Ableism at the County Fair
Last week, I received an email from Amber, who has three kids, including Cal*, her son with a rare genetic difference. Amber is also my unbelievably talented and faithful social…
Last week, I received an email from Amber, who has three kids, including Cal*, her son with a rare genetic difference. Amber is also my unbelievably talented and faithful social…
Penny had her first day of work last week. That’s right. Work. Employment. Four hours, three days a week, at a local cafe and bakery. She made brownies and spicy…
Years ago, I wrote a piece for the Huffington Post called “Missing Out on Beautiful.” It was prompted by my realization that it was really hard to capture Penny’s true…
{Keep scrolling for an update to this post.} Our whole family went to see the new Barbie movie on Friday. We loved it. I laughed so hard Penny shushed me.…
I want to tell you about every moment from Hope Heals camp. But even with all my words and stories, and even with Ashley Monogue’s gorgeous photography (montage below), and…
Having a teenager with Down syndrome puts different limits on our family than having a typical teen. She has needs that other teenagers don’t have. For example, Penny isn’t planning…
In typical American life, some people win and others lose. Some people get the award and others get no recognition. Some people are considered better than others. It’s not that…
All kids can learn, but when Penny was born, I was told only that she would have developmental delays and an intellectual disability. What if I had been told instead…
Penny sent me a text on her first night of Camp PALS: “With my favorite girl at my favorite place.” The next day, the text read, “Best year ever.” Penny…
I love stories that remind me of the power of building on strengths rather than focusing on deficits. In disability circles, it’s really easy to pay attention to what our…