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MissSarahC 
Hello! If you are reading this, you are probably curious as to why I joined Daily Strength, and why I want to meet parents of children with Williams syndrome.
I started my career as an educator teaching piano lessons many years ago. I was always asking myself questions about how people learned things and why we believed certain things, so it seemed natural for me to enrol in a bachelor degree in Philosophy. But I continued teaching piano. It was not until about four years ago that I met the student that would change my life. For privacy reasons, I would like to withhold her name, but I can honestly say she was the happiest, most eager student I had, and she had Williams syndrome.
But from the beginning, I felt the struggle. The struggle that comes with a lack of information and understanding. I felt it as a teacher seeking but not finding teaching strategies that would help this student. I learned about this student's single mother's struggle to even make doctors understand how to relate to this girl! I was appalled at the treatment I was told my student received at school, in hospitals, and in public. But I was amazed at the joy and LOVE she constantly emitted, and, as a result of further research, learned how she and others with the syndrome were wired to specific cognitive strengths. I committed myself to finding a way to educate the public on this fascinating syndrome, however I could - at the time only limited to serving her in my piano lesson room...
Wanting to learn how to become a better teacher, I enrolled for a Masters in Science in Education, and focused many papers on the need for schools' understanding the unique face of Williams syndrome. Today, now a doctoral student in Toronto in Theory and Policy Studies in Education, I am seeking to promote understanding of Williams syndrome, but because it is so rare a syndrome, I have yet to meet a single other individual with it.
This is why I am taking to the internet to find people who might be willing to share their experiences with me in a completely confidential and private setting. If you are a parent of a child or adult with Williams syndrome, I would be grateful if you took the time to answer a few questions I have by email regarding what has been effective in helping your son or daughter to learn. If this is something you think you cannot do, please accept my warmest thanks for reading my journal entry.
I am making my "emotion" face light green, because I am encouraged by the thought of what we can accomplish together, but am sober in the face of how much there is to be done. If you would like to contact me regarding my research project, please do not hesitate to contact me at researchingwilliamssyndromenow@gmail.com. Even if you just have a story, I would love to hear it! If you would like to read a little more about my history, I have just set up a blog at http://researchingwilliamssyndrome.blogspot.com/. I hope to be able to pool resources there very soon.
Thank you very much for reading this, and best of luck in your journey...
Sarah Cashmore, M.Sc.Ed
