People with Down syndrome continue to defy stereotypes, with a 21-year-old woman who has the disorder making headlines this week after she appeared on French TV and delivered a weather forecast.
Melanie Segard has been capturing a plethora of attention after her Tuesday appearance on France 2 — the result of a personal goal she recently posted on her Facebook page — part of a campaign created to raise awareness about her disability.
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Segard said in the post that her dream was to present a weather forecast, saying she would pursue doing so if she could get 100,000 “likes” on her page. And, astoundingly, within just 10 days she surpassed 200,000, as Agence France-Presse reported.
Mon bulletin météo sur France 2
Pour ceux qui ont raté la météo d'hier, dimanche, il y aura des nuages sur les 3/4 du pays. Couvrez-vous. ?☀️☁️ #melaniepeutlefaire #meteo Mélanie peut le faire FRANCE 2
Posted by Mélanie peut le faire on Wednesday, March 15, 2017
France 2 heard about the social media hoopla and decided to have Segard on to present the weather, resulting in a touching moment that’s making waves. The network spent four days training Segard to help her in front of the green screen, BBC reported.
“That’s it, I’ve done it, I’m finally a weather girl,” she tweeted after the segment aired. “I am different, but I can do lots of things.”
Over 5 million people tuned in as Mélanie Ségard, a 21-year-old woman with Down’s syndrome, presented the weather on French TV pic.twitter.com/1YZn9lTugO
— 5News (@5_News) March 16, 2017
And as it turns out, Segard — who told media she’s hoping to “open doors to other people with disabilities” — is also slated to deliver the weather again on news network BFMTV later this month, according to Time.
“Melanie cannot read or write,” Nathalie Rihouet, head of weather for France Televisions, told Le Parisien newspaper. “The goal is to make her feel integrated.”
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