Our House of Cards| Disability Style (Part 1)

Living in a House of Cards| Non-Profits, HUD, Medicaid Waivers (Part 1) My friend Debbie Wetzel always said the human service system was a house of cards. As parents of people with severe disabilities, we need many agencies, many people working together to get basic...

Special Education Inclusion: Blog Radio Interview Plus…

Special Education Inclusion Dr. Annie Abram interviewed me about Special Education Inclusion on her weekly blog talk radio program: “Ask Dr. Annie Abram.” Dr. Abram talks about “Parenting Across Generations” and has been doing several topics on autism. Check it out....

The Values of Inclusion| from Down-Under

The Values of Inclusion: Valuable across the World Jack Pearpoint is a true visionary. He shares his vision with others. I recommend subscribing to his Inclusion Network YouTube Videos (link below the video). At the Down-Under Inclusion Institute, Jack showcases...

The Right to Communicate| We are the (new) Experts

photo credit: HikingArtist.com The Right to Communicate| We are the (new) Experts In the early 90s, Rosemary Crossley, Annie McDonald, Doug Biklen and others shocked the world with new ideas about people with the labels of severe disabilities and autism being able to...

Dream Plan for Aaron: 1981 (Part 1)

Build a dream and the dream will build you. R. Schuller. What is Normalization? In 1981 when Aaron was 6 years old, my friend Debbie Wetzel and I drove to Louisville, KY to hear Wolf Wolfensberger give a presentation on “Normalization” or “Social...

Ed Roberts’ Day| “Be Extraordinary”

In my class, “Introduction to Exceptionalities,” we read an article by Paul Longmore about the social construction of disabilities. The point being that the traditional “medical paradigm” points the disability finger at the person– they...