The SpecialMoms Parenting Magazine 3rd Issue | Page 16

Valerie Carter
tion that showcases through photography
the beautiful differences of all people. My
daughter Grace’s photograph is featured in
their exhibit.
The RISE Awards - http://ypierre.com/
rise/ - is a platform for recognizing self-advocates with Down Syndrome.
Support for Families of Children with Disabilities is in the San Francisco area and is a
fantastic resource. http://www.supportforfamilies.org
Anna’s Angels is a terrific organization focused on research to improve the cognitive
and communicative ability of individuals
with Down syndrome. http://www.annas-angels.org

Share one tip on how you
advocate for your child, to help
ensure them a better tomorrow.
I have learned to never accept limitations. I
know the best way to do this is through education. I have her reading every day.

What motivated you to
start your business?
My daughter had speech challenges so we
were both frustrated by not being able to
communicate so together we learned sign
language. I was eager to hear about her day
and she was eager to tell me. Signing became
another speech tool for us; would often both
speak and sign. Her friends and classmates
were eager to learn signing as well. As a
guest reader in Grace’s classroom, I would
make up stories and sign some key words.
The kids loved learning the signs in stories
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I was eager to hear about
her day and she was
eager to tell me .
and seemed to remember them instantly. I
looked around for stories that incorporated
some signs and couldn’t find any. My desire
to teach reading and sign language while
shining a light on ability awareness were all
motivators for me to create our company
GraceSigns and our app series Sign Me A
Story.

How did you bring it from an idea
to reality? What were the first
steps you took to get it going?
I put my idea down on paper. That made it
more of a reality. Next I wrote the first of the
Sign Me A Story: GreenBeanies’ AdventureOne Cool Cat and highlighted the words I
wanted to have turned into signed videos. I
then hired a group of computer science majors from a local university to do the coding.
An attorney friend walked me through the
important legal avenues. But honestly, I felt
truly official when I ordered my first set of
business cards.

What was the biggest struggle
you encountered when
starting your business?
I thought doors were going to swing open.
That everything would just flow. It didn’t.
There were a lot of doors that were closed in
my face. I had to learn to not take rejection
personally. It was hard because I felt it was
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