Every Day: Shifting the Narrative
Posted: May 2, 2013 Filed under: advocacy, Down syndrome, the future | Tags: advocacy, Down syndrome, Robert Ethan Saylor, Special Needs, Zero Dark Thirty 16 CommentsDown Syndrome Uprising (DSU) is hosting a blog hop about every day advocacy. The question DSU poses is: What does your every day advocacy look like? For me, it is about shifting the narrative. Every day, every single one of us participates in a collective narrative. Every word we choose becomes part of this narrative. The idea of being an advocate doesn’t come naturally to me; LP had to shove me into that role. Nonetheless, now that I’m here, I’m having a hard time shutting up.
I have three stories… Read the rest of this entry »
Disability, Marriage, and Facebook
Posted: April 30, 2013 Filed under: advocacy, Down syndrome, marriage | Tags: Developmental disability, Down syndrome, Facebook, Marriage 2 CommentsSince I’m addicted to Facebook, I’m going to write about something that is going on there. There is a picture going around from the Special Miracles Facebook site. This site shares positive stories and information relating to people with Ds. One of the pictures recently shared was of a couple, both of whom have Ds, who had a commitment ceremony. According to the attached blurb, “Jeanne Waters and Charles Wisner of Frederick, are not your average bride and groom. They both have Down syndrome, and because of their developmental disabilities are unable to marry.” You can click on their picture to see the Facebook post. Some stories are truly just feel good stories. Read, feel good, move on. I’m thinking that this particular story isn’t one of those. Read the rest of this entry »
Independence, Money, and Human Worth
Posted: April 26, 2013 Filed under: Down syndrome, kids, the future | Tags: blogging, disability, Down syndrome, Ethan Saylor, Independent living 16 CommentsThe first question of the Liebster Award is: Why did you start to blog?
Here’s why I started to blog…
All this excitement over little ol’ me? Pshaw.
My very first reason I started this blog is that I didn’t want to keep talking about LP’s Down syndrome over and over. It was exhausting to rehash the details of it all, to explain what Ds was, even.
More and more, however, the reason I blog is that I think our society needs a priority reordering. Having a child labeled with disability has forced me to reconsider the very meaning of human value. I say forced, because I honestly admit that it was by force. I don’t think that if LP did not have Ds, I would have come to this understanding on my own. Who knows, maybe I would have. Other people have come to this realization earlier and easier than I have. LP sure did give me a kick in the ass though. Read the rest of this entry »
Kimchi Latkes 