Sarah Casey is shattering stereotypes in the business world and beyond

IN a world where barriers often limit opportunities for individuals with disabilities, Sarah Casey, who has Down syndrome, has carved out a name for herself in the business world, and is challenging outdated perceptions along the way.
“We're quick to put limitations on people with a disability and every now and again, we come across somebody who shatters those norms but it doesn't take a lot to shatter those norms. We just need visibility,” explained Sarah's father, Tommy Casey.
“We need to see these people doing things and, again, we don't want them to be the exception. We want them to be an accepted norm.”
Sarah's Delicious Imperfectionz launched over two and a half years ago when Sarah started selling home-baked buns and scones at Castletroy Farmers’ Market. She also swiftly acquired a small truck. Sarah was asked to cater an event in King John's Castle in 2022 and was requested to make popcorn and candy floss which expanded her offering and since then, she's been booked for parties, corporate events and communions.
Down Syndrome Limerick (DSL) have booked her to sell her baked goods at the Three Counties Cycle and the Tour de Munster.
The 21 year old attended the Catherine McAuley School in Limerick city for her secondary school education, but her parents soon faced the “cliff edge” that all parents of children with disabilities must tackle.

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Tommy stated: “To bring people with downs into our world, we have to step into theirs and we have to step in and see what they like, what they love doing, and we have to think hard about how we can craft a future for them doing that.”
Tommy began thinking about what Sarah liked to do to see if they could develop that into something that gave her a sense of significance, raising her self-esteem and also increasing the profile of the ability of people with Down syndrome.
Sarah always enjoyed baking so her parents had a baking instructor visit their home in O'Brien's Bridge to give her some formal baking training.
“We started to produce scones and muffins and then we got her a little van to sell her goods in the Castletroy Farmer's Market,” said Tommy.
Sarah's ice-cream is very popular so she is looking at getting it stocked in some local retail outlets this year. The ice-cream has been microbiologically tested and approved by the HSE.
Tommy said it's important that Sarah enjoys her work, so they don't want to “overwhelm her” with the work.
“Anything that she produces is high quality and people consider her ice-cream the best ice-cream they've ever tasted. We got those comments even today in Eli Lilly”.

World Down Syndrome Day took place on March 21 and Tommy said it's a “pivotal day” for anybody who knows anyone with Down syndrome.
“The focus on World Down Syndrome Day in Ireland is to call on the government to increase the supports for people with Down syndrome.”
To celebrate the international day, Sarah was invited into Eli Lilly along with Dell and Edwards Lifesciences to showcase her business and distribute her baked goods. Sarah, along with her parents help, produced about 300 tubs of ice-cream and baked over 350 muffins in preparation for these events.
Tommy added that this is really important to show the ability of people with Down syndrome and to maximize the awareness amongst people that it's a different world now for people with the disability. “We didn't want Sarah's goods to be purchased because of her condition, they had to stand on their own two feet so that's always been our aim”.
Speaking about the public's perception of people with Down syndrome and their level of ability, Sarah's mother Annette said people presume that Sarah is helping her parents rather than being a fully fledged small business owner herself. “I would always sort of pull them up and say, actually, this is Sarah's business.”
She added that people almost step back when they hear this because the perception amongst the majority of people is that people with Down syndrome aren't able to do things.
Annette describes assisting Sarah as “more of an adventure”.
“You just don't know what's coming along, but you have to embrace it and get out there”.
Sarah enjoys meeting new people but can be shy at times but running her own business has helped her to come out of her self and to become more confident dealing with the public.
“We wouldn't have known two and a half years ago that we would be where we are now with her so it's all a journey,” said Tommy.
Sarah's mother praised the support of DSL saying their help has been so beneficial.
“It's just a wonderful association to help us all along the way and for us in turn to maybe help parents who are a little further behind. All we really want to aspire to is to give guidance and hope that your son or your daughter can achieve”.
Sarah presently attends DSL three days a week for a personal development course and Latch-On, a two-year numeracy and literacy course.
“It's trying to tailor courses that are most suited to our young people and how they learn and there's great research and assistance going on,” added Annette.
The organisation has provided Sarah with valuable speech and language therapy support.
“Since Sarah was born, we have linked in with them, and I've just found them so helpful and just my go to place,” said Annette.
Tommy added that DSL are continually expanding their services to create courses that are customised to suit an individual's needs.

Tommy and Annette are currently in the process of employing a PA for Sarah to help her with her business. They hope for her to be able to scale up the business at her own pace and to eventually employ some of her friends.