Five-year-old Keshawn Boyland has the resilience and positivity of a superhero, and now he has the cape to match.
Keshawn, who has Down Syndrome, recently received his cape from TinySuperheroes after the runaway success of a crowdfunding campaign launched by his teacher Stephanie Wunderlich.
TinySuperheroes is a company that creates capes for children with disabilities, illnesses and other adversities.
Wunderlich, Keshawn's early childhood special education teacher at Kenyon-Wanamingo Elementary School, nominated him for a cape in February. When a child is nominated, TinySuperheroes creates a crowdfunding site to raise money for their cape. His campaign hit its $30 goal within hours, raising a total of $205 to fund capes for other kids. According to TinySupheroes, all children nominated receive a cape, but Boyland is part of the 30% whose excess funds provide capes for all the other kids.
Wunderlich said she thought of Keshawn because of the "pure joy" he brings to school.
"He can walk into a room and just kind of steal the show. A lot of times we’ll walk down the hallway and he’s just so happy and he exudes that. Sometimes I feel like we’re walking in a parade, because all the kids just love him. He just brings such joy to the hallway, to the room, wherever he goes," said Wunderlich.
According to his mom Jasmine, Keshawn's fought plenty of battles in his five years. He was on a feeding tube for most of his life, and lost his hair due to alopecia. Around two years ago, he suddenly stopped walking. She brought him to a variety of specialists, none of whom discovered the cause. After about three months, he began limping on one leg, and gradually — as if learning to walk all over again — gained his mobility back.
"He does not recognize his disability. He doesn’t let obstacles get in his way. He’s a fighter," said Jasmine. "All these things, he doesn’t let it affect him. He’s still that bubbly Keshawn."
Jasmine was overjoyed when Wunderlich nominated her son for a cape, and was moved to see how quickly the campaign overshot its goal. As a recent transplant to Kenyon, it made her feel more at home.
"We don’t have family out here, so just to have that big group support is like family," she said.
Jasmine said living in a smaller community where Down Syndrome is almost invisible can be a lonely experience as a mother. Sometimes other kids don't understand why Keshawn is smaller than they are, or why he doesn't speak. However, her little "social butterfly" has a knack for making friends wherever he goes.
On her first visit to Angie's Restaurant with Keshawn and his older sister, Jasmine was surprised to see people she'd never met before greeting him by name. He's also happy to make new acquaintances in public, and sometimes gets mad if she tries to hurry him along.
"He’s most definitely popular. He’s very lovable. He’s definitely a people person," said Jasmine.
"He’s famous in this small town because he does stand out," Wunderlich noted.
At school and at home, Keshawn is as musical as he is social.
"He always has a song in his soul," said K-W paraprofessional Susan Hoversten.
Since he arrived last year, he's been especially fond of the xylophone in Wunderlich's classroom. She looks forward to personalizing the cape with him as they receive patches from TinySuperheroes.
Keshawn is currently her only student with Down Syndrome. To raise awareness, Wunderlich is encouraging students to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day by participating in "Rock Your Socks," a campaign in which people wear fun socks. Under a microscope, chromosomes resemble a pair of socks.
World Down Syndrome Day is recognized March 21, a reference to chromosome 21. While most people only have two copies of each chromosome, people with Down Syndrome have three copies of chromosome 21.
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