Building Community | People First Language

People First Controversy Background: There is controversy in the disability community about the use of People First or Person First language. I’ve written several posts about People First language: *Rosa’s Law, *Stigma and segregation caused by labels like...

Jolly ole St. Nick| Disability Parody

— Jolly Ole St. Nicholas| Christmas List Disability Style (Parody on popular Christmas carol) In our family, December 6 is the night you leave your Christmas wish list in your shoes or stockings. The German tradition says St. Nicholas comes when you are asleep,...

Building Community: one grocery trip at a time

photo credit: crimsong19 Building Community: One Grocery Trip at a Time With Aaron, my son with the label of autism, every trip to the grocery is an adventure. Before we go, I usually do an ecological assessment (click here) and use some of the skills Aaron learned in...

The Power of ONE

photo credit: horizontal.integration Today is Jan. 1 Could this be the year of the Power of One? We can celebrate with fireworks, silly hats, black-eyed peas and sauerkraut. We can dress in yellow (for prosperity) or white (for peace) while throwing pomegranate seeds...

The Race Toward Inclusion| Do you see it?

photo credit: Sister72 The Race Toward Inclusion| Do you see it? I love this picture. It reminds me of many of my favorite quotes: “The real voyage of discovery is not in seeking new lands, but in seeing with new eyes.” Proust “No one’s blinder, than s/he who will not...

Test Questions| Segregation or Inclusion?

Test Questions | Segregation or Inclusion? Friends and family members send me newspaper stories about people with disabilities. Some stories make me shout with joy and others make me want to cry and give up. Often my friends can’t figure out which ones are which. For...