Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Check Out My Interview Segment w/ Yaya the Diamond
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Animated Lesson Plan on Disability
This year has been incredibly amazing and BUSY!!! One of the projects I have worked on is a disability lesson plan based on characters created by Fairmore & Friends and animated by @UMBC. The lesson is great for elementary and middle school students, as it teaches them the importance of understanding and accepting differences. Perfect as a resource for teaching character education in school or personal conversations with the kiddos at home. Contact @TheOddballz on Twitter or download the Fairmore & Friends app from the Google Play Store to get a copy of the visual lesson plan!
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Dr. Marquis C. Grant Twitter
Tomi Tells
I have truly enjoyed being able to start writing creatively again. My skills are a little rusty but I am determined to use whatever means available to continue to bring disability awareness into the mainstream.
Children with disabilities are not much different than their peers; they have the same feelings, needs and thoughts as anyone else. In fact, I often say it's becoming harder to tell the kids with disabilities from those without disabilities.
My goal as a mom, educator, advocate, writer and speaker is to create a new perspective of our children--one that is different from the one created by the media. I am doing it not only for my children, but all children who happily live their lives with and without a label attached.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Alex Bean, Boy Wonder
Alex Bean is a little boy who does not let his disability stand in the way of his work as a superhero. Like my previous characters, I created Alex as a way of raising awareness about disabilities and supporting acceptance of individuals who are different, not less.
Check out Alex and his world of super-heroism @ https:// www.mystorybook.com/books/90972.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Reblog: Inclusion to Normalcy
Check out the opinion piece below...I might add that we need to re-evaluate our use of the word normal in any form or fashion. We base normal on a standard of perfection that none of us can ever truly achieve.
http://www.jta.org/2015/10/30/news-opinion/opinion/op-ed-for-kids-with-disabilities-time-to-move-from-inclusion-to-normalcy
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Are Labels Really Necessary?
I realize that there is a difference between saying my children are autistic as opposed to saying my children have autism. The first statement defines the child...kind of like race or gender. The second statement describes an aspect of the child...similar to eye or hair color. The question then becomes: are labels necessary? Why do we have labels anyway? Is it an honest-to-goodness effort to bring awareness to disabilities or is it simply another way to separate us into categories based on a norm? What are your thoughts?
Friday, October 23, 2015
Halloween Safety Tips for Children with Special Needs
Monday, October 12, 2015
IEP Roadmap: What You Should Know
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Disability Awareness
Disability rights are often not automatic. Advocating for equal access is necessary if each one of us in society is to benefit from the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness penned in our Constitution.
