Who are L.O.A.D.S?

L.O.A.D.S was formed in 2002 by 3 mothers who felt not enough help was being given to those with Down’s syndrome. The group grew quickly and became a registered charity in October 2002 Registered Number 1093857. Since then the charity has grown even bigger, with more than 1500 members consisting of families, groups, charities, clubs, businesses, professionals and those with an interest in Down’s syndrome.
The current Executive Committee consists of 8 people. We have 18 regional co-ordinators which are an extension of the committee. We aim for our co-ordinators to contact new families and introduce themselves and to offer support where they can.
The main Executive Committee are responsible for the day to day running, planning and organising of the charity and its events. We are continually striving to improve on the services we offer and to develop new ones.
Funding is always an issue within the charity; we rely heavily on grants from other large charitable organisations and donations from the general public. L.O.A.D.S does participate in its own fair share of fundraising and this has seen us take part in tandem skydiving, abseiling the maternity hospital block, staging a large family fun day and holding a silent celebrity auction. Monies from these are split between our running costs and providing social events to you our members.
We welcome donations whatever their size. We can even claim tax relief on these donations by way of Gift Aid and forms are held by us.
Ipswich Town Football Club has nominated L.O.A.D.S as one of its charities for the 2006/2007 season. To date we have already received £4,500 and are extremely grateful to Ipswich Town Football Club for the opportunity to work with them and help promote/raise the awareness of Down’s syndrome and the charity L.O.A.D.S.

Our aims as a charity are:

1. To raise more awareness of Down’s syndrome and provide as much support as possible
2. To improve on the support and information we currently offer
3. To plan as many fund raising events and social events to benefit our members as we can.

What do we offer?
Free membership to everyone.

Twice yearly magazine T21 – distributed to all our members and interested parties. We welcome articles from our members and those who have Down’s syndrome.

Support Network – we can put families in touch with each other to share their experiences and make new friendships.

Extensive book, resource and leaflet library all relating to Down’s syndrome.

Social events, days out and annual parties for our members.

Web site forum – members can post their questions for others to read or just to say “hello”.


The Committee of L.O.A.D.S welcomes you to our website and hope you find the site useful.


What is Down’s syndrome?

 Down’s syndrome is caused by the extra copy of chromosome 21 making 47 chromosomes in all. Most people with Down’s syndrome share certain physical characteristics but also still retain some from his/her family.

 A syndrome is a group of signs or characteristics.

 The name “Down” drives from the English doctor John Langdon Down who first described the syndrome in 1866.

 Professor Jerome Lejeure – a French geneticist discovered the cause of Down’s syndrome.

 Down’s syndrome IS NOT A DISEASE. It is the most common form of learning disability. The level of learning disability will vary from person to person and cannot be predicted at birth.

 ANY MOTHER can have a baby with Down’s syndrome. It is reported that mothers in the 35+ age group are at higher risk, but equally babies are born to younger mothers reflecting the higher birth rate group.

 In the UK there are approximately 1-2 babies born each day with Down’s syndrome. This is roughly 1 for every 1000 babies.

 People with Down’s syndrome ARE NOT SUFFERING. Attitudes are slowly changing now greater awareness is being made. It is possible with the right support for people with Down’s syndrome to live useful and independent lives.