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Jadene Sloan Ransdell February 9, 2026 What follows is the written public comment I submitted to the National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA) Council that met in Washington DC on February 9, 2026 . It was the first meeting of the council in more than a year, and I was asked by the National Down Syndrome Society to provide public comment regarding issues around diagnosis and support for our people with Down syndrome and Alzheimer's, and their families. My name is Jadene Rans

Jadene Sloan Ransdell January 16, 2026 Recently, I shared that I am working on my second book; this one is about Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s. Part of that work is interviewing some families to learn more about their journey with this dreadful disease. I have heard one message repeatedly from these families, and it’s a message I’ve tried to live by as I raised Matt. This is it: Don’t question your decisions. I went to bed last night and woke this morning doing just that –

Jadene Sloan Ransdell January 03, 2026   In the Spring of 2014, I was told that Matt had Alzheimer’s. If you have read my previous entries, you may remember that I thought he was going to fade away and die within a few short years. As I begin this new year, I am grateful that the diagnosis was extremely premature and I have been blessed with nearly twelve more years of Matt’s unconditional love. The purpose of this blog is to document Matt’s life, aging with Down syndrome. T

Matt signs, "I love you, Mom." His love keeps this Momma Bear fighting for families. Jadene Sloan Ransdell November 22, 2024 As the mother of a son with Down syndrome, Autism, Apraxia, and Alzheimer’s, I’ve been doing this parenting and caregiving gig for over 50 years now. I learned a lot during that time. Many of my lessons came from Matt, my best teacher; some came from professionals who have been part of his journey, and some from other parents and siblings who love and

Jadene Sloan Ransdell September 05, 2024 Countdowns! There are many types of countdowns, and I’ve enjoyed a few throughout my seventy-six years. Of course, as a child, my sister, Jaren, and I had a countdown to Christmas. It started the day after Thanksgiving. (I’m old, and we celebrated holidays in real-time and calendar order when we were young.) One week later, there was a new year to countdown, then a countdown to my birthday. It was short – a mere seven days following t