True Social Justice & Racial Equity Is Hard Work
My mom and society have taught me that it is rude to offer advice when no one asks for it. But Black folks aren’t talking about disabilities with each other, and that silence is negatively affecting our children. And, while many of us in the Black community are too ashamed and afraid […]
As a parent of a child with special needs, I pay a lot of money to provide the services that she needs to be successful in school. A lot. A lot of money, and energy, and time, and lawyers, and researching, and fighting schools, and feeling like I don’t know […]
Nationwide, health coverage for autism-related services is seriously lacking. In my home state of Illinois, advocates are pushing newly elected Governor Pritzker to expand Medicaid coverage for early intervention therapies for children with autism. Research shows that early intervention can make a remarkable difference in children’s academic outcomes. This was also the case in […]
The question must be asked: What do we have to do to get school districts to follow the law and give students who are disabled the services they are legally entitled to receive? I’ll give you an example. Chicago Public Schools was illegally limiting access to special education services in an […]
The new rule, Republican lawmakers in states like Indiana, Alabama, and Georgia don’t get to say, “Happy Mother’s Day.” These MF’ers are creating laws that hurt, and possibly kill, mothers. So to all the legislators who voted for these new laws, FUUUUUUCCCCCKKKK YOOOOOUUUUUUU! These assholes are seriously pretending to care […]
When I realized my younger daughter was disabled, my belief in what was possible for her life changed. As her parent, I had to focus on her needs and didn’t have time to focus on her wants. In my head, her wants came second to meeting her needs, and that […]
November 6, 2018, is the day my daughter was officially diagnosed with autism. That’s the day my world collapsed. For the first hour of her three-hour IEP meeting, I was doing OK. We were reviewing her old goals and some of the new testing that the school had been doing […]
MY FIRST GUEST COLUMNIST! OMG, I am so excited to share this piece written by my dear friend, fellow disability advocate, proud Harry Potter loving friend, Megan! Seriously, I love this girl and am so honored that she shared her story and advise with me on my new blog! Please […]
The most difficult part of this whole, “admitting I am disabled” journey, has been, well, admitting I am disabled. And, since I don’t “look disabled” usually I can pretend. I just hang out at home, or church, or at my “office” the wonderful LIVE cafe, and mostly in my bed, […]
Dear Fellow Parent Warriors, While every parent has strong feelings as a new school year approaches—excitement, nerves, even a little worry—our special tribe of parents with children who have IEPs (Individualized Education Plan) or 504 plans feel all those feelings plus some. Our worries are much more complex than just […]