SammyCalls

Sam Balegno has Down Syndrome, lives in Massachusetts and eats a lot of pizza. Jenna Balegno (his older sister) lives in California, has a dog named Norman and eats a lot of pizza. Listen in on their casual and candid phone calls to each other and get a little insight on what it means to have Down Syndrome... and more importantly... what it doesn't mean.

Episode 13 - Sammy shows Mom and Dad the "Full Moon" 11/14/2016

Episode 12 - On the news!! 11/05/2016

Episode 11 - I have a really important question to ask you... 10/13/2016

The Fantasy Football Matchup Heard Round the World 09/23/2016

Episode 9 - Reunited! 09/02/2016

Prom, Fantasy Football and a special video 08/19/2016

Sammy does Twitter 08/12/2016

A little game of 'Who do you love more?" 08/05/2016

Episode 5 - Sammy has some big news! 07/22/2016

Episode 5 - Sammy has some big news! This week is a special episode... Sammy tells us some pretty big news and we talk to both my mom and my dad about it! We hope you enjoy! Sam Balegno has Down Syndrome, lives in Massachusetts and eats a lot of pizza. Jenna Balegno (his older sister) lives in California, has a dog named Norman and eats a lot of pizza. Listen in on their casual and candid phone calls to each other and get a little insight on what it means to have Down Syndrome… and more importantly… what it doesn’t mean. _________ My relationship with my brother is definitely different. I've known forever that he has Down Syndrome but it seems like every few years of my life I have come to some epiphany about us... When I was in first grade, I thought that I was born with Down Syndrome too. That I grew out of it and Sam would eventually too. My parents had to somehow break it to me that I actually never had Down Syndrome, and that Sam was special. When I moved away to college, I met a whole new group of friends and realized that not everyone knows someone with Down Syndrome... and that some people don't even know what it is at all. It just never crossed my mind that I would have to explain what it was to someone, because I just assumed everyone knew. Then a couple of years ago, when Sam came out to visit me without my parents, I was forced to address the fact that a large portion of my relationship with my brother consists of this very blurry line between being his sibling and being his caretaker. I had been completely unaware of that reality up until that point. So when Sammy told us this week that he was thinking about moving into a group home, I got this wave of emotion that I was not expecting. I felt scared and almost sad about it. Of course, I am fully supportive of him being more independent but I think my inner caretaker kicked in and all of a sudden I was worried for him. This is where Sammy swoops in and demonstrates his incredibly insightful side. He comforted me. He told me that he'd been through what I am going through emotionally. That he had to watch me move away to college in South Carolina, and then the West Coast. That he was worried about me too... but that he had to let go. I don't think anyone could have comforted me more in that moment. He brought me back to being his sister. /episode/index/show/sammycalls/id/4534128

Episode 4 - SammyPRANKS! 07/15/2016

Episode 3 - A bad joke, tattoos and Idaho 07/08/2016

Episode 3 - A bad joke, tattoos and Idaho In this episode Jenna tells a joke that falls flat, Sam is now famous and wants a free tattoo… and so much more! We hope you love it! Sam Balegno has Down Syndrome, lives in Massachusetts and eats a lot of pizza. Jenna Balegno (his older sister) lives in California, has a dog named Norman and eats a lot of pizza. Listen in on their casual and candid phone calls to each other and get a little insight on what it means to have Down Syndrome… and more importantly… what it doesn’t mean. Welcome to the SammyCalls podcast! _________ After the first episode of SammyCalls I wrote about a pamphlet my parents had made when we were younger called "Just Like You" in the . After reading, my dad sent a few copies of the pamphlet to me so I could see the real deal. I actually can't believe how vividly I remembered the details of it but it must have made an impression! I wanted to type out the contents here so you can see what my mom and dad were thinking, as fairly new parents of a child with Down Syndrome in 1992. {Cover} Just Like You What friends want to know about kids with Down Syndrome. {Inside} If you look and listen carefully, you will see... we are not so different, you and me. JUST LIKE YOU. I am a kid with Down Syndrome and I'm just like you. I like running and jumping and playing catch. I like pizza and cheeseburgers, but I don't like brussel sprouts much. I laugh when I'm happy and cry when I'm sad. I dream about spaceships and going to the moon. I like birthday parties, especially mine, and having friends over to play. When I grow up, I want to be a race car driver or a lifeguard , or the person who takes care of animals at the zoo. But most of all, I want to have friends, just like you. EVER WONDER WHAT DOWN SYNDROME IS? Everyone has millions of tiny little cells inside them that you can only see with a microscope. And inside each cell are even tinier things called chromosomes. Your chromosomes decide things like how tall you will be, the color of your hair, and whether you will look more like your mother or your father. Most people have 46 chromosomes in each cell. But kids with Down Syndrome have an extra one. You can't catch Down Syndrome. It is something you're born with. EVER WONDER WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE IT? Having Down Syndrome means I have to try a lot harder than most kids to learn things. Sometimes, learning my school work is like being in a room full of grownups talking about things I don't understand. Has that ever happened to you? Having Down Syndrome also means my muscles don't always work as well as other kids. Have you ever tried to run fast in the water at the beach? The water slows you down and sometimes makes you fall. That's what it's like when I run on the playground. And having Down Syndrome means I can't always speak clearly enough for other kids to understand. When I try to say some words, it's like talking with your mouth full. Sometimes I use sign language instead of talking. Do you know any signs? I can teach you. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL, ANYWAY? Some people treat me special because I have Down Syndrome. I need special teachers to help me keep up with my school work and to help me learn how to speak better. But I don't need to be treated special by my friends. All I need is for you to give me a little more time to think about things, then look and listen carefully when I speak. Besides that, all I want is to be treated just like you. ___ Inspiration by Sam Balegno, Grade K Child's point of view by Jenna Balegno, Grade 3 /episode/index/show/sammycalls/id/4501361

Episode 2 - Bullying and chicken pattaaays 07/01/2016

Episode 2 - Bullying and chicken pattaaays This episode Sam and Jenna (and Kevin) talk about bullying... chicken pattaaays... our step families... and so much more! We hope you love it! Sam Balegno has Down Syndrome, lives in Massachusetts and eats a lot of pizza. Jenna Balegno (his older sister) lives in California, has a dog named Norman and eats a lot of pizza. Listen in on their casual and candid phone calls to each other and get a little insight on what it means to have Down Syndrome... and more importantly... what it doesn't mean. Welcome to the SammyCalls podcast! ________ Sam and I were chatting about the podcast a couple of weeks back and I randomly asked him what he wanted to talk about in the first few episodes and without missing a beat he blurted out that he wanted to discuss Bullying. Needless to say, I was surprised... in a good way. I do want to keep the podcast light but at the same time, life isn't always cupcakes and rainbows, am I right? The whole point of SammyCalls is to expose people to something they might know very little about. Or to just give people a perspective that they might not have ever considered... turns out bullying is part of the deal. The best we can do is try to educate ourselves. So sandwiched in between chatter about what was for dinner and who he beat in basketball this week, Sam talks about a time he felt bullied and gives advice to someone in his situation. This instance he describes might not seem like a big deal, but I think the story symbolizes much more. I think it is a translation of all the times he has felt isolated, threatened or berated in some way. So listen up, and maybe let Sammy teach you a thing or two! Some things discussed in this episode: Bart & MaryEllen, Sarah & Mike: Bart and Sarah are our step brother and sister on my Mom's side (Steve's kids). They have 5 amazing kiddos between the two! Ashley, Rachel & Paul: Ashley and Rachel are our step sisters on my Dad's side (Lisa's kids). Paul is Rachel's husband and Sammy LOVES his "Paulie." Community Connections, Inc (CCI) is a program for people with disabilities on the Cape that you will hear Sammy reference quite a bit. He typically goes Wednesday & Thursday but more recently started to go on Monday as well which has worked out well for him. /episode/index/show/sammycalls/id/4485797

Episode 1 - Podcasting, head shaving and prom 06/24/2016

Episode 1 - Podcasting, head shaving and prom Welcome to the SammyCalls podcast! This episode Sam and Jenna talk about podcasting... head shaving... prom... and so much more! Enjoy! Sam Balegno has Down Syndrome, lives in Massachusetts and eats a lot of pizza. Jenna Balegno (his older sister) lives in California, has a dog named Norman and eats a lot of pizza. Listen in on their casual and candid phone calls to each other and get a little insight on what it means to have Down Syndrome... and more importantly... what it doesn't mean. ________ When Sam and I were little kids, my mom and dad put together an informational pamphlet that was titled "Just Like You" ... I can seriously picture it in my head right now. It was a super late 80's/early 90's inspired design (my parents were in advertising so they knew what they were doing), angled blocks of bright color, and a black and white photo of us on the front. Ugh we were so cute back then. Basically the pamphlet described what Down Syndrome was and described Sam, a kid who was just like your kid. Except for this extra chromosome. Thinking back to this pamphlet kind of gives me that "Oh boy, you're turning into your parents" feeling. I mean, I'm essentially doing the exact same thing on an updated medium with the SammyCalls Podcast. Sam has Down Syndrome, but does that define him as a person? No way! He is stubborn and hilarious and loves his family and dancing and can communicate with dogs better than Cesar Milan. He cries when he is sad and he laughs when he is happy and he shuts down when he is frustrated. Why? Because he is a human being. He is Just. Like. You. Sam has had to face challenges - physically, emotionally and mentally - that I will never understand but that is part of what makes him so special. So listen to this podcast knowing that we are just a brother and a sister, who love each other and miss each other. Know that Sam is competitive. Know that I am pretty much always eating while we are on the phone. Know Down Syndrome in a new way. A way that is just like you. /episode/index/show/sammycalls/id/4464211

SammyCalls

TOPICS