Rachel’s first semester at college is coming to an end in a week. Her favorite class this semester was Public Speaking. Her professor wanted her to do a speech about why inclusion is important and include information on ABLE and […]
May 20, 2018 was a momentous occasion for Rachel and our family. She was one of 563 members of the Olathe South Class of 2018. Thousands across the country are members of the Class of 2018. We celebrated before, during, […]
Conservatively, I estimate Rachel has had 45 IEP meetings. I just returned home from her last IEP meeting – almost 16 years to the day we had her first IEP meeting to discuss transition to preschool. Truly, it seems like […]
Back in September, I wrote “What Will Rachel Do Next Year?” Seemed like a smart way to communicate to everyone because it is THE question. I outlined her preferences and some of our options. I said we wanted to enjoy […]
A rare Sunday blog with a message from Rachel. Tomorrow morning I’m headed to Capitol Hill. I’m honored to be part of the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) advocate entourage heading to DC for the House Vote on the Achieving […]
I have several workshops I do about inclusion. I have done them in a variety of settings. A couple of years ago I decided I was going to add a new opening. It goes something like this: “This workshop is […]
Yesterday I spent about 30 minutes with one of Rachel’s high school teachers. She had met with Rachel’s former teacher of the same subject matter and wanted to know if we could meet. I love teachers who reach out like […]
IEP season is upon us. I know this because Rachel’s annual IEP meeting was earlier this week. Besides our official transition meeting in May, it was our final middle school IEP meeting. It has gone fast. I also know it […]
Rachel was ready to go back to school on, December 20th. They got out on Thursday, December 19th. Rachel loves school and has always loved school. She gets that honestly. Her daddy and I both loved school. She was quite […]
I must admit that these past few days I have struggled with some things that have caused me not to have an attitude of gratitude. Without going into those issues, there are a few other issues that could cause me […]