RECENT POSTS
The Problem with Calling Kamala Harris “Mentally Disabled”
Former president Donald Trump recently insulted President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris by calling them “mentally impaired” and then “mentally disabled.” (more from CNN
Down Syndrome Awareness Month 2024
Today is the beginning of Down Syndrome Awareness Month. In a world of distraction, I’m thinking about what happens when we pay attention to the
S8 E2 | What’s Normal? The Anthropology of Disability with Tom Pearson, PhD
Apple YouTube Spotify More! What does it mean to be human? Who counts as a human being and why? Anthropologist Tom Pearson has been asking
Questions Every College Freshman Should Ask | Penny in Her Own Words
Questions from Penny that every college freshman needs to ask: ✏️Are there any students who know the campus, and is their role a mentor? ✏️Are
September Favorites {2024}
Favorites from September 2024: Cultures of Growth by Mary C. Murphy. For anyone interested in how the idea of “fixed” and “growth” mindsets affect communities
Saying Goodbye to Our Church
Before I write anything else, I do want to thank those of you who have decided, voluntarily, to support the work I do through a
Penny’s First Year of College Three Weeks In
After three weeks of college, here’s how Penny thinks it’s going (scroll down for her video)! How was your first week of college?!? The first
S8 E1 | Narrow Path, Spacious Life with Rich Villodas
Apple YouTube Spotify More! The ways we have envisioned success—whether it’s more wealth, social media followers, recognition, or power—might actually lead us away from an
Changing the Social Imagination (one photo at a time)
The images that I saw of people with Down syndrome when our daughter Penny was born 18 years ago were largely black and white, grainy,
2 Good Books, an Essay, and an Introduction to Season 8
I love taking a break from all sorts of things in the summer, and I also love returning to the rhythms of the fall. I’m
Introducing Season 8 of Reimagining the Good Life
Apple YouTube Spotify More! How do we envision the good life in a way that is hopeful and human and freeing and good? My name
Our Story: Down Syndrome, Identity, and Love
I was scared when I found out our oldest daughter, Penny, had Down syndrome. My husband Peter and I were 28 years old, and we
A New Way of Seeing Our Humanity
My first traditionally-published book, A Good and Perfect Gift, tells the story of our daughter Penny’s early years after her diagnosis of Down syndrome. Even more
Penny Is Off to College!
Penny is off to college! She started her first year at Post University. I recorded a video with some of her thoughts over on Instagram.
We Are Beloved: The Mindset Shift That Transformed Our Family
I remember being at a retreat where there were a lot of children present who were around the same age as Penny, our daughter who
Gus Walz and the Significance of Belonging
Tim Walz took center stage at the Democratic National Convention and so did his son Gus, who has a nonverbal learning disorder as well as
5 Things I Love Right Now {August 2024}
Here in Connecticut, it is still summer. I know there are parts of the country where kids have been back in school for weeks, but
I Want to Celebrate Aging
I want to celebrate aging. I’m 47 years old, and I want to embrace the signs of age—freedom to be in this face and this
My Daughter Does Not Exist to Teach Me a Lesson
Many people, when Penny was first born, talked to me about why it would be good for me to have a child with Down syndrome.
Universal Design Matters to All of Us
The cool thing about universal design is that you don’t even notice it. I’ve been attending Hope Heals Camp at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, Alabama for four summers now.1 I’ve
Supporting Penny’s Goals
I used to be afraid to set goals for our daughter Penny, who has Down syndrome. It felt like if we didn’t meet those goals,
