Josie Webster, a 16-year-old teenager from Australia with Down Syndrome, has accomplished quite a bit in her short life span: sheâs rafted down the Shotover River in New Zealand, sheâs walked through the Uluru rock formation in Central Australian, and she has crept through the Vietnamese war tunnels. What she wasnât able to do, however, was attend her schoolâs annual class dance.
Thatâs because according to her mother she wasnât invited. Neither were the three other special needs students who attend Engadine High School in southern Sydney. In fact, JulieâJosieâs momâonly found out about the event after other students posted photos of themselves at the party. But instead of letting this apparent slight go unanswered, Julie Webster made a heartwarming video celebrating her daughter.
âShe may not get to dress up and dance, but⌠I will continue to dance with her, even if no-one else does,â she said in the video.
For their part, Engadine school officials are denying that they excluded Josie and the three other students and are claiming that the event was a private affair. Current and former students have also stepped up to defend Engadine on the schoolâs Facebook page.
Advertisement
âMost supportive and caring school I have ever been in,â noted one former pupil. âEvery single student is treated fairly and equally.â
Itâs hard to really say whoâs telling the truth here. Regardless, it looks like Julie will get a chance to dance till her heartâs content. An Australian news outlet is reporting that various individuals whoâve come across this story have offered to throw her and the other students a party of their own. So happy ending, I guess?
Fidel Martinez is an editor at Fusion.net. He's also a Texas native and a lifelong El Tri fan.
