Chris Newlon had a two-word request when it came to writing about her as an Everyday Hero: “Child first.”

Her 9-year-old daughter, Rebecca, was in the next room getting help with reading at GiGi’s Playhouse, a resource center for people with Down syndrome and their families. Newlon wants her daughter to be seen as an ordinary person who happens to have Down syndrome and not be defined by it in the eyes of others.

“I want her to be able to go to a store or a restaurant and not have people look at her like she’s an oddity. Part of that is building her confidence, too,” Newlon said.