Give Our Kids A Voice...

So we have learned and experienced a lot since beginning work on the Connections project in March 2008. There are so many things that stand out to me like pyramids on the horizon, some inspiring and some deeply troubling. I have met some amazing parents who have inspired me to go far beyond what I ever envisioned for the Connections project. It is clear that Free information provided by the resource provider community is only the first of many steps that we must take together to make this world a better place for our kids. In the same way, I have met some of the most amazing providers whose passion for our kids and their outcomes warms the coldest of hearts and nourishes the soul beyond what I can express on a piece of paper. While the memories of these amazing moments fuel the progress that this project makes on a daily basis, it is the troubling experiences that come to me at night, in the dark, in the quiet, after the excitement of the day is gone. The video plays in my head of a young boy confined to a wheel chair who is rolled into the nurse’s office to receive his liquid nourishment at lunch. She does not even look at him, speak to him, just administers the liquid food and rolls him to the corner for the remainder of lunch, alone, staring at a white wall….Is this inclusion, I wonder with tears in my eyes. Then an audio clip of the less than optimistic comment begins to play; “It’s a classroom of Autistics, what do you expect?” Did that just come from a special education teacher’s mouth? Can she really believe that? She works with these students every day? Can her expectations, her optimism, really be that bleak? I am tormented by these instances of ignorance, disappointed by sub-standard care, and a general lack of respect for these kids. They are kids first, to be loved, encouraged, and defended, whatever challenges they face must come second, regardless of severity. This being said I believe the only counter to these issues is positive action, advocacy, and constant promotion of the best possible outcomes for these kids!

WHAT WE DO TODAY DETERMINES THE FUTURE TOMORROW!

What we do or don’t do today determines the degree of change for positive or negative tomorrow. We all have a responsibility to incrementally improve ourselves and the world around us. For me that is Connections which focuses on uniting the provider community behind the concept of “social responsibility” which begins with providing free information to the families that they serve. However recently I was asked what I am doing on the home town level? More to the point, what am I doing within the local ISD level? Initially I gave the response of Connections and how I believe that this project could change the future for so many families who will be able to find help faster. I think that is was about half way through that response that I thought to myself, you know maybe they have a good point. The next day we filed our paper work to begin a dialogue within our local PTA of how we can achieve what their business card so prominently displays “Every Child One Voice” my child’s voice has been added to the conversation, shouldn’t yours? It time for you to join the conversation?

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