Let's Blog Ability

Inclusion in the Kitchen: Creating & Preserving Holiday Traditions Across Generations and Abilities

As a parent I'm always looking for ways to include my daughter in everyday activities such as cooking, cleaning and tending to the day's chores and to-do lists but what additional challenge so parents face when their children (or other family members) have a disability. We hear the term "Full-Inclusion" used all over in our schools and during IEP planning but how do you achieve full-inclusion on your own at home during the holidays? 

Here are a few ideas that have come to mind from my own experiences and a little bit of brainstorming. I've split them into two areas, one for kids and another for adults because we certainly don't want to forget about those incredible individuals who've dedicated so much of their lives to ensuring OUR inclusion while we were in THEIR care. The key in each scenario is to not just assign busy work, or simply to occupy time but to make your loved one feel like he or she is playing an integral role in your holiday preparations.

For Kids:

Name Cards, Helpful & Educational
Cut several unlined notecards in half and make a list of all your guests. Have your child fold each card into a tent shape and practice handwriting by copying each guest's name onto a single card. Encourage creativity, and if appropriate, let your child decide where each guest should sit. This makes them "the boss" and who doesn't enjoy that every once in a while!

Mashed Potatoes.... By Switch!
Cooking is quite possibly the most memorable activity of the holidays and NO ONE should be left out of helping in the kitchen! For full inclusion when mobility and/or dexterity is a concern try connecting a Powerlink & Jelly Beamer Switch to your Countertop Mixer. Mom and Dad can boil and peel the potatoes but there would be no "Mash" without your little helper... Again making them an indispensable part of your holiday staff :)

DJ for a DAY
The very nature of the interactive touchscreens on devices like iPods and iPads make them incredibly accessible all on their own and a little creativity on your part with iTunes setup makes playing DJ easy for everyone regardless of reading ability. Organize a playlist of "approved" holiday tunes, enter the name of the song in both the Song Name field and the Album field and select a picture for the album artwork that your child will associate with that song. Now, when viewing the playlist in album-view mode, children can choose a song from a screen full of images instead of tiny lines of text. 

For Adults:

Recipe Retrieval... What exactly is a "Dollop" Anyway?
We all have those treasured family dishes who's recipe resides solely inside the minds of the family members that make them each year. Get them down on paper now and make touching holiday gifts for next month. Have grandma show the kids how to make her famous pumpkin pie and write down the steps as she goes... or better yet, record the session on on video so you'll finally have a visual record of exactly how much a "dash" or a "dollop" is.

Memory Retrieval... Turn a Simple Conversation into aTreasured Family Record Forever
At my great-grandmother's 90th birthday party my Uncle brought his video camera and recorded a conversation with our guest of honor. OK, so it was more like an interview but she just loved the sincere attention he was paying her and the opportunity to pass these memories on to future generations. This could be a great opportunity to engage your teens and older children too. Let them guide the conversation. A Livescribe recording pen is a great alternative to video for family members that might be a little camera shy.

How have you adapted or created new traditions for full inclusion in your holiday festivities?  Share your ideas with us here or on facebook.com/EnableMart

Lisa Morguess on Becoming Mother to a Child with Down Syndrome

October is a very busy month by way of observances. One of these that's very close to our hearts is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month.  In deciding what to share with you on this topic, we thought 'Why not ask someone with direct experience to share with us what they would have the world know about being a parent to a child with Down Syndrome?'  

And, that's just what we did...  The post below was guest authored by Lisa Morguess, blogger, wife and mother of 6 children.  Her youngest, Finn was born with Down Syndrome.  Lisa shares with us what it was like to get that  initial diagnosis, how her expectations and reactions have changed over time and what impact Finn has had on their family.

A little over three years ago, my sixth baby was born into loving hands, a planned home birth.  I had, of course, spent the previous nine months imagining what this newest member of our family was going to be like, and dreaming the dreams for him that mothers tend to dream for their babies.  Within the first day after his birth, it became clear that something was wrong, and after a frantic drive to the ER, our tiny newborn was admitted to the NICU where he would undergo major surgery at a day and a half old to correct the intestinal atresia he was born with.  It was while Finn was in the NICU that we learned that he has Down syndrome.

Suddenly it felt as if all the dreams I had dreamed for him were shattered.  I was afraid and angry – what did this mean?  What would it mean for our family?  What did I do to deserve this?  How bad was it going to be?  I was overcome by a grief so deep, it shook me to my core.  There wasn’t a moment I didn’t love my new baby, and I found myself feeling a fierce protectiveness over him – but I felt lost and completely ill-equipped to be one of those mothers – a mother of a child with special needs.  I was just a regular person, often frazzled and short on patience with my “typical” kids – certainly not the special kind of parent that everyone was suddenly assuring me I must be to have been given this special child.

I’ve traveled quite a long way since those early months of grief and fear and sorrow.  Finn has grown into a mischievous toddler who continues to surprise me all the time.  I’ve watched my other kids grow around Finn into sensitive, compassionate children who are accepting of people with all kinds of differences, from all walks of life. 

As for me, I've made my peace with my son having Down syndrome, with his being different. I adore every inch of him, his body, his heart, and his mind, and I wouldn't change him if I could. 

It's changed me, having Finn. Although I am not a believer in some grand, divine plan, I do believe that being Finn’s mother has enlightened me in ways I never really thought about before.  There has been a great deal of introspection, reflection, and reevaluation of what it is I value. What constitutes a happy, full life? Are happiness and success naturally borne out of intelligence and ability to achieve? What are the criteria for a life worth living?

I have a sense of appreciation and perspective that I never had before. I am able to see and accept my fellow human beings with a more open heart and a broader mind; it's made my heart more tender towards those who are different, and harder towards those who are cruel or callous or rejecting of those who are different. It's made me more aware that we all have our trials, and that I and my family are incredibly fortunate and have a trillion things to be grateful for, Finn being one of those.

Sometimes the fear is still there, but I experience moments of fear concerning each of my children when I try to guess at what the future might hold.  Life doesn’t offer guarantees to anyone.  I don't know what Finn will be capable of, but I have very high hopes for him.  Those dreams I had for him that were shattered? They weren't really shattered at all. It just took me a while to figure out that his life is not about my dreams, it's about his dreams, and only he can decide what those dreams are. Only he will be able to show me how his life is going to play out.

What I want people to know most is that this is not a consolation prize. This is not our family just making the best of a sad situation. We do not exist under a cloud of sorrow, and we do not dwell on the fact that our son has Down syndrome. Finn just is who he is, and we're pretty much like any other family. This is just life; it’s rich and full, and it's pretty great.

Lisa Morguess lives in Southern California with her husband and six children. 
She blogs about her adventures at Life As I Know It.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month: Where to Turn

“Despite the progress, the harsh reality is that people just really still experience discrimination and one of the toughest challenges we still need to tackle is the persistently low employment rates among Americans with disabilities.” –Senator Tom Harkin, Iowa

October, as many of you may or may not know is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM).  It is a month for those with disability to become empowered by awareness whether employed or seeking employment.  That empowerment is a direct result of awareness of your talents, your rights, and your knowledge of opportunities available to you.  There are many opportunities for persons with disabilities to make their mark on the world and also many opportunities and benefits to employers who, when they hire persons with disabilities, reap the benefits of having incredibly flexible, innovative, determined and dedicated employees on their payroll.

 We’ve found a veritable treasure trove of information online that goes a great distance in raising awareness and providing advice and assistance to employers and those seeking employment.

The links below can help you find information such as:

• Resources exclusively available to persons with disabilities
• Your rights as a disabled individual and how to exercise them
• Disability friendly employers
• How to market your abilities and strengths to potential employers

Resources and Description:

www.thinkbeyondthelabel.com – Is a partnership of health and human service/employment agencies whose goal it is to raise awareness that hiring people with disabilities makes good business sense through their website and by other means.
-- If you know an HR director or business owner, send them a link to this website.

www.whatcanyoudocampaign.org – Is the website for the National Disability Employment campaign, with many resources for employers, prospective employees, entrepreneurs, and for raising the awareness of those unaware. Send a link to someone you care about.

www.disaboomjobs.com - Job board with disability exclusive job posts, similar to Monster in that you can post your resume for review of several employers.

www.jobaccess.org - Job board created by ABILITY magazine, with exclusive job posts for those with disabilities. Also, it has a section for employers as well as employees.

golearn.gov/HiringReform - Federal Office of Personnel Management’s training slideshows for Schedule “A” hiring. Great resource for employers on the benefits of hiring disabled individuals.

www.disability.gov/employment - Government resource for individuals with disability on career searching and planning.

www.disability-resource.com/employment - Website made for and by disabled individuals. This link is to a list of more resources on disability employment opportunities.

www.provenresumes.com/articles/disability - Link to an article written by Kathleen Fullerton Bernhard, Ph.D. author of “Work With Your disABILITY". The article consists of tips throughout the employment process specific to those with disability, as well as marketing yourself to potential employers.

www.civilrightslawfirms.com/disability-discrimination - Resource for disabled individuals on recognizing disability discrimination and on taking proper legal action.

It is our sincere hope, that whatever you endeaver to do,  
you find the path unobstructed and the journey an enlightened one.