We walk with families from the day of a Down syndrome diagnosis forward — hope when the news arrives, community so no parent carries it alone, and a world that includes our children on purpose.

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Noah, wearing bright blue glasses and a backpack, laughing on his way into school
Choosing Noah Foundation

Despite the fears, choose love.

Hope for families facing a Down syndrome diagnosis.

A family hears the news. What happens next is a choice.

Choosing Hope

Nobody should hear it the way she did.

A diagnosis, a list of statistics, and no one to say congratulations. We deliver the congratulations — a gift box at the door, and a parent who has been there.

Choosing Hope →
Choosing Community

It takes a village. We build the village.

Monthly support groups and family gatherings where the parent three years ahead of you is in the room.

Choosing Community →
Choosing Inclusion

Inclusion doesn't happen by accident. Somebody has to choose it.

Afternoons hosted with local businesses that open their doors to children of every ability. Always free to families.

Choosing Inclusion →
Give

Even the smallest gift gives a family strength for the road ahead.

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Why we exist

A prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis is usually delivered as bad news.

Choosing Noah Foundation is a Brooklyn-based nonprofit serving families across the United States, walking with them from the day of a Down syndrome diagnosis forward — hope when the news arrives, community for the years after, and inclusion for the world their child grows up in.

Yami's medical team gave her a list of worst-case scenarios and no path forward. In her second trimester, doctors suggested she end the pregnancy. Her husband and close family, frightened for her, agreed.

She said no.

The gap between the moment a parent hears the diagnosis and the moment they find anyone who tells them it will be okay — that is the gap Choosing Noah exists to close.

Read our story
1 in 700
U.S. births are a child with Down syndrome
6,000
babies born with Down syndrome each year
About half
also have a congenital heart defect, like Noah
Three pillars

Choosing Hope. Choosing Community. Choosing Inclusion.

Support for families of children with Down syndrome and other disabilities, following the arc of a family's real journey: hope on the day of a prenatal or new diagnosis, a parent community and support groups for the years after, and inclusion events that open up the world their child grows up in. They're verbs because the foundation was born out of a choice.

A 3D ultrasound of Noah before he was born
The moment

Choosing Hope

No parent should receive this diagnosis the way I did.

Learn more →
Family and friends in yellow Choosing Noah shirts holding the “Walking for Supernoah” banner in Central Park
The years

Choosing Community

It takes a village. We build the village.

Learn more →
Noah laughing beside another child at a school lunch table
The world

Choosing Inclusion

Inclusion doesn't happen by accident. Somebody has to choose it.

Learn more →
Next up

Come choose inclusion with us.

Choosing Inclusion · Free

Choosing Inclusion: Martial Arts

Saturday, October 24, 2026 · 4:00 PM

MAUSA Health & Fitness Center
759 Washington Ave, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11238

An adaptive jiu-jitsu and martial arts intro class, games, and community time — led by MAUSA instructors — for children with Down syndrome and other disabilities, their siblings, and their families.

Choosing Inclusion flier: a martial arts day for kids of every ability, Saturday October 24, 2026 at 4:00 PM, MAUSA Health & Fitness Center, 759 Washington Ave, Brooklyn
RSVP — it's free (opens in a new tab) with MAUSA Health & Fitness Center
Meet Super Noah

A boy who loves school and colors and his brothers — who happens to have Down syndrome and a repaired heart.

Born in 2018. Open-heart surgery at three months. Walking on his own since April 2021. His first word was “mum.” The family rule is to celebrate the big things and the little things, out loud.

“Our strength didn't suddenly appear. It was built over time.”

Give

Put something in a new parent's hands.

Even the smallest gift gives a family strength — hope on diagnosis day, a village for the years after, and a world with room for their child. Give once, or join The Village and give monthly.

Donate See all ways to give 501(c)(3) determination pending · gifts are not yet tax-deductible
From Yami

The story, in her words.

The memoir Choosing Noah by Yamileth Johnson
April 17, 2025

The Book

It's been five years since I first sat down to write Choosing Noah. In order to tell Noah's story, I had to first tell mine.
Noah with a backpack and blue glasses, grinning on his way to school
January 17, 2022

Four Years Strong

It's been almost two years since my last blog post — and we are four years strong.
Noah moments after birth, held by gloved hands on a hospital blanket
May 1, 2020

“Will he look like us?”

“From the moment I saw him, I knew he had it...”

All posts

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Family stories, the next Choosing Inclusion event, and what your support made possible. A few times a year, never more.

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