Bootstraps
Essay on how the Big Beautiful Bill will make worse an already inhumane system for people with disabilities in the US, as we continue our inhumanity to immigrants.
disability
Hurdles
I may be stating the obvious, here. But kids with developmental disabilities face many daunting obstacles over the course of their young lives. Often, they spend significantly more time overcoming these challenges than their typical siblings and friends do. The Race Typical kids start the race with a nice, open, level lane in front of …
Should-Be-Dones
When you are a homeschooling parent, and even more so, when you are a homeschooling parent with a special needs child, your life can be one endless list of things that should be done. At any given time: The house needs cleaning, sorting, or clutter-busting. The kids need clean clothes, meals, or exercise. Your spouse …
Asking for Help
Asking for help is hard. My parents were always the ones who fought over who paid the bill. I remember my mom throwing cash into the window of a relative’s departing car, rather than “owe” her the price of a dinner. This is where I come from. As a result, I have always found it …
Reunions
This was the first Thanksgiving I have not hosted in a long time. I originally intended to host. I invited my parents and members of my family who don’t live here currently and asked them all to come to my house. It was going to be a celebration of my newfound mobility, a six-month reunion …
A Chorus for Change
This essay talks about the variety of dischordant voices clamoring for attention, in the world of disability advocacy, and how we are more likely to effectuate change, if we sing together. Thanks for coming by to read! Autism blogs abound. I had no idea how many there were, until I used “autism” as a …
Lamentations
Whenever parents of children with disabilities gather, you are bound to hear a few complaints. I was recently at such a gathering, impromptu. I was thrown together in a room with several strangers, people with whom I had nothing more in common than the fact that each of us had a child with autism. Our …
The Power of Two
For a short while, I attempted to teach my kid to code. Of course, the student quickly outstripped the master in ability, and I retreated back into the humbler world of liberal arts. But in that short time, I learned to respect and stand in awe of the power of two, the amazing capabilities of …
Bedside Manners for Doctors and Teachers
If only someone had warned me. When you first have a baby, you feel the intense desire to blend your experience into his. To become one with the baby. It is hard to sit outside the door, resisting the urge to go in, if the kid is crying. Even if it is for the …
Challenging Objectives and Perspectives
This was an interesting week in politics for the parent of a special needs child. One of my children has an autism diagnosis, and like many homeschoolers, I struggle to figure out what is appropriate for my child in the homeschool context. Pushing too hard can lead to tantrums or shutdown. Being too lenient leaves …
Our Stems Are Fragile
A blogpost about our family's introduction to disability and how it affected our homeschool. Written in 2016 by Andrea LeDew. Art print by Madelaine LeDew.