This week we attended the State of the Art Conference on Inclusive Post-secondary Education and Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities. We had never attended before, and we truly enjoyed the sessions, keynotes, student leadership conference portion and networking with other students, […]
Several people have sent messages asking how Rachel is doing at college. Must be time for an update. I don’t get too many pictures unless I screenshot her SnapChat, and I don’t get a lot of updates without asking either! […]
Last night, we participated in the our town of Olathe’s Community Human Relations and Accessible Awards program. This is an annual event designed to celebrate businesses, civic organizations, and individuals who have made significant contributions to enhance human rights, equality, […]
This picture popped on my timeline. It made me smile as I remembered how Rachel, as the volleyball manager-team cheerleader, truly felt like a part of something . She belonged. The third level of Maslowe’s Hierarchy of Needs is Belongingness […]
Rachel is two weeks into her second semester of college. She seems to be off to a good start. She has made it everywhere she needs to go, I think. When questioned, she says “I am 20 years old.” My […]
Last week, we took Rachel back to Missouri State University to start her second semester in the MSU Bear POWER program. Rachel had a great summer. In many ways it was typical. She worked as a hostess at Olive Garden. […]
Earlier this week I wrote a blog called “Today Show Miss: Now You Know the Rest of the Story.” My readers really liked it, and I had an overwhelming response including the piece being picked up by The Mighty (thank […]
I have been watching the Today Show since I was a high school student, and that was over 40 years ago! Yesterday, the Today Show did a feature on Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson Eastman and her husband Andrew. To be […]
Today, is Baby Rachel’s 20th birthday. Before she was born and for a good while after, she was referred to by our closest friends as Baby Rachel. On this her 20th birthday, that may change to “Just Rachel.” Twenty years […]
A Borderline Disability I have considered writing several different books about our journey with Down syndrome. Probably will at some point. From time to time, people sharing this journey post about some of the offensive, ridiculous, silly, maddening, well-intended, sometimes […]