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AttitudeLive
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(Kelly) The first goal that was
driver's license.
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The second was going over
to America, to Disneyland.
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(Dan) And of course
going flatting as well?
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And flatting, yeah.
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When she was young, Kelly Fitzgerald
made a list of goals,
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having a full license and driving a car
were top of the list.
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"Come on!"
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And the other one was
to get a decent job that I really like.
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Like a Girl Friday job in an office.
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I'm still looking, but it's hard
to find sometimes.
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(Dan) And the last goal?
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I want to get a boyfriend
and try to keep myself happy.
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(Dan) Getting her driver's license
and owning a car,
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has been 31-year old Kelly Fitzgerald's
goal ever since she can remember.
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According to our information, she's one
of only two people in New Zealand
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with Down syndrome to
have reached this milestone.
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Like most things in her life,
it was Kelly's older siblings
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that got her motivated.
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(Kelly) My brothers and sister had their
driver's license, I was a bit jealous.
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So when I was a teenager, I decided
to go for my driver's license.
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- (Dan) Who taught you to drive?
- My step-uncle Fred.
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- (Dan) Yeah? And how hard was it?
- I was a bit tense
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- (Dan) Did you have to study hard?
- Yes
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(Dan) So how did you do that?
Did you have the Road Code?
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The Road Code the scratchies,
and then...yeah.
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The written was so cool,
like, I aced that.
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(man) Okay Kelly, what do
you want us to do today?
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(Dan) Kelly lives in a flat
just five minutes from her mom.
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She's the youngest of five kids
and luckily her three older brothers
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also live nearby.
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If there's anything goes wrong with the car
I always hop on the phone and like,
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"Could you come help me?"
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I think that's all the lumps are out.
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(Dan) When Kelly was born,
parents Edna and Bill didn't know
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what to expect. They came from
large extended families,
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ran a busy household,
and Kelly just had to fit in.
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(Edna Fitzgerald) Well, when we brought
her home, of course, things were a bit
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fragile and wondering what,
how you're going to manage.
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(Dan) Their GP advised them
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to keep pushing her
and just get on with it.
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Thirty-odd years ago,
that approach to parenting
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was considered a little unconventional.
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- You just iced it this morning eh?
- Yeah.
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He just said just keep extending her
and that's what we did.
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We never made any exceptions for her.
She just had toe the line
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and do what everybody else did.
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I'll have a big piece Kelly.
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(Dan) Kelly understands her disability
and knows how she wants others
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to treat her.
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I was born with Down syndrome,
that's an extra chromosome
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inside my body.
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There's nothing wrong with me,
but it's just being a normal kid and adult.
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How's the pool been going Kelly?
The 8-ball?
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- The 8-ball? Yeah, quite good.
- Yeah?
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I have my bad nights and my good nights.
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(Dan) One of Kelly's
favorite activities is 8-ball.
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She plays for a team
at the local coffee club.
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Your shot Kelly
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(Edna) So she learned really
when she was about five,
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and then got better,
and she loves it.
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What's next?
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(Edna) We never made
any excuses for her
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We never said, "Oh look our daughter's
got Down syndrome," but she
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wants to join us. We just arrived
and thought, if she could do it,
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we just encouraged her.
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Well, Kelly has just cleaned me up.
Another example of her "can-do" attitude
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and the way she will tackle
anything that life throws at her.
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- Congrats Kelly! Best two out of three?
- Yeah.
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Cool! Let's do it.
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She just expects people to include her
as an equal, and I think a lot of the time
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people with disabilities don't have
the confidence to do that.
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Kelly's parents had a very "matter-of-fact"
and "no-nonsense" approach to parenting.
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And her mom Edna's now written a book
about Kelly's life, called
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Born to Succeed.
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When mom first had mentioned
that she was going to write a book
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about me and that, I was a bit...
wasn't sure at first,
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but now when mom explained it
kind of a bit to me
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and then I said,
I was like "Yeah, go for it."
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(Dan) At the launch of Edna's book
Kelly made a speech.
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I was born with Down syndrome
over 30 years ago.
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My life has been good.
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I have never thought of myself
as having a major disability.
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And I write the book to inspire
other parents to do
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as we have done, and if they can take
one idea out of that book,
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to help their child, I think
that's all I really wanted.
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When I was little, it was my brothers
and sister that taught me
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a lot of stuff. They treated me
like a normal kid
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and that's how I thought of myself.
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When you first have a
Down syndrome baby,
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you don't know what the outcome
is going to be. We knew nothing
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about it.
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So we just carried on as though
she was normal.
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So all in all, life is good.
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Good friends, hobbies, work
and plenty to keep me busy.
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(Dan) How does that make you feel
when you see her out driving
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and you came around her flat
that she's got by herself?
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Oh, pretty proud of it. But then
I'm proud of all of kids,
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and I don't really see her
as any different.
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It's not hard to give things a go.
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Just arrive and say "Hi, I am here.
And I want to just join in."
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Thank you for everything.
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(audience clapping)
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AttitudeLive