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…
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,…
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…
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.”…
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…
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…
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