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Schools

She's a Performer

Caelyn Griffith loves an audience, and audiences find her inspiring.

Most people find public speaking extremely stressful. Not Caelyn Griffith.

"I was happy when I spoke at the school board meeting," she said. "We talked about Best Buddies and my best buddy is the president and she's a great buddy."

Griffith, age 16, was making a presentation with her friend Elena on behalf of the Best Buddies Club at Culver City High School. The Best Buddies Club pairs differently abled kids with kids who are not challenged to build understanding about disabilities. The girls read from a script, taking turns, talking about issues such as reducing the use of the word "retard" at school.

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It's a word Griffith has good reason not to like because she has Down's Syndrome.

But that doesn't stop Griffith from being a normal teen-ager.

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"I have a boyfriend," she said. "He's sweet and he's smart and he's cute."

When she's not at school or any of her other activities, including gymnastics with the Special Olympics, which she has done since she was 7 years old, she does normal teen stuff.

"I hang out with my friends and my boyfriend and my family," she said.

Griffith's mother, Clausine Griffith-Honda, said that Griffith spoke at a school assembly earlier this year and enjoyed it immensely.

"She doesn't get nervous," Griffith-Honda said. "She really enjoys getting out there in front of people, just getting out there and performing. She enjoys even the assembly. She has no nerves about that at all."

Unlike a lot of people.

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