Shelby's World
Shelby Brown, a 13-year-old girl with Down Syndrome navigates the world around by the help of her family.
“Since Shelby's been born, it's Shelby's world.
We just live in it."
~ Leann Sparks
Shelby Brown poses in front of her mother, Leann Sparks, and her father, Adam Brown, at her house in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Shelby Brown is not like any other 13-year-old girl. She is driven, resilient and courageous. Constantly challenged by the world around her, she makes the most of it, pursuing her goals with determination.
"She's a hot mess. She really is," Leann said. "She's going to rule a gang in prison one day and I'm okay with that. At least she's going to be the leader and not the follower. I would say the world, but that may be shooting a little high."
"She's a hot mess. She really is," Leann said. "She's going to rule a gang in prison one day and I'm okay with that. At least she's going to be the leader and not the follower. I would say the world, but that may be shooting a little high."
Shelby holds onto Leann at an easter egg hunt in Bowling Green. Shelby often goes to her mother for support in moments where she feels uncertain.
Leann talks with Shelby at the Buddy House in Bowling Green. Shelby was upset that a friend had to leave and faked crying just to get them to stay. Shelby often changes in her emotions, usually ending them with laughter as her mother coaxes her out of it.
What is Down Syndrome?
Each year, approximately 5,700 babies are born with Down Syndrome.
Down Syndrome is a genetic condition that affects an individual's chromosome count in each cell. Most individuals have a 23 pairs of chromosomes in each cell in the makeup of their body Infants diagnosed with Down Syndrome have an extra copy of their 21st chromosome, which changes the way that their body develops. As the child grows, more definitive features become more apparent.
Features include but are not limited to:
Features include but are not limited to:
- A flattened face
- Almond eyes that are slanted up
- A tongue that sticks to top of the movie
- a short neck
- small ears, hands, and feet
- Palmar crease, a single line across the palm of the hand
- small pinky fingers
- poor muscle tone
- below average height
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"We did not stop living our life because we had a kid with down syndrome. We, if anything, embraced it. "
Shelby's feet are 'squashed' because of her Down Syndrome. Squashed feet and hands are clear signs of down syndrome.
Shelby sports crazy socks for national Down Syndrome awareness day during the basketball game hosted by the Hardwood Hearts event on March 31, 2026.
3 Types of Down Syndrome
The most common type of Down Syndrome. This occurs when a developing fetus creates an extra 21st chromosome instead of the normal two copies. Trisomy 21 fills approximately 95% of all Down Synrome Cases. This is the type of Down Syndrome that Shelby has.
A type of Down Syndrome where the 21st chromosome isn't fully separate. It forms as a partial or a full chromosome, either relocating to the next chromosome, or bunching chromosomes together. This is the next largest case of Down Syndrome, filling 4% of cases.
The rarest case of Down Syndrome. This type occurs when the 21st chromosome appears only in certain cells, not all. This is the last 1% of known cases.
Leann pushes the loose straps up into the mascot that Shelby wears at the Hardwood Hearts basketball game in Bowling Green Junior High School in Bowling Green.
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"I had to mourn the loss of the child that I thought that I was having to fully accept the child that God gave me. I was very angry for a long time. It was almost hard to fully accept. I didn't do this until after many months after Shelby was born."
Shelby pushes the doors open in the Kentucky Museum on Western Kentucky University’s campus as she exits the art space after her art lesson. Shelby had run ahead of Leann and ran out of the doors to get to the car first.
Shelby refuses to continue her art lesson at the Kentucky Museum on Western Kentucky University’s campus in Bowling Green. Shelby was upset that she was not doing a good job. Leann tried to put the apron on Shelby for her to continue but was unsuccessful.
Leann comforts Shelby during the Dance Big Red event on Western Kentucky University’s campus in Bowling Green. Shelby grew upset and Leann had to console her.
Shelby knocks over Alpha Xi Delta senior Mallory Beckham with her hug during a song in the Western Kentucky University’s Preston Center for the Dance Big Red event. Beckham and Maris Lanham (right), a senior, were both participants in Dance Big Red and were strangers to Shelby until she sat beside them.
Shelby continues her homeschool education in her room under her mother’s supervision. Leann’s decision to homeschool Shelby was not made lightly. “We knew no one going into seventh grade at Warren East middle school.” Leann said. Shelby was denied access into the school where her friends were, so Leann chose to educate Shelby at home rather than send her to a school where there was not many connections for Shelby.
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"I think that the older that she gets, some of these things that she doesn't completely understand now will grow. She will understand the older that she gets. She's 13, but mentally she's not. So I still have to think of her maybe as a 7 or 8 year old, mentally wise."
Shelby’s picture of her younger self sits on a wall above her bed alongside pictures of horses. Shelby loves horses and attends horse therapy every week.
Shelby finishes bridling her horse for her horse therapy at the New Beginnings Therapeutic Riding facility in Bowling Green. Once a week, Shelby attends the therapy sessions which are designed to help her cognitive processes by riding the horses to complete activities at different stations.
Sunlight shines on Shelby through the barn at the New Beginnings Therapeutic Riding facility as she performs the exercises prepared for her for her horse therapy lesson. The usual outside course was wet, which drove the exercises inside.
Shelby talks to her helper, Sarah Rice, while workers finish preparing for Shelby’s ride in the New Beginnings Therapeutic Riding stable in Warren County, Ky. Sarah often chats with Shelby in between courses and enjoys working with Shelby.
"I think a lot of parents in the society that we live in are so worried about what everybody else thinks. We worry about what other people are looking at. Or are they whispering and talking about. ‘Look at that kid over there that has down syndrome.’ And, you know, we worry about things like that. But we can not worry about what everybody else has to say. I think we just kind of relax as a parent and then just take on that role and we just kind of roll with the punches. We just roll with it for sure. "
~ Leann Sparks
~ Leann Sparks
Shelby puts more eggs into her basket at an easter egg hunt in Bowling Green. The Buddy House hosted the event, garnering support from local businesses and families alike.
Shelby runs to her car after eating lunch at El Mazatlan on Western Kentucky University’s campus in Bowling Green. She was excited to go to a birthday party after the art lesson in the morning.
Adam helps Shelby shoot the basketball during the warmups of the Hardwood Hearts basketball game at Bowling Green Junior High in Bowling Green. Shelby never completed a shot even with the help of her father, which led to her decision not to play in the game.
Shelby and Leann share a hug in their kitchen with their dog, Roxie. Shelby and her mother often spend a lot of time together when Shelby’s brother and father are away from home. Raising Shelby has pushed Leann to be more patient and mindful of the space around her. "There's a whole another world that I knew nothing about that she introduced me to," Leann said. "I've just met so many people. Life is fun with individuals that have special needs, down syndrome."
Shelby looks out the window of her door at her home.