Have you considered having your child with disabilities fully included in a typical classroom (with their supports and services)? A Tale of Two Parents This month I met two mothers within minutes of each other that shared different experiences. As an author and presenter I meet many parents working to raise children with disabilities. Usually [...]
One of my all-time favorite TED talks is Approaching Autism Theatrically in which the totally brilliant Stephen Volan discusses how his experiences in an improv theatre troop helped him to learn the social language of neurotypicals. While Volan discuss the productive uncertainty of improv, theater (as a more general framework) has all the necessary components to [...]
Three times in the past two weeks I’ve been asked, “How do you remain so strong? How do you cope day-to-day?” The Process of Grieving That’s a big question for many parents of children with disabilities or medical needs. The famous “five stages of grief” aren’t necessarily predictable when a parent is dealing with a [...]
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Caroline McGraw at A Wish Come Clear This year, I made a resolution to make this year the year of wishful thinking I’m determined to be upfront about the things I hope for, as straightforward as my brother Willie when it comes to expressing what I truly [...]
Friendship is one of those intangible words we throw around a lot. But what is a true friend anyway? Just recently, I witnessed a great discovery in the classroom I work in. The sixth graders were asked to write a poem about friendship. I work part-time as an aide to my nephew Leo, who has [...]
I know this is a sensitive issue for many parents, because I personally got caught in the crossfire surrounding it when my daughter was born almost thirteen years ago. Our daughter’s diagnosis of Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21) was unexpected and the only thing I knew to do was reach out to my friend who was [...]
The month of February is the month of love. Here is a beautiful love story. A couple fell in love, got married, and was blessed with three beautiful children. Their first child was born with special needs. They cried and prayed together inside hospitals surrounded by the new people they were meeting. They worked to have [...]
Fundraisers have long supported budget shortfalls for not-for-profits. These popular events rode along side a wave of economic prosperity when it seemed people – of every socioeconomic class – were happy to write checks to help out a good cause. Suddenly, the silent auction was everywhere, and we were enjoying parties and fellowship with likeminded [...]
Don’t Worry! Let me assure you that life will get easier. When my daughter was young, I was sure that life as I once knew it was over. Kids will be Kids Going to the grocery store with two toddlers seemed impossible. One of my children could not walk and the other child was running [...]
For about a week I have been asked to submit a post for the Friendship Circle Blog. Where is it? Maybe this will help It’s the week before Thanksgiving and we are in the middle of parent-teacher conferences. So where is my blog post? The dog ate it. Not really, but sometimes as the parent [...]
