All Kids Can Learn
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…
Camp PALS and Belonging
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…
What Breaking a Record Has To Do With Responsive Parenting
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…
Down Syndrome Is Not Like a Car Crash
I hear the comparison all the time. When people want to explain that the unexpected can happen to any of us, and to any of our children, at any time,…
How a Dance Performance Gave Me a Glimpse of a World Made Right
She wanted it to be a surprise. So when we showed up to watch Penny on stage for her annual Spring Dance Fest, we were expecting the usual. Penny would…
Screen shot of the Atlantic essay graphic
What Does It Mean to Say “Life Is a Gift”?
When I was lying in the hospital bed a few hours after Penny was born and diagnosed with Down syndrome, a nurse told me, “I had a special child too.”…
Seats That Money Can’t Buy at the Taylor Swift Concert
We ended up in seats that money can’t buy at the Taylor Swift concert last Saturday night. It started in March when we received two tickets at reasonable prices through…
Our Daughter Doesn’t “Just Happen” to Have Down Syndrome
I used to describe Penny as a girl with light brown hair and big green eyes, who loved reading and dancing. And then I would write something along the lines…
The Significance of Our Social Worlds
I’m taking a class right now where I’m learning all sorts of things about transitioning from high school to college or the workforce and beyond. Recently, our instructor mentioned that…
Inclusion vs the Real World
I’ve had to learn not to sacrifice our daughter on the altar of my ideology. When Penny was a toddler, I read an article about a teenager with Down syndrome…
- Go to the previous page
- 1
- …
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- …
- 32
- Go to the next page
