Assume that she can

I was transfixed by an ad I saw yesterday for World Down Syndrome Day, which falls on March 21.

Actress and model Madison Tevlin stars in the ad, speaking about the stereotypical ways the world sees her as a person with Down syndrome.

She starts by saying: “Hey bartender, you assume that I can’t drink a margarita so you don’t serve me a margarita so I don’t drink a margarita. Your assumption becomes reality.”

She continues: “Parents, you assume that I cannot live on my own. So you don’t encourage me to live on my own. So I don’t live on my own.”

Tevlin’s world changes in front of the viewer’s eyes — she suddenly is able to enjoy her cocktail, live in an apartment by herself, fight in a boxing match and recite “f—— Shakespeare.”

“You assumed I couldn’t swear, right?” she jokes to the camera.

It’s sensational.

Marta Sodano, an Italian woman with Down syndrome, partially inspired the campaign after she spoke at the World Down Syndrome Day Conference at the United Nations.

“I discovered that in psychology there is a concept called ‘self-fulfilling prophecy,’ whereby a teacher who thinks that a student cannot understand would just act accordingly and therefore would not teach the student. And there you go: the prophecy self-fulfills,” she said.

As for Madison, she’s been making waves since 2015 when a video of her singing John Legend’s “All of Me” went viral on the internet. She’s gone on to have her own talk show and starred in a movie last year called Champions alongside Woody Harrelson.

Take a look at her Down Syndrome awareness campaign below. It rocks.

And assume that she can.

I reckon it’s an empowering message that’s universal.

Assume that you can.

Assume that we all can.

For example, I was disappointed to read how some men reacted to a news story about female apprentices dominating the latest intake to the BHP coalfields.

The video on 7News reported on the 30 tradies – over 70 per cent of whom are female – who are taking up apprenticeships with BHP Mitsubishi Alliance in Queensland coalfields.

It was shared on Facebook and immediately attracted negative feedback.

“Highly doubt that it’s the best candidate for the job in this case,” one man wrote. 

“Would be good to see equal opportunity and not just a statistic opportunity,” another added. 

“Fellas! Learn how the system works! Put on your application that you identify as a women (sic) and you’ll get the green light!” said another. 

“Interesting that in a predominantly male industry, 75 per cent of the best applicants are women this time around. It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out in the future. There’s a lot of people’s lives in these kid’s hands,” wrote another.

Yep. They actually said those things. In 2024.

How about we assume that they can do the job?