21/03/2025
Today is
World Down Syndrome Day, celebrated annually on March 21st, aims to raise global awareness about Down syndrome, advocate for the rights and inclusion of individuals with Down syndrome, and celebrate their contributions and potential. The date, 3/21, symbolizes the triplication (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome, which causes Down syndrome.
Dr. Jack has been a lifelong advocate for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Early in his career, he served as a dentist at the Southbury Training School in Connecticut, a facility for adults with ID. There, he saw how people with ID were stigmatized and treated differently by society—even by their own families. From then on, he vowed to fight for their rights and always find ways to make sure they were included in the conversation about delivery of healthcare services.
When Dr. Jack became the inaugural Dean of A.T. Still University Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health (ASDOH), he established a curriculum that included teaching dental students how to treat patients with disabilities. The students of ASDOH also do rotations in community clinics where they perform supervised dental services, including on patients in the community with special needs.
Dr. Jack was a trailblazer in the field of dental care for patients with disabilities! To learn more, listen to our podcast, “You Don’t Know Jack! The Podcast.”
