereotypes about people with Down syndrome that you want to challenge?

Sheri Brynard: The stereotypes that bother me the most are that people still think we are stupid. They talk to me as if I’m a child. You do not have to speak slowly to me. And never talk down to us. If you notice that someone with a disability does not understand what you are saying, then you can use simpler words and then speak more slowly.

Another misconception is that we are all very affectionate, but we are not. I am reserved and I do not give hugs to everyone I meet. Treat us the way you treat anyone else. We are not all stubborn. Sometimes we just have an opinion of our own, which might differ from yours. Respect my view and explain why you disagree with me.

Carolyn Kiel: Yeah. Thank you for talking about those stereotypes. I think those are very commonly held and like you said, people with Down syndrome are people and are as diverse as all people are. So, thank you for addressing those stereotypes.

Shéri, I really appreciate you sharing your experience and your story on my show. How can people get in touch with you to learn more about your work?

Sheri Brynard: You are welcome to contact my mother, who I refer to as my PA, since she no longer works full time. I am busy with work, meetings, and activities for most of the day. So my mother manages my administration and shares important information with me.

We are currently updating my webpage. It is sheribrynard.co.za. I am also on Facebook: “Sheri Brynard international speaker and teacher with Down syndrome.”

Carolyn Kiel: Thank you, Shéri. I’ll put links to your website and your Facebook in the show notes of the podcast so people can click on it and go right there from there.

Shéri, as we close out, is there anything else that you’d like our listeners to know or anything that they can help or support you with?

Sheri Brynard: Yes. I want to show people all over the world that it is okay to be different. I do not want parents or their friends and family to cry when their baby is born with challenges. But if they do cry, I want to take their hand and say, “I am okay and you will be too.”

I will visit any group in any country to share my journey. And through that, they will see for themselves that even though I may be slower, I am okay.

I conclude with the following words in the poem by Samantha Higgins. “Please don’t judge me by my face, by my religion, or my race. Please don’t laugh at what I wear, how I look, or do my hair. Please look a little deeper, way down deep inside. Behind my smile, I softly cry. Please look a little deeper, and maybe you will see what’s inside of me is what’s inside of you.”

Thank you so much.

Carolyn Kiel: Thank you, Shéri. I really appreciate you being a guest on my show. you’re a wonderful role model and thank you for all of the great work that you do. It was great talking with you today.

Sheri Brynard: Thank you for that opportunity.

Carolyn Kiel: Thanks for listening to Beyond 6 Seconds. Please help me spread the word about this podcast. Share it with a friend, give it a shout out on your social media, or write a review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast player. You can find all of my episodes and sign up for my free newsletter at Beyond6seconds.net. Until next time.