ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS – The Moloney family of Atlantic Highlands is pretty excited these days. That’s because on Saturday, Sept. 19, Ryan Moloney will be one of the faces featured on the National Down Syndrome Society’s (NDSS) video presentation on a jumbo screen in Times Square in New York City.
Each year the Times Square presentation, which features 400 individuals selected from thousands of entries, kicks off the Down Syndrome Buddy Walk. The Buddy Walk celebrates Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome. This year a photo of Ryan as a baby was one of the photos selected.
Ryan is now a 9-year-old student attending Hawkswood School in Eatontown. “He loves music and everything Thomas the Tank Engine,” said his mother Robin Moloney.
“We are so proud that he has been selected to represent the Down Syndrome community,” said Robin. “The photo was taken of Ryan when he was a year old but it totally represents his attitude towards life. Even now, at age 9, this positive attitude is in everything he does. He is honestly an inspiration.”
The Moloney family – including Robin, her husband Dennis, Ryan and big brothers Phil and Thomas, and even his grandparents in Virginia – will watch the event on YouTube and will receive their own video recording of Ryan’s moment on screen. The Saturday Times Square scene promises to be loud, jam-packed and a bit chaotic. “Ryan doesn’t like crowds,” said Robin.
Ryan attended Atlantic Highlands Elementary School for five years before moving to the Hawkswood School eight weeks ago. “Ryan is nonverbal, sensitive and shy and they’re able to handle those needs,” Robin said. With an added diagnosis of autism, she said, Hawkswood has the resources and expertise to cater a program to Ryan’s exact needs.
In the short time he has been at his new school, the Moloneys have already seen an improvement in behavior, confidence and academic progress.
Moloney said she had sent in photos of Ryan for the Buddy Walk presentation in the past. This time she was reminded of his baby photo featuring Ryan and his wide smile that she uses for a screen saver on her desktop. “It’s his whole outlook on life that I captured on that picture.”
Although the celebrity status of his shining moment in Times Square may be lost on Ryan right now, his mother is saving all the emails, the video and other related details of how his photo was selected from thousands. “They’re going into a time capsule for him so when he can better communicate and better understand when we tell him ‘this was you on this big screen on a big city of New York City.’ And he’ll understand how awesome that is!”
