My Brother With Down Syndrome Faces His Biggest Fear... 

My 27 year old nephew Grant has Down Syndrome. When he was younger he was so afraid of elevators, car washes that you drive through, haircuts, and nail clipping. He still does not like his nails clipped, but he will reluctantly allow it to be done. After he was born, my sister and a friend started a group called The Ups of Down Syndrome. There was probably around 15 in the monthly meetings. They continued for about two years. They discussed anything the group was facing. Grant competes each year in Special Olympics. We are so blessed to have him in our family. Love your post. From Southeastern Kentucky.

As a non-animal-loving person, I get Gabe. In order for him to feel secure, he needs to believe what he is told. Mom said that he could say hello from the door, but then she asked him to go in and stand on the mat. Mom said that the dog wouldn’t get off the couch, but then the dog came running at Gabe. Gabe doesn’t understand that the dog might not hurt him, but then again, she might. I hope that one day Gabe can enjoy animals like his family does, but he has to feel safe.

Gabe brings a giant smile to so many people. A special thank you to the neighbor and to Ginger!

Thank you guys for being so loving and caring to Gabe who is so well loved by millions of people in the world.

The world is in love with Gabe! Gabe is the perfect kid to be in this loving family. He keeps you balanced.

Gabe's such a trooper and he's got an awesome family right beside him. All you guys are great ❤️.

My daughter was terrified of dogs until she met a Yorkie puppy at the pet store. Now we have a 5 lb bruiser and she loves all dogs. I hope he can keep it up and someday enjoy our furry buddies. I know they will love him!❤

Gabe is a very brave young man. Keep supporting him.

Gab has a very supportive family ❤

Gabe can hold his head high and be so proud of himself ❤🧡🩵

Gabe, I'm 68 and very afraid of big dogs. If you can be courageous to overcome your fear, then I can be too. Thank you for being brave. ❤❤❤

Hey Handsome Gabe, I'm so PROUD of YOU for doing this a Courageous Act of Bravery getting next to this Beautiful Golden Baby Name Ginger. Baby Steps does help and You'll get better, Prayers and Blessings 🙌 ❤️🥰😇🐕 From Pennsylvania,USA

That was so nice,Gabe was very brave, hopefully one day he will be able to get close enough to say hi ❤

Fantastic job Gabe! Small steps lead to a great ending. Great job Mom, Cameraman, Nick, and Kiera for taking it slow and helping him celebrate the small victories. Love you all!

That's great! He got closer & u didn't push it. Good job Gabe! What a pretty sweet dog!💜

Great work, Gabe!! We're so proud of you!! It's hard to conquer a fear. You are so brave!

Gabriel!! ❤ You're so brave!❤

WELL DONE GABE 👏👏👏👏. you was a superstar. I hope you eventually feel safe enough to touch ginger. Ginger is a lovely dog x

That was such a HUGE accomplishment! Well done Gabe!!!! Woo Hoo! Thank you for sharing with us. See you in the next one.

Way to go Gabe! You did a great job cheering up Ginger.

Gaby was SO BRAVE! I'm so proud of you, Gabe!!!❤❤

Awww, my youngest (who's DS) is just the opposite. She loves animals and doesn't understand that you can't hold and love on every animal she sees. This is amazing that you are helping Gabe in this way. Gabe did Great!! So proud of him for trying!!

Way to go Gabe! That's a great step toward getting over your fear. Hopefully next time he'll get a bit closer.

This was just awesome. Inger and him will get to know each other and he won’t be afraid of ginger. This is precious moments. Love you, Gabe you got it, buddy.💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

Small steps Gabe❤ So brave & came a little closer each time👏👏👏👏❣️❣️❣️🙏🏻

Gabe is amazing and it's so nice that he has a loving family ❤❤

Love when he says love you at the end

Way to go Gabe ! That was a brave step. Love your family and how you support and love each other ❤ Love,hugs and prayers from a Great Grandma in Kansas

So sweet, Gabe is just precious and you're just such a sweet family. 🥰 I love GR, such pretty, sweet natured doggies.

That was a great video. I love your family, close and loving. Gabe is a beautiful person. That took a lot of courage for him to even go over there, near the door. Kudos Gabe!!!

Proud of you Gabe. You can do it. One step at a time.

Good job Gabe, great first start, so proud of you ❤

Love Gabe he was so very brave proud of him for trying he's the best

This was so great the way you didn’t force Gabe, but encouraged and let him go at his pace. You all are a wonderful family. God bless y'all.

Way to go Gabe you conquered part of your fear. little by little he will get over his fear. my disabled son was afraid of dogs when he was young after woking with him he got over his fear and eventually we got him a therapy dog. He's now thirty five and just bought a dog for himself.

I am so proud of Gabe. That was a major accomplishment. He tried he didn't give up. All you can ask for is improvement each time. Baby steps equal big steps. I love your family so much. I haven't seen your videos for a while, but you guys are so loving towards Gabe and it makes me wanna cry. I'm very happy. It makes me smile. I work with special needs kids, and I'm glad your family accepts Gabe no matter what. That's how it should be. I would also like to add. Ginger is a beautiful dog, so kind and gentle. What a sweetheart. ❤❤❤❤❤❤

Great try Gabe, very proud of you!🙏❤️😊🐞🦋🐞🦋 From Angola Indiana 🙏❤️

One step at a time

Adaptation of strategy, patience and perseverance. This was huge already.

Awe, beautiful dog. That was a great start🎉. One step at a time , maybe next he will go up to the gate, and so on. God bless all.

A Golden Retriever is a perfect breed for Gabe, because they absolutely love everyone. 😊❤

Love your family! You all are so loving and caring.❤

Wishing Gabe the best. He’s the sweetest. Gabe you are blessed with such a loving caring family as they are blessed with you.

That was amazing Gabe! You are so brave.

❤❤❤❤❤❤GREAT JOB GUYS, GABE DID GREAT, SO PROUD

Perseverance & patients will indeed pay off. WELL DONE ALL, especially YOU GABE 🍀❤️

I think he will overcome it with consistency and support. Gabe is awesome. It might take a long time, but hey, it is worth it to keep trying. He did awesome.

My Brother with Down syndrome Faces His Biggest Fear cat 😻 family 😊 Ged Kine Kaylee safler Universe so it is so awesome how you're helping your son game latest news of animals is so good for your helping them if it's making me emotion when he is doing Michigan in a good way 😢 GLORY

Nick& Family…. Amazing video, as usual. I love the way you love Gabby. No sibling feels more love and warmth and protection then Gabby does with all of you. Gaby is very lucky to have you all as a family. Like you say, baby steps for everything❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Well done Gabe facing your fears AND being careful crossing the road xxx

Gabe, what a great start! It will be a big adventure when you can finally huge a dog. But baby steps. One step at a time. You’ll get there❤

Well done Gabe you did an awesome job

❤So proud of Gabe! Y'all did a great thing. Hoping that in time ,Gabe will overcome his Fear.

Great efforts of all!

Well done, yong man. I'm so proud of you all the way from the uk

Loved seeing tackling of Gabe's fear and especially your whole family plan around it - so sweet and a great example to the rest of us with kids with Down Syndrome when we have a struggle to overcome.

I was petrified of dogs as a kid, you are so encouraging! Thank you

You are one of the most wonderful families I have ever seen. Too bad Ginger didn’t have her collar on. So proud of every one of you🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 We love Gabe very much. We love all of you. 👋🏻

I just love the way you love that kid. ❤❤

That was an amazing effort on Gabe’s part! Well done. Baby steps is right.

Little steps. He was so brave! Great job, Gabe! Love to the family!

Boy does this ever hit home! My 32 year old autistic son, Tad is deathly afraid of animals, primarily dogs due to the fact that he witnessed a neighbor's doberman try to attack me when he was 9. We run a baking business called Tad's Tasty Treats (in Corning, NY) and primarily sell at our outdoor Farmer's Market. He has been working for years on his fear of dogs and it's particularly hard at the market. While he no longer bolts when a dog comes near, he is still very afraid. I just watched this video with Tad and we had a great discussion about how he's not the only one working bravely on his fear! This was so helpful for him to see and to see the way you all celebrated the baby steps like I do with Tad! He said it was cool that Gabe tried hard. Thank you for supporting the disabled community as you share your family walk through Gabe's life! I vibe with you all...

Gabe and Ginger will make great friends someday. What a wonderful start to a beautiful relationship ❤❤❤

Such a special soul

I’m a 68 yr old I’ve been frightened of dogs all my life, until, I started watching dogs on an Australia RU-vid channel for quite ages enjoying the guy training/interacting with his dogs then that community suggested I call a local dog trainer/handler which I did, he was kindness it’s self. I went along to watch him, then eventually I was able to stroke a dog. I’m not saying he cured me, but I’m a lot more comfortable, maybe this will help. Anyway no matter what sending best wishes from this side of the pond 🇬🇧🇬🇧

I was just like Gabe as a kid. Took me a long time to get over my fear. I got a puppy for my husband for a Christmas gift and that helped me with my fear. Small steps will help him. Good luck! I love your videos and family!!

Little small steps can bring results… Your family is so loving and patient with Gabe. I like the one comment that a viewer posted to use a bit of fur for encouragement to get closer to the dog, a real sweetie! The praise that your family gave Gabe for getting close and walking back home was wonderful!!! You have a goal- you’ll get there with time,patience, and lots of love. Thanks for sharing😀😀😀 I love your family!!! Also, maybe Gabe can bring a treat to the dog, another small step???

Golden retrievers are such gentle creatures perfect dog breed to help desensitize his fear of dogs ❤❤

Awwwww Gabe was soooooo strong to even tept seeing Jeger sweet try God Bless 🙌 🙏 you all

Good job gabe!! You got this! Ginger will be your friend b4 long!! Beautiful supportive family!

my parents dog Gracie who lives with us is a golden retriever and I have a syndrome disorder as well; I have always been a dog lover and ginger reminds me so much of my dog who is very excitable but would never hurt a fly! glad to see him attempting to warm up to her!

Gabe you did a good job you made me cry because how a great job u did

Gabe did good. You all did! And the dog was so beautiful and sweet.

Congrats to Gabe and his family for trying to help him conquer his fear. I love and cherish dogs. My hope that one day Gabby will feel the same as I do about them. My love to Ginger.

Oh this broke my heart. I hope you guys can get him over this fear. If you can he will want a puppy and have a friend for life. My brother who was a year older than me and we lost in 2022 had downs and we had to hold him back because he wanted to pet every dog and give them love and kisses. Even though he got bit by a family pet that went rogue on us and we had to put him down, my brother always loved dogs. I hope he gets over the fear. I know for some reason ppl don’t like cats as well but have you tried seeing how he would be with a cat? Make sure their claws are trimmed first lol. Best of luck to you all. We love you all ❤❤❤❤❤

Bless Gabes' Heart, He really tries...

A heck of a try Gabe! Very proud of your effort!❤❤🐾🐾😘

Such a good boy Gabe you're so brave. Yeah! ☺👍🙋🏻‍♀️💜🌻🙏

little by little. i hope and pray he loses the fear. animals like music are so healing. love your family. go gabe you were amazingly brave!

Really proud of you Gabe baby steps one step at a time ❤

My cousin has DS and he is the same exact way with animals. He once jumped in my sisters arms and wrapped his legs around her. A grown man of 52! He almost knocked her over. The fear is real.

New subscriber but watching here and there for awhile. Never saw the intro before. Love it! Love your family . Thank you for sharing

Yes, keep trying. So sweet.

Good job Gabe. I am so proud of you.

Oh God, love him. Good job Gabe.

That’s great Gabe loves animals maybe one day when he feels safe enough to be around them that he will not be afraid if a dog or cat comes close to him enough for him to pet them then he will realize that he will not get hurt and hopefully his fears will go away .

My brother ( with DS too) watched this with me. He also doesn't dogs. Thanks this might be a goal for us after watching your video.

Way to go Gabe! So proud of you!

You guys are awesome. And one loving and beautiful family. Just love your videos. ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

Nick asking us to act natural and we are not there or watching live🤣! Seriously it just shows how important this is and that it is being taken seriously and doing it right. But I’ll admit... I got really still... because that of course is acting natural! Kira for the step-in! Gabe did so well. When mom was petting the dog, you could see his curiosity was peaked and he came those few steps closer by himself. @SafierUniverse #SafierUniverse, I want to thank you for showing this typed if videos in with family shenanigans. All the videos are educational for helping other families who may feel overwhelmed. But you showed Gabe starting to learn new things and it is baby steps and I know you would never have put the video out of it had gone badly because you don’t embarrass him! Love this family! ❤❤❤❤❤

Such a wonderful family!

Great job Gabe❤❤ You will get there in your own time❤❤

Gabe you did an awesome job. It’s not easy thing to do.hug💕💕

Great job, Gabe!!!🐕

That was a good start with Gabe.. ❤❤❤

Hello from Chattanooga Tennessee. I don't know if you will read this but he can go around a puppy dog 🐕.a baby puppy and it will help with his fear. 😊😊😊🎉🎉🎉

What a great job Dave it’s ok I get scared of dogs myself sometimes.

That was an excellent first try Gabe. You got this!

I work with adults with extra needs. Those who are differently abled. I bring my small terrier cross into work with me everyday . ans even those who were terrified three years ago now tolerate her being beside then during a work session.(I run candle making workshop) Almost all will walk her during the lunch break join in grooming and bathing and look for her when they are stressed and need to be calm and quiet for a while. She has become not my dog when I am working but everyones dog. It is beautiful to see when someone over comes the fear. no matter how long it takes.

Ginger's family are obviously comfortable with your family visiting. See what treats Ginger likes and let Gabe teach her some commands. Part of why he is fearful is because the animals are unpredictable. If he can gain some control over Ginger he'll be able to relax around her, at least, because he can direct their interactions.