Inclusion

September 22, 2015

Like A Failure

I feel like a failure And I have felt like that for quite some time I don’t feel like a failure for everything – just a failure in creating inclusive opportunities for my son and other children with disabilities. I feel like I should walk the path encouraging people along the way to partake of our knowledge about inclusion and what it means not just for our children with disabilities but rather for everyone in the community. When Corbin was younger we tried many preschool activities – all of which he was asked to leave due to aggression and inability to follow the rules. Those were early years and we had no answers as to why he did what he […]

October 1, 2015

Get In The Pool

My essay analogy about life as a parent with a child with a disability being like trying to swim in a pool has been picked up by BLOOM, online magazine for Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. http://bloom-parentingkidswithdisabilities.blogspot.ca/2015/09/its-hard-to-tell-when-special-needs.html There are some paragraphs in this version that weren’t in the earlier version. Tina

October 12, 2015

He Will Be Okay

I began writing this 12 years ago and just finished it to submit to an online site (they passed, sniff) but I thought I would share it here. He moved quickly around the room – touching all that could be touched. I followed him, trying to head him off before he ran down the hallway. He went to the front desk and knocked all the papers off the table. I firmly helped him to pick them all up again. I could feel the eyes staring at me, judging me for not having better control of my child. I silently admonished myself. I should have known to not come so early, the waiting was just too much for him. I dug […]

October 28, 2015

Middle Of A Long Row

The weeks leading up to October 24, 2009 were very difficult ones. Corbin had been what we termed “spinning” – meaning that he had very high energy, was difficult to engage in anything meaningful, was having trouble at school and just seemed insatiable in so many ways. Add to that his stutter and difficulty trying to “get his words out” they were all impacting heavily on his day to day life. On Tuesday October 7th, 2009 my husband and I were notified by Corbin’s school that he had run from school property and was making statements about wanting to harm himself. Due to Corbin’s complex needs he can be very impulsive and reactive, yet he had never left school property […]

March 26, 2016

Compromise

I have always believed in inclusion. Long before I had my own children I worked with children with disabilities and I helped those families to advocate to have their child included. When I would meet a parent or professional that didn’t believe in inclusion I would be aghast. Doesn’t everyone want to be included, to join in, to belong? Even before I had kids I joined a local grassroots not for profit that was all about inclusion. Then came my own kids each with their own challenges. We chose our local Catholic board as they believe in inclusion unlike the public board (their idea of inclusion was to let some kids join their grade for gym or art and spend […]

April 2, 2018

An Awareness Day

When I look at my son, when I watch him when he doesn’t know I am watching I see friendly kind thoughtful sensitive inquisitive smart outgoing creative talkative agile For all these reasons and so many more Take the time to get to know my son, who will always be my boy even though he is a man. Do yourself a favour and speak to him a while . . . it will change your life like it has mine. The fact that he has Autism, Bipolar Disorder or an Intellectual Disability does not define him. Diagnosis do not define him – these qualities listed here and many more – those help define him. Take the time to get to know my son for […]