We are so proud today!!!
Isaac graduated from his full day kindergarten class today.  He officially moves forward as a member of the class of 2023!
We are so happy.  Many of us shed tears of joy.
The ceremony was great.  The children sang songs.  They also walked on stage and received certificates.  They also shared with us their hopes for what they wanted to be when they grow up.
Isaac said that he wants to be a doctor….
Let’s get it!!!!!
Right now I spend my days in part preparing for the summer.  Even though …

Motherhood is such a wonderful and sometimes exhausting gift!~
We just finished the last official season of the Oprah Winfrey show.  it’s id the official end of an era.  orpah has inspired many.  Her final show inspired me.  She spoke of gifts and of platforms.  She spoke of human obligations.  She sopke of blessings.  She might have used some slightly different words than I am choosing.  I am speaking of my own interpretations of her words.
From what i have learned, we all have gifts …or talents that are given to us …

I am always amazed when others seem shocked because they witness Isaac doing the most simple things.
There was a time when I would feel a bit angry…angry because folks just seemed to expect so little.
These days I am mostly annoyed…and sometimes amazed.
I am most annoyed when this ‘amazement’ and ‘shock’ comes from educators.  I am a little disappointed when it comes from other parents.
Let me give you an example of what I mean…we actually had surprising and dazzling moment’ happen today.
Here is what happened.
I picked up isaac an hour early …

The absolute worst way to improve educational special needs inclusion policy is to decide to exclude a special needs child who is also dying.
The school district that I am dealing with has decide to do this very thing.  There is a little boy in our district who has been given only a few short months to live.  The school district has decided to not allow him his only request in his last days…to be able to attend school.

I went to a recent seminar whose topic was centered around successful special needs inclusion.
The man who was the teacher was the parent of a couple of children who had special needs.  He had worked in his own district and several other school districts to facilitate a system for successfully including all children in the districts.

All parents must make a decision one way or another regarding how they will discipline their children.  I believe that children should be taught to be accountable according to their abilities.
Some people believe that too much discipline will lend itself to rearing a generation of conformists.  They believe that is very important to teach children to think and make their own decisions.
I believe that children should be taught the law….God’s law.  I don’t believe that there is another option.
A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of parenting teenage …

children at bus stop
Here in our neighborhood elementary school, Isaac is the first little boy with Down syndrome to be allowed to be in the classroom with other children his age.
The vast majority of children with Down syndrome are sent to a different school.  The school is a different elementary school inside the district.  They spend their school days in collected in a classroom that is away from the regular children.
Isaac had unique learning needs.  He has his own unique learning style.
But so every human being!
Right now one of the …

I am blessed to have my  children attend a school where parents are very involved in helping out.  One committee that I volunteered for is a program called ‘Everybody Counts”.
Everybody Counts is designed to help school children to be more aware of some of the challenges that some of their classmates might have.
During the week, we took children through hands-on demonstrations of what it would be like to have several developmental problems.  We focused on vision, hearing, and fine motor developmental delays.
I got to work with third graders and my …

My friend Maggie had an Education Plan meeting for her son today.  Ralph does not have Down Syndrome, but he does have disabilities.  he was born at 24 weeks gestation.  Maggie and her husband have been diligent, ad little Ralph is a beautiful miracle and inspiration for us all. I was a bit concerned for Maggie’s little boy a few weeks ago when school started.  Maggie was no longer excited about the start of school.  You see, the school that she was planing to send little Ralph to had decided …

In order to be a good advocate for Isaac, I MUST be an expert in knowing what he needs in order to learn best.  I have to admit that when I finished engineering graduate school, I pretty much thought that my formal education was over….WHAT is the world was I thinking??!!
Regular public school is designed with a general one-size-fits-all curricula and education plans.  Children with special needs like down syndrome often need an individualized plan of education that is adjusted to their individual needs.
Right now my primary focus for Isaac …