In the Room Where Decisions Are Made
I will never forget the day that our daughter Penny said to me, “It doesn’t only matter what you think.” We were shopping for a dress, and I was being…
COGNOSCENTI | The Trump administration’s rhetoric about disability diminishes us all
Grateful to write today for Cognoscenti/WBUR, Boston’s NPR station (read the full essay here): "The language we use and the stories we tell shape our behavior, writes Amy Julia Becker.…
Spread the Word to End the Word
To my knowledge, no one has ever called our daughter Penny by the most common slur used to demean people with intellectual disabilities, the r-word. I’m glad she hasn’t been…
Photo by Bryan Johnson
Connect to Community | It Makes All the Difference!
Peter and I have often received praise for our parenting when people meet Penny, our daughter who has Down syndrome. That’s all very nice, but it’s clear to me that…
Belonging Begins With an Invitation
One of the most heartbreaking aspects of being a mother is watching our kids get excluded. I’ve seen it at times for all three of them, but exclusion happens most…
Goal Setting: From A to B to Z
I used to hate setting goals for Penny. It felt like I was measuring her worth based on how quickly she achieved them. Now I see goal setting—for her and…
Why Rachel Handlin’s Art Exhibit Prompted Me to Change My Prepositions
Happy New Year! We’ve taken down our tree and put away the gnomes and nutcrackers. The kids are back at school. We reviewed the highlights of the past year as…
Baking at Her Own Pace
Penny wants to work on cooking and baking skills this year. Usually, we are rushing around, so it is hard to let her work at her own pace. But over…
Patiently, Beautifully Wrapping Presents
Gift wrapping has never been an easy task for Penny. Typically, she’s been relegated to the background of the wrapping extravaganza in our household—handing over supplies to her siblings or…
Dancing Again | Nutcracker 2024
(Keep scrolling for video!) | Our daughter Penny danced for twelve years at Fineline Theatre Arts, which included many years of performing scenes from the Nutcracker. We moved this year,…
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