Whether it be a small change in your own home or school to lobbying for Federal legislation, I’ll give you the information, support, stories, and inspiration you need to make the world a better place for our kids.
Some examples:
Mental Age I guess it’s a coping mechanism. Or a way of trying to parent and better understand our kids. But it’s also an antiquated practice that needs to go. I’m talking about assigning a mental age to our kids. In particular, this happens with students who are intellectually disabled or autistic, or both. You…
One Mom’s Perspective of the IEP Process. I have always made clear that my interest is in my child, his well-being, and his functioning on grade-level – nothing more and nothing less. My goal has always been to advocate for my child so that he could have available to him a free appropriate public education…
I decided today, I am done living life with a disclaimer. Here’s the thing. I’m tired of society making me justify my son’s existence. And I’m tired of constantly adding disclaimers to my conversations. Always adding a disclaimer. Here are some real-life conversations I have encountered within the past few weeks: Conversation 1: Me, complaining about…
The Extraordinary Burden of IEPs on Moms “Is it getting worse?” I sighed. Then nodded. “It is.” I was at lunch with a local administrator. We were brainstorming some ideas to make the overall climate of special education must less tense. Improve relations. Try to work together. I wonder if we can. Here we are,…
Ableism and Ableist Autism Moms I am just steamed this morning. Nothing like waking up to see 250k special needs moms being ableist and wallowing in ableism. Have you seen it? First, it started with a viral post about “The Last Time.” About how when you have a kid, you’re just cruising through life, raising…
Autism and Age-Appropriate Interests “Who gets to decide what is an age-appropriate interest for a disabled or autistic child?” This is an issue that has been on my mind a lot lately. My son will be 9 this summer, and as I’ve posted many times, he just loves all things Sesame Street. I’m starting to…
Talking about Race with Kids This past summer, I hosted a series of chats about Race. It’s an issue that is important to me and this post is long overdue. That chat series wasn’t without controversy, but I am committed to using my platform for positive change. With that, I had promised that we would…
On November 29, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed IDEA 1975 into law. Prior to IDEA 1975 taking effect, only 20% of children with disabilities were in the public school system. Most of the others were either institutionalized or being kept at home in a custodial care situation–parents taking care of them but they were not…
PA Lt. Governor John Fetterman for US Senate Today PA Lt. Governor began officially ‘exploring’ the idea of running for Senate in 2022. He ran in 2016, but lost in the primary to Katie McGinty. Much has changed since then–he’s now our Lt Governor. Back in 2015, when I interviewed him, he was Mayor of…