A little girl named Sunny holds her arms wide open, ready to greet the world. She has Down syndrome. She has a legendary hug and an unstoppable spirit. And too often, she sits alone on a bench while other kids play. This is not just a story in a coloring book. For
hundreds of thousands of children across the country, that sense of belonging doesn’t always come easily. Too often, children are present in classrooms, playgrounds, and community spaces-but still feel invisible.
Every child deserves to belong. Yet research consistently shows that children with Down syndrome face some of the highest rates of social isolation and loneliness of any group- not because of who they are, but because of the world we’ve built around them.
This World Down Syndrome Day, we’re asking a simple but urgent question: What does it actuallycost a child to grow up lonely? And more importantly, what can we do about it?
At Kids on the Move, we believe every child deserves to feel valued, included, and connected. That belief inspired our new children’s coloring book, Sunny Side Up: A Story About Belonging, which helps children and families talk about inclusion in a positive, empowering way.
You can download the free printable coloring book to start the conversation with your child.
The Numbers We Can’t Ignore
Loneliness among children with Down syndrome isn’t anecdotal, it’s measurable, documented, and significantly worse than most people realize. Here is what the research tells us:
65%+ of children with Down syndrome are sometimes or often avoided or left out of activities by other kids
Kennedy Krieger Institute / IAN Research Study
82% of parents report their child with Down syndrome has trouble making friends sometimes or often
Kennedy Krieger Institute / IAN Research Study
These aren’t abstract numbers. They represent real children- in our schools, our neighborhoods, our communities- who are moving through childhood without the friendships and connections that make it meaningful.
For many families, loneliness can also extend beyond the child. Parents of children with disabilities often report feeling isolated from social networks, especially during early diagnosis and the search for services and support.
The truth is simple:
Loneliness is not a choice.
It often happens when people are unintentionally excluded from friendships, activities, schools, and communities.
What Loneliness Actually Means for a Child
It’s tempting to think of loneliness as simply “not having friends.” But for children with Down syndrome, it is far more layered than that. According to Down Syndrome International’s global research, loneliness can look like:
• Being in a classroom of 25 children and having no one to sit with at lunch
• Being invited to a birthday party but not being included in the actual play
• Having adults talk about you in the third person while you’re standing right there
• Being “present” in a program but never truly seen — what researchers call proximity without connection
• Not having a group of friends or a community to belong to
• Not having a close, special person to share your feelings with