Defect. If you just sit with that word a minute, what images does it bring up? I’m guessing they aren’t the prettiest pictures. Defect. Defective. Those words mean imperfect. Faulty. Wrong. They aren’t neutral words. In fact they are quite negative. But that is a word that we use when talking about brand new lives…
Tag: disability
Down Syndrome Awareness Month…
Imagine a world where we didn’t need to have this month. Where a diagnosis of Down syndrome came with a big CONGRATULATIONS instead of I’m sorry and maybe you shouldn’t continue the pregnancy. Where the worth of people with Down syndrome was never questioned. Where they were supported and given all the therapies and medical…
Disability is not a bad word…
Before Ivy was born disability felt like a bad word. A scary word. I tiptoed around saying it. Those perceptions bled into my actions and thoughts about people with disabilities. It affected how I handled Ivy’s diagnosis. After Ivy was born, it became a sad word. I didn’t want it to be a word that…
A letter to my typical children…
Dear Zoe and Eli… I saw your faces in my mind when the doctor said the life changing words, “Your baby does have Down syndrome.” My brain spiraled out in so many directions as the tears fell that day. What would her life be like? Would she live with us forever? Would she need open…
Representation Matters!
Representation. Every single human being deserves to see somebody who looks like them in movies, books, commercials, and toys. Unfortunately for far too long that has not been the case. People of all races, abilities, body types, genders, religions, etc. need to be represented in what we watch, read, and play with. Recently we are…
Why I want you to see my child’s disability…
This is something that has been on my mind for awhile. Trying to articulate my thoughts has been tough. As a community, a phrase that we use very often is ‘more alike than different’. We want the world to know that a person with a disability has far more in common with a typical person…
My Incredible Ivy 