Shields students raise awareness of Phelan McDermid Syndrome

Staff and students at Shields Elementary School in Lewes are Phelan Lucky. They celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by supporting a great cause and spreading awareness. Many members of the Shields Elementary community bought and wore T-shirts to support research for a rare disease called Phelan McDermid Syndrome.

It is a genetic syndrome caused by disruption of the SHANK3/ProSAP2 gene and other genes on the terminal end of chromosome 22 affecting only about 1,300 individuals worldwide with only two children in Delaware who are currently diagnosed.

PMS is associated with intellectual disabilities, sleep disorders and seizures. Most children with PMS have moderate to severe delays and often do not develop functional language. For more information, go to www.pmsf.org.

Shields supported this cause as Shields alumna Elle Nauman, currently a Beacon Middle School sixth-grader, is one of 1,300 children who have Phelan McDermid Syndrome.

The Phelan Lucky Fundraiser began just a few years ago and was founded by Delaware mother Jen Randolph. Last year, 488 shirts were sold and they raised about $2,500. This year 2,741 shirts were sold worldwide and they raised almost $48,000 for research.