If Fleur Roberts had her way, she might choose to bounce all day. Fortunately, she gets a bit of a workout on the ball,  as part of her occupational therapy with Hannah Vuich, from Pediatric Therapy, an early intervention company.

“Fleur did pretty good today. She was pretty cooperative. We’re working on fine motor skills, so using two hands at once and stringing beads,” Hannah explains.

The two-year-old, from Ebensburg, has Down syndrome and the O.T. is aimed at helping her overcome developmental delays.

Hannah says, smiling, “It’s been really exciting to see her development from four months, to when we were working on just using both sides equally, to now, she’s two, and she’s doing puzzles and it’s exciting.”

Fleur’s mother Danielle says, it’s not easy.

“It’s hard work, but once she achieves her milestones, it’s the biggest achievement for me and her.  It’s like a family celebration, like when she started to walk, our whole family cheered,” Danielle adds.

The proud mother vows to do everything she can to help Fleur achieve anything she wants to.

“I was scared. I’m not going to lie. Whenever I first found out my child had Downs syndrome, I was a first time mom. They think they’re not going to achieve the things they’re supposed to, they’re not going to be able to go to college, they’re not going to be able to drive, to get married, but that’s not even in my thought process anymore,” Danielle says.

Fleur recently became one of the 33 International Ambassadors for the Down syndrome awareness organization, Nothing Down. She wants to make more people realize what she’s learning about the potential of children with Down syndrome.

“She’s perfect, she’s amazing. She has any opportunity, as any other child would. She’s going to move mountains, as any other child would,” Danielle says.
 
To keep up with the ambassadors and their mission, follow along at www.facebook.com/nothing down/ or www.nothingdown.org.