GREENFIELD, NH — Award-winning motivational speaker and disabilities rights advocate Ann Forts, discussed The "Up" Side to Life with Down Syndrome at Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center in September of 2007.

The primary focus of Ms. Fort's speeches is to help people understand there definitely is an "UP" side to life with Down Syndrome. She speaks from first hand knowledge because she too has Down Syndrome, which she prefers to call "UP" Syndrome. Each year she travels over 20,000 miles to speak at meetings and conferences all over the United States , and has been a guest on The Today Show and The Geraldo Rivera Show. Her advocacy for people with disabilities has been recognized through numerous awards including: the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation's 1^st International Self Empowerment Award; the 1995 Annual Down Syndrome Ambassador of Good Will Award; and the 2002 Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award from the American Association of People with Disabilities. In addition to being employed in several part-time jobs, she finds time to volunteer as an aide to teachers and librarians. Ms. Forts is a 1987 graduate of the Moultonborough, NH school district and currently resides in Meredith , NH . Further information is available through her website: www.anniefortsupfund.org.

The presentation was part of the Hilliard Series, in honor of Clinton Hilliard, former head of the Speech and Hearing Department at Crotched Mountain . For more information about the Hilliard Lecture Series, please contact Joan Crooker at (603) 547-3311 ext. 1481.

Crotched Mountain is a charitable organization employing more than 900 people. Its mission is to serve individuals with disabilities and their families, embracing personal choice and development, and building communities of mutual support. Crotched Mountain provides specialized education, rehabilitation, community, and residential support services for more than 2,000 people annually, at its rehabilitation center in Greenfield, New Hampshire and in communities throughout New Hampshire and in selected locations in Massachusetts, Maine and New York. For more information about Crotched Mountain please visit their web site: www.crotchedmountain.org.