It’s a Jungle out there| Inclusion in the Grocery Store

photo credit: Swamibu 2006 Aaron, my son with the labels of autism and developmental disabilities, had a doctor’s appointment so I brought him late to his adult day program. A Visit to the Jungle—Jungle Jim’s that is. Thanks to cell phones, I connected with his group...

Language of the Heart| Heartaches and Heartsongs

photo credit: qthomasbower In the post: Caring Community| People First Language we talked about the power of labels, negative stereotypes and the paradigm shift of looking at all people as PEOPLE First! Today, on Valentine’s Day, I am asking you to think about...

Supportive Living: What an inclusive day looks like.

A Good Day! As the number of adults with autism and developmental disabilities rise, many professionals and parents ask me what I am looking for? Will I ever be satisfied? Is it just a pipedream or can we really build an inclusive community around a person with severe...

Dream Plan for Aaron: 1998 (Part 3)

In Part 1 (1981) Aaron was 6 years old and we outlined a vision of what a happy, successful quality of life would look like for Aaron as an adult. (click here). In Part 2, Aaron was 14 years old and we were moving forward with the plan(click here) In Part 3, Aaron is...

Aaron’s Olympic Moment

Is summer different for kids with and without disabilities? As parents of children with disabilities, it is difficult to know “What is realistic?” “What goals do I want?”. I have always found it helpful to measure “normalization” by...