I know Amazon is a huge company, and I still maintain my love for mom & pop stores, especially bookstores. (In fact, dwell.com has put together a map of the best Independent Bookstores across America, if you are interested.) And, … Continue reading
Ellen Seidman’s blog, Love That Max combines wonderful stories about life with her son, Max, who has cerebral palsy, and large doses of advocacy. She tells stories that special needs moms can relate to, not being able to have a normal out-to-dinner experience, rejoicing when Max has an opportunity to work at a car wash, and she writes about the r-word. She has become such a cogent voice for us on that issue that she has been interviewed by major news outlets about it, and she never fails to articulate our feelings clearly. She’s one of my heroes on that score alone.
Right now on her blog, and on twitter she’s telling the world about groups that are helping families with special needs children in the wake of Sandy, and how we can help.
If you haven’t already, go read Love That Max (and follow her on twitter @LoveThatMax). You’ll see how amazing Ellen and Max both are.
Since I started this blog in July, I have come across some really fantastic people who are also blogging about having kids with special needs, and they have been warm and welcoming. I am beginning to have a sense of community I have been unable to find until now. I am taking time this Sunday to highlight some of these people, and their favorite posts of mine, in the hope that you will go and check out their blogs.
Bec Oakley at Snagglebox
Leah Kelley at Thirty Days of Autism
Ellen Seidman at Love That Max
Ariane Zurcher at Emma’s Hope Book
Leigh Merryday at Flappiness Is…
Happy reading!
This summer, The Boy was attacked by a dog. He wasn’t injured seriously, just some very minor scrapes, but it was very scary for him, for me, and for the others who witnessed it. We were at the home of … Continue reading
The Boy is 10, soon to be 11, and he cannot tie his shoes. We have tried over the years to show him how, but he’s just not interested. And when he’s not interested, he’s not going to learn much. … Continue reading
I came to know about Special Dreams Farm in a very roundabout way. I happened to go to a party hosted by a woman I’ve known and worked with for a long time, and one of her aunts happened to … Continue reading
Every family with autism has a “story” — not really about them, but about how they came to know about autism, and the battles they have fought, sometimes with insurance companies, sometimes with money, and always with their own emotions. … Continue reading
I’ll be honest, I skipped the big gym-speech, where parents are packed in like sardines, it’s hot, they talk about the same things every year, introduce the staff, and you can’t hear anything anyway because of all the people who … Continue reading
The Boy and I have created a tradition called Fun Friday. It was born out of some evening scheduling problems we had which basically boiled down to The Boy thinking I could drive him all over God’s Green Earth to … Continue reading
The Man and I took an incredible trip to San Francisco in 2010. We spent a week, and on our ramble to the Mission District, we stopped in to take a peek at the Creativity Explored studio and gallery. For the life of me, I cannot remember how I had heard about this place, but it was, for me, the highlight of the trip.
Creativity Explored is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides space, materials, as well as access to mentor artists for adults with developmental disabilities who enjoy expression through making art. The organization also organizes exhibits and maintains an online shop through which the artists can sell their work, providing income, and an opportunity for self advocacy.
creativity explored (Photo credit: veritatem)
At first, The Man and I looked around the gallery, finding several pieces we wanted to take home. The person behind the desk asked if we wanted to go in the studio. We looked at each other and said, “Yes! Is it open to the public?” He assured us it was, and we went through the entryway into the studio. There were about 15 adults working on various projects, some with mentor artists at their side, some without. We wandered through the workspace trying to peek at the works in progress without being too intrusive. Some of the artists were talking or singing to themselves. Some were oblivious to our presence, others were wary, and still others waved and welcomed us. One artist in particular, Peter, greeted us warmly and enthusiastically, giving us a tour of the studio, and lead us to the kiln, telling us all about the firing process, and showing us his just-fired work. He was very proud, and very happy to have an audience.
We left Creativity Explored, shortly after, realizing we had spent over an hour there. We were both pretty quiet for awhile, and then remarked to each other what an amazing experience that had been. And the art! The art gave me such a new perspective, because these artists were clearly communicating their lives and experiences through this medium, which gave them so much more power to “speak” for themselves.
If you are ever in San Francisco, you must stop in. It was life changing for me, leading me to earn a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management last year — I was so inspired by this organization doing so much good for adults with developmental disabilities It has become a new dream for me to be involved with an organization like this.
If you aren’t going to San Francisco anytime soon, please visit the website, buy something, make a donation. They are doing amazing work, and the artists themselves will blow you away. (You can look up Peter Cordova, too, and check out his work!)
Simple. I Just Do. 