Disability is Natural Free Press

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FEATURED ARTICLE

In the Dance of Relationships, Who's Leading—Who's Following?

In so many situations, two people—husband/wife, parent/child, teacher/student, teacher/child’s parent, service provider/person with a disability—get locked into patterns of behavior. One person may attempt to exert power and control, the other resists. In the process, a battle of wills ensues, and neither person is aware of the pattern that repeats itself, which may escalate into all-out war!

In too many cases, maintaining heavy-handed power and control—not common sense, not respect and dignity, and not what's important to the person with a disability—may be the core of our actions. But in the slow dance of relationships, a delicate balance is required.

Every person is born with the innate need to control one’s own life. Unfortunately, personal power is often stripped from children and adults with disabilities—by parents, teachers, service providers, and others in positions of authority. Similarly, many parents of children with disabilities justifiably feel they have no power as members of their children’s IEP teams, and/or in other situations where “someone in authority” (physician, service provider, teacher, etc.) is exerting powerful influence. But when a person feels she has little or no control, she’ll take every opportunity to exert control, whenever and wherever possible—in subtle or not-so-subtle ways.

(Click here for the entire article.)

 

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VISIT DISABILITY IS NATURAL

SUMMER IS HERE!

I hope you and yours are enjoying a wonderful summer! Our family will, too, when we take some time off for summer fun. Thus, any Emails sent to us and/or orders place between June 23 and July 10th will be handled on or about July 11th. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience!

Visit The Disability is Natural Online Store and check out the bright and colorful posters, bookmarks, magnets, note cards, and other goodies that feature 28 positive, attitude-changing designs, including the People First Language bookmarks. While you're browsing, learn more about two life-changing books—Disability is Natural: Revolutionary Common Sense for Raising Successful Children with Disabilities and/or 101 Reproducible Articles—as well as the Disability is Natural DVD.   Click here to browse the store!

 

Get your dose of REVOLUTIONARY COMMON SENSE!

The following thought-provoking articles are showcased on the Revolutionary Common Sense page. See the descriptions of the articles below and click here to see the articles.

Who's a Caregiver?
Stories about caregivers abound in magazines, newspapers, and TV news, and there are caregiver associations! But even with all this attention, there doesn’t seem to be a universally-accepted definition of the word. What do we mean when we use this term about ourselves or someone else?

How Do I Decide What Approach to Take With My Child Who Has Autism?
A wonderful mom, Dee Blose, shares her extraordinary insight about what questions to ask and what strategies to embrace to ensure children with autism can enjoy successful, real lives. Dee's wisdom and experiences bring much-needed commonsense to all the hoopla of "new treatments for autism.

Curriculum Modifications 107 - Ordinary Tools Can Yield Extraordinary Results
Computers, books on tape, videos, calculators, handheld electronic games, and other hi-tech devices are often great solutions in the successful education of students with disabilities. But there are ordinary and low-tech tools which can lead to extraordinary results for students who need curriculum modifications.

Who's a Consumer?
Disability jargon is a mess. Labels are dangerous. And "consumer" is a word that's commonly used in Disability World. But what does it mean and is it a descriptor chosen by people with disabilities or was it imposed on them?

When is a Disability Not a Disability?
What is a disability? Is there a universally-accepted definition? And what difference does it make? Well, it makes all the difference in the world to individuals on the receiving end of disability diagnoses!

Environment, Environment, Environment
You know the mantra in real estate, right? "Location, location, location!" Well, the mantra for individuals with disabilities is "Environment, environment, environment!" Children and adults with disabilities—like everyone else—will be products of their environment. We don't need to change people with disabilities, but we can and should change the environment!

Fatherhood Without Fear
For many dads, raising a child with a disability generates fear and uncertainty. But boys and girls who happen to have disabilities need the same things as their brothers and sisters: the wonderful, unique gifts only a dad can give!

Formal Assessments: Do Not Pass Go!
Ever wonder why so many children with disabilities in public school are perceived as "failures"? Formal assessments are often the culprit. There are alternatives to the tyranny of testing against the "norm."

Home, Sweet Home and Other Welcoming Environments: #2 - Behavior Supports
When we think of environmental modifications, many people think primarily about changes to accommodate wheelchairs or other mobility devices. But other types of environmental changes can ensure better lives for children and adults with autism and related conditions.

The Lost Art of Manners
Where are our manners? It seems most of us work hard to have good manners most of the time, but our best efforts seems to frequently fall by the wayside when it comes to people with disabilities. Let's find our manners again!

Is Our Nation Serious About Educating Students with Disabilities?
For many years, I (like millions of other parents) have been thankful for IDEA—knowing that, without it, my son might not have been able to attend public school. But I’m beginning to question just how serious our nation is about educating students with disabilities.

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ET CETERA . . .

 

—WORDS OF WISDOM

If we can't think for ourselves, if we're unwilling to question authority, then we're just putty in the hands of those in power.

Carl Sagan

 

The object and practice of liberty lies in the limitation of governmental power.
Douglass MacArthur

 

If our American way of life fails the child, it fails us all.

Pearl S. Buck  

 

I wish we could understand the word "expert" as expressing an attitude of mind which we can all acquire, rather than the collecting of information by a special caste...Many of us are calling for experts because, acutely conscious of the mess we are in, we want someone to pull us out.
M.P. Follett

 

For a considerable price [government] relieves us of responsibilities, performing acts that would be as unsavory for most of us as butchering our own beef. As our agent, the government can bomb and tax. As our agent, it can relieve us of the responsibilities once borne face to face by the community: caring for the young, the war-wounded, the aged, [and people with disabilities]. It extends our impersonal benevolence to the world's needy, relieving our collective conscience without uncomfortable first-hand involvement. It takes our power, our responsibility, our consciousness.
Marilyn Ferguson

 

—NEWS TO USE

READING ASSISTANCE FROM AN EXPERT! My deepest appreciation to Trena Wade, who sent me the following, in response to my article on reading supports ("Let's Read!"):

I am an adult with developmental disabilities. (I have been labeled with both Trisomy 21 and Shaken Baby Syndrome.) When I was a child, most of my teachers said that I would probably never learn to read because I couldn't remember too well.

But while attending one school, the Director of Special Services decided that I could and would learn to read. He took the alphabet line off the wall and cut it up and rebuilt it using only the upper case letters. Then he took all my books to the office and had the secretary retype all the pages in only capital letters and tape the pages into the books. So for the entire year, I was only exposed to 26 letters. By the end of the year, not only was I reading, but I learned to love it. I no longer had to struggle and fail. The pattern of failure was broken and by the time I was mainstreamed in sixth grade and took the California Achievement Test in reading comprehension, I scored at the 12th grade level.

However, my spelling and math scores were still at the first and second grade level and I was still in the lowest reading group, as I lacked the coordination to stand up, hold the book, keep my place, and make my mouth go all at the same time. When the teacher got my test results, she was so shocked at the score that she accused me of cheating even while admitting I had the highest score in the class. Of course, this was the same teacher who told me the first day of school to sit in the back of the room and that my only job that year in her class was to not bother the kids who were capable of learning.

I was wondering why this adaptation was never widely-used. It worked so well for me that I think it might benefit a lot of kids, especially those with spatial and dyslexic difficulties. So I wanted to pass it on to you in case it might be helpful to others.

 

Jon (Spinergy Dude) has created a disability-related news blog. Check it out at: http://dnw.lefora.com/forum/category/disability-news-network/page1/

 

Note: Items included in News to Use are for informational purposes only, and their inclusion in this newsletter does not necessarily constitute endorsement.

 

—PRESENTATIONS

I'll be presenting in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, and South Dakota in the coming months---visit the Presentations page for more details (and check back often for new dates/events that are added). Contact me (kathie@disabilityisnatural.com) if you'd like to know more about my presentations for your conference or organization, or click here for information about my teleseminars.

 

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Thanks for your interest in new ways of thinking! Please contact us with your comments and ideas about this E-Newsletter, the Disability is Natural website, or anything else of interest. If you received this E-Newsletter from a friend and would like to subscribe, visit www.disabilityisnatural.com and sign up at the bottom of any page, or send an Email to kathie@disabilityisnatural.com with your request.

And thanks for all you do to create an inclusive society where everyone belongs!