Catherine Whitcher, M.Ed

(00:19)
We're going to talk today about three different things that you can do to avoid the trap of having students earn inclusion. We really do not want to approach inclusion from the standpoint of earning inclusion.  If inclusion has to be earned it really starts to give a feeling not just for the student, but for the entire student body, that inclusion is something that you earn to be with the good kids. And if you don't earn inclusion, you go to the special education room, as if that's a bad thing.

(01:26)
Now that's not the intention of the IEP team of the teachers, or the staff, or the team, but it's what the feeling is and that's really what inclusion is... Inclusion is a feeling. Now we've all felt excluded from activities, right? You as a parent, as a teacher, as an adult, you have felt excluded from a party or a community event or maybe a workshop that you're attending. You know what that feels like?

Let's really work on creating inclusive experiences on...

Back to School IEP tips for Parents and Teachers to help make this the best school year ever!

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I just read another one of those blog posts that float around social media talking about how isolating it is to be a special needs parent.

Yes, I see the need to talk about the loneliness, but there's a key step that is NEVER talked about when it comes to special needs parenting.

You NEED to walk out of the pity party.

Just go. Leave. Don't come back.

I'm serious.

Sure, you're going to have rough days that seem lonely, but that's still not an excuse to join the pity party.

You can have your own meltdown, just don't walk back through those doors of feeling sorry for yourself and then making yourself feel both better and worse because you've surrounded yourself with people who are feeling bad about themselves, too.

Here's the thing - if you are going to finally get out of the pity party, you need to find a different party to attend.

No, I don't mean one you have to leave the house for, although sometimes leaving the house is needed, especially when you find that tribe that all wear...

Every now and then my brother knocks my socks off by showing me a skill I never thought he would master!

Motivation for finding his favorite football game on TV was a big enough kick in the pants for him to learn how to speak clearly to say "N-F-L" into the voice activated remote.

Anybody who knows anything about Down syndrome, knows that understanding speech patterns in persons with Down syndrome can be difficult. 

Voice activated controls are usually not an option, but HE DID IT!

Moms & Dads - Keep going. Keep pushing through, especially when others say "no way".  Your gut knows what is possible and as a special needs sibling, I can say with confidence that your other children will LOVE you even more for pushing their siblings to always go farther than others expect.