Empowering Families
& Celebrating Abilities

We celebrate Zion and Serina for sharing their journey and recognize the doors Zion has helped open for other children special needs/ disabilities. 

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I was looking up a type of dwarfism and it said it was very rare at 1 in 25k births. I guess Zion is a miracle. Joubert Syndrome is estimated to affect between 1 in 80,000 and 1 in 100,000 newborns.

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The frequency of Dandy Walker malformation in the US is approximately 1 per 25,000 -35,000 live births and affects more females than males.
Joubert syndrome is a rare disorder in infants and children whose brains don't develop correctly. A part of the brain called the cerebellar vermis, which controls balance and coordination, is either underdeveloped or absent. And the brain stem, which connects the brain and spinal cord, is also abnormal.

She was diagnosed with Dandy Walker 1st. I was 2 months pregnant. 1st ultra sound. They noticed an abnormality in the brain... asked me what I wanted to do. I think yall know what decision I made. I made the right one for us. She was diagnosed with Joubert post birth. Like over a year old.
Zion has competed and reigned in over 100 pageants. She lead the campaign for kids with special abilities all over the country. She won Angel of the Year for one of the largest children's pageants in the country. Because of her win, directors who had previously said no to adding those divisions, decided to change course.

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Zion is also an amazing writer. She has a brilliant imagination. She knows she is different, but she also knows she is brilliant and she is beautiful. She tries her hardest and inspired me daily.

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-Serina Washington, Mom