The book “One” by Kathryn Otoshi reminds readers that everybody counts, and is a great tool for facilitating conversations with kids about inclusion, acceptance & courage. The story highlights the message that when one person is brave and confident enough to stand up to a bully, their actions can give others the courage to stand up along […]
Posts in the Perspective category:
How “Jessica’s Box” by Peter Carnavas helps readers connect with the character and see past her wheelchair
The book “Jessica’s Box” by Peter Carnavas is my favorite type of inclusive book because it shows a child with a disability experiencing the same feelings and concerns that all children have, without making the disability a central aspect of the story. By not making the story about Jessica being in a wheelchair, it helps all children connect with […]
Why you should read “Can I Play Too?” by Mo Willems to promote inclusion & acceptance
The book “Can I Play Too?” by Mo Willems promotes acceptance of people different from ourselves, demonstrates creative problem solving, and helps kids see the importance of resilient perseverance. It’s a great book for talking to kids about disability and inclusive play, especially when a peer uses equipment such as a wheelchair, walker, or crutches, has […]
Visiting “the big robot” as a 5 year old
Today was Lily’s yearly MRI, and it seems fitting that my “Big Medical Tests – When Kids Have to Be Brave Beyond Their Years” post from last year popped up in my memories on Facebook. This year, her brave pillow looks much more worn, and her face looked super nervous as we entered the hospital for the […]
Fear was holding me back from giving my kids an awesome summer
When Lily was first born, one of the things I struggled with the most was approaching a child care center and asking if she could attend. I wrote a post about it here, and what this experience taught me about bravely asking bold questions. These last few months I’ve been struggling with something very similar. […]
Deep thoughts about dancing…
This Mother’s Day weekend, I kept finding my mind flittering back to our 20 week ultrasound with Lily, and the time before she was born. The ultrasound tech mentioned Lily’s long legs and pointed toes, and my husband made a comment like, “maybe she will be a ballerina!” I remember seeing a look flutter across […]
Crutches & kindness
We met a pretty fantastic milestone last month. In some ways it seems little because we’ve slowly been progressing this direction for a year and a half. But it’s big because… well… we’ve been working towards it for a year and a half!! Are you ready?!? Drum roll please… Lily is using her crutches ALL MORNING […]
Big Medical Tests: When kids have to be brave beyond their years
In early November, time came for Lily’s yearly spine and brain MRI. This test starts to stress me out months before it happens. It’s an hour and a half long (so so so long for a little kid), and each time we hope for the best (all is stable), while knowing that one of these […]
Approaching Disability: In many ways, we are the same
One of my passion areas is educating people on what disability looks like “behind the scary curtain.” Disability is a topic people have a natural tendency to avoid, but this natural tendency has unintended consequences like separating people with disability from the rest of society. This is partly why I blog, why I share so […]
10 Lessons I learned when my daughter didn’t meet the goals we set in therapy
Ever have one of those days when things become unexpectedly clear? This summer I felt perpetually uneasy. It’s hard to explain, but I’ve been second guessing myself, worrying more than normal… just simply out of sorts. I want to do what is right for my family, what is right for Lily’s development, what is right for my career, […]
3 Signs You Might be an Ability Hacker
Sometimes when I tell people the name of my blog, they look at me sideways with a slightly puzzled expression. Eventually, the question comes: “What exactly is an Ability Hacker?” I decided it’s high time for me to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys as the case may be) to put together a formal definition. […]
A Summer of (too many) big ideas
I often find myself wondering how much I should push Lily with extra therapies, new skills, and new equipment versus how much I should step back and let her simply enjoy being a kid. I want to help her grow stronger and gain more independence, but not in a way that makes her everyday life […]
What does a peanut have to do with special needs parenting?
When tackling a herculean task, the people I work with will sometimes say “we just need to push the peanut forward.” I know, it’s a strange phrase, but I love the concept. What the saying means is that when a challenge is overwhelmingly large, and it feels like ultimate success may not ever be achieved, we should focus […]
6 Tips for Having a Sensory Friendly 4th of July
My daughter tends to be sensitive to loud noises, so I was looking for tips on how to help her handle some of the more ear-piercing 4th of July festivities. I came across this great article that outlines 6 tips for having a sensory friendly 4th of July. The author covers tips for preparing your child […]
3 Lessons I learned about bravely asking bold questions
One of the tasks I found the most difficult when I was pregnant with my daughter was calling a daycare center to inquire about her attending. I simply could NOT make myself pick up the phone and dial. I delayed… and delayed… and delayed. At that time, it felt like the many pieces of me were […]
When has a story changed you?
Disability is a subject on which it is difficult to get people to engage. No one dreams of or hopes for disability to affect their life, so it’s logical that when the subject comes up people have the tendency to shy away or change the subject. It’s simply an uncomfortable topic when you aren’t neck deep in […]
ReelAbilities Cincy: “If you shovel the ramp, we can ALL get in!”
On Tuesday, I attended the LivABLE Luncheon as part of the Cincinnati ReelAbilities Film Festival. This session featured a short film called The Commute about a man’s attempt to travel across New York City in his wheelchair. The film was followed by a group discussion about solving the everyday challenges facing people with disabilities as […]
ReelAbilities Cincy: FIXED lit my brain & heart on fire
This afternoon I helped host the film FIXED: The Science/Fiction of Human Enhancement at the Cincinnati Museum Center as part of the ReelAbilities Film Festival. The film questions commonly held beliefs about disability and normalcy by exploring technologies that promise to change our bodies and minds forever. The story is told primarily through the perspectives of […]
Challenge: Get Connected. Feel Empowered.
I am going to tell you a story about an important lesson I learned, and how that lesson helps me today. Story: As a single young adult, I had a very hard time finding a church that made me feel at home. No church compared to the one I attended as a child. When I walked […]
Tripped up by good intentions and imperfect visions
Being a parent to a child with a disability can be a very humbling experience. Last year about this time, one of my biggest worries was getting Lily set up in a “big girl” bedroom before our new baby arrived in April. We hit road block after road block getting this seemingly simple task accomplished. My […]