Tag: socialization

Summer is in full swing, and if you’re parenting a child with a disability, you know that “summer fun” often comes with a whole lot of planning, prep, and pivoting. While many kids count down the days to backyard parties and fourth of July fireworks, those same summer highlights can be overwhelming for our kiddos. …

While school offers plenty of opportunities for kids to have fun, engage in extracurricular activities, and learn new things, it can also feel extra vulnerable, and sometimes downright scary — especially for our kiddos. Socializing and making friends is daunting enough, but what if they’re also feeling like they just can’t fit it, or they’re …

Seeing our kids struggle to socialize, make friends, and find a sense of belonging is one of the hardest things to see as parents. And for those of us with kiddos who have developmental disabilities, this struggle is something we face quite often — and it can stick around through school and beyond. We all …

School may be out for the summer, but something that continues, no matter the season, is our kids’ therapies. Therapies, whether at school, home, or in a clinic, are an essential part of our kiddos’ growth and development, and can help them build social, cognitive, gross and fine motor, social, sensory processing, play, speech and …

“Special education isn’t a place.” We can’t say this enough. Special education was never supposed to be a place. Or a classroom. Or a reason to discriminate. It consists of services and supports that allow children with disabilities to learn alongside their peers in a way that works for them. Inclusion is about learning and …

Summer is a few months away, which means we’re on the hunt for summer camps! Traditional camps don’t always take our kids’ extra support needs into account, so we’ve rounded up disability-friendly summer camps in California. Some of these camps are designed just for our kiddos while others invite campers of all abilities to participate. …

If you see your child struggling to make friends or feel included at school, it’s painful, especially if you’re told that the school just “doesn’t do inclusion” (newsflash: that’s not a thing!). Inclusion is not just a buzzword — it’s the process of making big and small changes to the school environment, processes, and culture …