Ida Johansson: Living Her Dream from the Royal Palace to New York

Ida Johansson's confidence is unmatched in Sweden. We need more like her—those who sparkle and shine.

Born with Down syndrome, Ida Johansson might have once been institutionalized, like the 4-year-old she recalls, who cried in vain for his mother. This memory prompts her to call her father in a poignant conversation. The question arises: Could her parents have given her up?

"Never," her father says.

Ida and her parents were fortunate; she was born in the gap between the harsh days of orphanages and the cold scientific advancements that now mean children who aren't like others are rarely born.

"I am endangered," she says.

But also:

"I am not a statistic. I am a sibling, child, friend, colleague, I am love—I am Ida Johansson."

If you are Ida Johansson, you lunch at the royal palace, walk the runway in New York, and captivate audiences on stage and screen. You have a wonderful group home, a meaningful job, a packed social life, and people to love.

What she shares in Sommar i P1 is not just "a dignified life." Thankfully, it is a wonderful life that surpasses most.