RECENT POSTS
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The Disability Community Needs Grandparents Like These
I spoke with the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress Grandparents support group this week by Zoom, and what struck me most was that they all just
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When Gratitude Interrupts
Last week, everything fell apart. Marilee got Covid, which came with a fever approaching 105. The car broke down and needed to be taken in
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S7 E8 | The Gifts of an Evolving Faith with Sarah Bessey
Apple YouTube Spotify More! Is faith something that should always stay the same? Or is it something that evolves by necessity? Sarah Bessey, author of
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Being Heumann
Can you imagine being denied the chance to even apply for a job? A job that you’re qualified for and that you’ve studied for and
![a large piece of white paper is on a wooden floor with the following written in large, all caps letters: “Disability and suffering are not the same."](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ajb-disability-and-suffering-are-not-the-same-1024x402.png)
Disability and Suffering Are Not the Same
Disability and suffering are not the same. I was so disappointed to read John McWhorter’s misunderstanding of disability in the NYT. He wrote: “To say
![Amy Julia stands outside and holds a young Penny as they grin at each other.](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ajb-enabling-independence-in-kids-with-disabilities-1024x402.png)
Helping Kids With Disabilities Move Toward Independence
For the moms who feel like they aren’t doing enough to help their kids (with disabilities) move toward independence, here are a few things I’ve
![the book cover of Touching Spirit Bear](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ajb-january-favorites-24-1024x402.png)
January Favorites 2024
Get my favorites delivered to your inbox each month! Subscribe here! Right now, my desk (and floor and bedside table) are overflowing with books. I order
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Black History Month
As we enter Black History Month tomorrow, I want to highlight some of the Black voices who have helped me expand my understanding of Black
![Penny, a young white woman with Down syndrome, stands with her back partially to the camera. She is in front of rows of nail polish and is looking down at a bottle of blue polish that she holds in her hands.](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ajb-disability-self-care-skill-nail-clipping-1024x402.png)
Disability and Self-Care Skills: Nail Clipping
“I have never known a person with Down syndrome who could cut their own fingernails.” I heard these words, and my stomach fell a little
![photo of Amy Julia and young Penny from 2014. They are sitting on a wooden bench and are wearing winter coats as they smile at the camera](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ajb-video-teaching-series-reimagining-family-life-with-disability-1024x402.png)
I’m Working on a Video Teaching Series About Disability and Family
Sometimes the future comes at us like an assault. A tornado of unanswerable questions that suggest chaos is about to ensue. That’s what it felt
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The Holdovers Is All About Grace
Okay, The Holdovers was just nominated for Best Picture by the Oscars. I want to submit that it is a deeply Christian film about disruptive
![Marilee and Amy Julia smile at the camera. They are wearing winter coats and matching white stocking hats and are standing in front of a river.](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ajb-its-always-too-much-1024x402.png)
It’s Always Too Much | Four Thousand Weeks
So I’m in a really overwhelming time right now. We are in the midst of a long and drawn-out move. I’m staying in a rental
![Amy Julia, a white woman wearing a dark blue dress, holds a white mug with the NBC logo. She is smiling at the camera with the NBC studio in the background.](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ajb-nbc-news-play-dates-and-disbility-1024x402.png)
Playdates and Disability
When I had a chance to talk with NBC News about parenting kids with disabilities, I was asked about playdates. Here, in a nutshell, is
![photo of Penny, a young adult with Down syndrome, sitting at a table with her dad. They are looking down at paperwork on the table.](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ajb-turning-18-guardianship-down-syndrome-1024x402.png)
Turning 18 and Guardianship Decisions
It’s a big deal to turn 18. For every teenager, that birthday marks a transition to adulthood. For kids with disabilities, it carries even more
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Idolatry of Intellect
I didn’t realize I’d gone into the hospital with a set of expectations, but I had. I very much had a set of expectations about
![screenshot of the movie cover of All the Light We Cannot See of a teenager in front of a radio receiver](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ajb-disability-in-all-the-light-we-cannot-see-1024x402.png)
Disability in “All the Light We Cannot See” Netflix Series
Have you watched the Netflix series All The Light We Cannot See? It is an awesome, subversive message about disability and, ultimately, about humanity. The
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Here’s the question: What am I doing?
“Just do it.” “You deserve a break today.” “Think different.” I’ve been working with a consultant for the past few months in my own attempt
![selfie of Amy Julia and Penny with their heads together](https://amyjuliabecker.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ajb-Bureaucracy-and-Disability-1024x402.png)
Bureaucracy and Disability
One of the things they tell you when you’re a parent of a child with disabilities is that the bureaucracy is going to be awful.