11 April 2008
Chris Burke, Editor and Actor
By Phyllis McIntosh
Phyllis McIntosh is a Maryland-based writer who frequently contributes to Department of State publications.
The words that best describe the content of Upbeat, currently the only magazine in the United States written by and for people with Down syndrome, are "inspirational" and "uplifting." Published by the National Down Syndrome Society and directed also to family and friends of cognitively impaired people, the magazine is a mix of news and personal essays, each piece written by someone with Down syndrome.
"These are stories from our hearts about what it's like to grow up with Down syndrome and how to speak up for ourselves," says the decidedly upbeat editor-in-chief, Chris Burke, a popular role model in the Down syndrome community. Launched by Burke and the society's staff as News and Views in 1994, the magazine was, he says, inspired partly by a newsletter at the private school he attended.
Also an actor, musician, and goodwill ambassador for the National Down Syndrome Society, Burke is best known for his ground-breaking role as a young man with Down syndrome growing up in a loving family but struggling for acceptance in the outside world on the television show Life Goes On, which aired in the early 1990s and has just been released on DVD.
Today, Burke presents musical concerts with two long-time friends, twin brothers Joe and John DeMasi, spreading a message of love and inclusion through hundreds of performances a year at schools, festivals, and conferences.
When Burke was born in 1965, doctors advised his parents to place him in an institution. Instead, they treated him the same as his siblings and made sure he received a first-rate education. He likes to share with others the motto that has guided his life: "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal. Always say to yourself, 'Yes I can.' Believe in yourself, work hard, never give up!"
