Journalist – Historian – Speaker
Yesterday I wrote about ending the abuses of sheltered workshops and received push-back from a reader and online-friend. Her son is finding his pathway into employment through a Goodwill sheltered workshop. I really appreciate her voice. I want to see change, but would hate for that change to limit options for her son or for …
My son rides the regular school bus, a step that we decided on this year. The system has been supportive. Nico’s aide meets us at the bus stop and facilitates the ride. On the rare days when he takes the bus home, she’s there (she has to take the bus anyway to get back to …
As promised on Friday, here’s a video of Nico’s fall performance that illustrates my principle of “inclusion, not same-ness.” Inclusion is complicated. We demand reasonable accommodations, and we sometimes get them without litigating “reasonable,” but inclusion requires thoughtful, intentional, good-will from all parties. Sometimes inclusion means bringing someone into a group and enabling them to …
Not what my family looks like A few weeks ago I offered my philosophy on inclusion, illustrated with a picture of Nico dancing in the middle of a circle of musicians. I called it “inclusion, not same-ness.” Sometimes, inclusion means people with disabilities get to do things that not everyone can do. Sometimes inclusion means …
I’m always very skeptical of the story “boy/girl with special needs allowed to do normal sports thing” stories. And if you don’t know what I mean, you don’t obsessively follow mainstream news about kids with disabilities! This might be a good thing for you. I just feel that often these events become tokens of inclusion, …
About a month ago, I discussed a story about more than reasonable accommodation in Heathrow airport for a young man with autism. The article reads, in part: The 21-year-old has severe autism and obsessive compulsive disorder, but has to negotiate the hectic bustle of Heathrow airport to attend Boston Higashi High School in the US. …