Friday, December 30, 2011

Gleeful lauren


San Mateo Daily Journal: Potter, 20, plays Becky Jackson on “Glee” and has Down syndrome. She will head the campaign after a report by a local nonprofit agency indicates bullying is widespread against people with disabilities and often unreported. Children with disabilities suffer a silent epidemic of bullying, according to a first-of-its-kind report released by AbilityPath.org yesterday. “Bullying is every parent’s fear,” said Sheryl Young, chief executive officer at San Mateo-based Community Gatepath, which oversees Ability Path.org. “For parents of children with special needs, that fear is exacerbated” - Bill Silverfarb Feb 2011 (‘Glee’ star: Stop bullying kids with disabilities).

Gleefan: Lauren had a trick she used when playing the part of Becky Johnson. “I became that person,” she said. “I practiced my script a lot and my mom would do it with me. She’d say, ‘Wow, you know every single line.’” “She memorizes easily … you never have to feed her lines,” Sinkhorn said. “I’m shocked because she really hasn’t had any formal training. She took drama at Poly, but that’s about it other than her dance lessons she’s been taking since age 2.” Lauren enjoyed the two-day shoot but said it bothered her that when people looked at her, they first saw the Down syndrome. “It’s really hard for me when people see me as a Down syndrome kid,” she said. “I want them to see me as typical.” “She’s so smart and it’s difficult that she can see the differences,” Sinkhorn said. “The kids on ‘Glee,’ they’re all in their 20s and they were all so sweet. But she’d see them and say, ‘I want to be doing what they’re doing.’” Lauren has a lot of plans for the future now that she has graduated (Lauren Potter, an Actress with Down Syndrome, to Star in Glee).

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Bullying is an abusive treatment, the use of force or coercion to affect others, particularly when habitual and involving an imbalance of power. It may involve verbal harassment, physical assault or coercion and may be directed persistently towards particular victims, perhaps on grounds of race, religion, gender, sexuality, or ability. The "imbalance of power" may be social power and/or physical power. The victim of bullying is sometimes referred to as a "targeted individual" (Wikipedia).