Loneliness is not just a statistic for families of people with Down syndrome in Europe; it is a daily reality. During the recent World Down Syndrome Day event in Brussels, the European Down Syndrome Association (EDSA) showed shocking findings from a landmark survey that exposed the severe fragility of social networks for the Down syndrome community.
The results paint a stark picture of social fragmentation:
These numbers reveal a critical gap: social networks that should be inclusive are, in fact, limited and often non-existent.
This wasn’t a small sample. EDSA gathered over 2,500 responses directly from the source:
- people with Down syndrome
- their parents
- their siblings
The isolation is real, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the story.
A deeper analysis of the data is currently underway to uncover the root causes and potential solutions.
Stay tuned for the next update, where we will break down the full analysis and explore what this means for the future of inclusion across Europe.
