Thankful for so many things, but my children are way at the top of the list. They've come a long way and I'm looking forward to watching them grow and celebrate their successes. I am also thankful for the love and support from family and friends as we've navigated this journey on the spectrum.
Happy Thanksgiving ♡♡♡
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.
I remember when I first ventured into special education after 5 years of teaching language arts/reading. I was apprehensive even then about the amount of paperwork required for the job. Despite my misgivings, I moved ahead because I knew there was a need for highly qualified teachers in the field.
Once involved, I was able to organize my time well enough to the point where I could balance my role in the classroom with my paperwork requirements. Several years later, when my oldest son had his own individualized education plan ( IEP ), I developed an even greater respect for the special ed process.
Fast forward four years later, and I am in a completely different place as far as my mindset. The amount of paperwork has seemingly doubled and 24 hours in a day doesn't seem to be sufficient for me to meet the demands of my job. As much as I value the need for special education, I am becoming a statistic...one of the hundreds of special education teachers with one foot out the door and the other one slipping...
Mila Li is a little girl on the spectrum navigating her emotions as she reacts to situations that she encounters throughout her day.
Check it out at https:// www.mystorybook.com/books/92311
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.
My Sister Uri Loves to Dance is a story told from the perspective of a sibling who's sister has her "own special way. " Instead of focusing on what Uri can't do, the story focuses on what she CAN do.
Link: https://mystorybook.com/books/89633/
Social stories for are important resources to use for children who may experience expressive and/or receptive language difficulties...particularly children with autism. The language in social stories is generally kept simple and the visuals provide support for what is being communicated. Social stories can be used at school or home to engage children in communication.
While this is my first attempt at writing a children's book, I hope it isn't my last! My goal was to create a story for my own children in hopes of creating a better understanding for them about differences that make us unique. I look forward to creating more stories to share with others in hopes of raising awareness about disabilities, differences and other individuality in our society.
https://www.mystorybook.com/books/88670/
I normally devote most of my blogging to disability awareness but after seeing the video from Chicago, I realized how much awareness needs to be raised about the realities of modern education.
Admittedly I did not want to watch this video initially but when I did, it brought out so many emotions. My thoughts were: I hope that this is some sort of parody. But I knew it wasn't. Sad that this is what the classroom has become in modern contexts. What's even sadder is that this isn't an isolated incident.
After 11 years of teaching experience, I still can't say that I have seen it all because there's something new every single day.
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
