The roots of my advocacy are in our family’s vision. I was not born an advocate; I learned to be one because I need to be one. It was through the GRIT program that I learned the value of a vision, collaboration, and communication.
A vision statement is a written description of the possibilities we imagine for our child. Having a strong, clear, vision and sharing it with other helps to ensure our child is included at home, school and in the community
I have found that sharing our vision is a great way to build relationships, especially at school. Teachers have a much greater advantage if they know and care about the child they teach. I went a little further than a vision statement; I made a scrapbook to help people to see, through pictures and journaling what amazing kids we have and what we do in order to help them succeed. It is hard to see the good at first glance; we are a bit of a gong show! By building relationships at our school and within our community we build security. I sum up our vision, telling people that I want to stand at the door of my child’s classroom and pause, as I take a few moments to find him. When I do spot him he is a midst a cluster of peers engaging in the topic of the day.
When Carson goes into each new grade I share the scrapbook…it’s more personal. I don’t consider myself a crafty person, ask anyone who knows me, I avoided the card-making, scrappy world like the plague. One night at a workshop a parent speaker passed around a scrapbook of her teenager’s journey, it inspired a closet scrapbooking frenzy. Why a closet scrapper? Scrapbooking is an emotional journey; just me, some tunes a large mess and beautiful photos of our family.
A vision statement is a written description of the possibilities we imagine for our child. Having a strong, clear, vision and sharing it with other helps to ensure our child is included at home, school and in the community
I have found that sharing our vision is a great way to build relationships, especially at school. Teachers have a much greater advantage if they know and care about the child they teach. I went a little further than a vision statement; I made a scrapbook to help people to see, through pictures and journaling what amazing kids we have and what we do in order to help them succeed. It is hard to see the good at first glance; we are a bit of a gong show! By building relationships at our school and within our community we build security. I sum up our vision, telling people that I want to stand at the door of my child’s classroom and pause, as I take a few moments to find him. When I do spot him he is a midst a cluster of peers engaging in the topic of the day.
When Carson goes into each new grade I share the scrapbook…it’s more personal. I don’t consider myself a crafty person, ask anyone who knows me, I avoided the card-making, scrappy world like the plague. One night at a workshop a parent speaker passed around a scrapbook of her teenager’s journey, it inspired a closet scrapbooking frenzy. Why a closet scrapper? Scrapbooking is an emotional journey; just me, some tunes a large mess and beautiful photos of our family.
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| Page 1 (text below) Our Vision Making the best choices for Carson’s entire lifetime is a daunting commitment, one we don’t take lightly. We think about our future with him all the time. The bottom line for us is that Carson has a joyful, safe and nurturing life and we will do what we can to ensure that happens. We learn new ways to include Carson in our family life everyday. Ronan, Blade, Meagan and Myself are each learning how to envelope life with Carson at our own pace, in our own way, gratefully, with the support of GRIT. These past 2 yrs have been ones of growth for our entire family and circle of friends. We are learning to communicate better with and for Carson and about what his interests, needs and capabilities are. Carson enjoys being around his peers and his peers also enjoy him. It is heart warming every time another child tells us what our son is “saying” to us. They want to communicate with him so they watch and they learn his gestures and they take pride in being Carson’s friend. He is learning to use a walker, and he is signing “more” consistently! And he loves water play and action songs. It is such a regular feeling to be roster mom at community playschool, while Kendra lovingly guides him through relationships, fun and learning. How sweet it is that Miss. Kelly comes to Carson to say good-bye because he is far too pooped to go to her? I never imagine something as simple as an invitation to a birthday party could feel so great! We ALL feel included. We want to continue the growth and take advantage of the wonderful learning opportunities that GRIT has to offer. We want to combine the best of both worlds by having Carson included in regular kindergarten at Beacon Heights in the fall 2010 with our GRIT team including his developmental specialist and consultants. I used to worry about how or if inclusion could work for a child like ours. I don’t have to worry anymore because GRIT has shown us it CAN be done. |
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| Page 2 (poem below) Heaven's Very Special Child A meeting was held quite far from earth "It's time again for another birth, Said the Angels to the Lord above, "This special child will need much love." "His progress may seem very slow Accomplishments he may not show And he'll require extra care From the folks he will meet down there. He may not run or laugh or play His thoughts may seem quite far away In many ways he won't adapt And he will be known as handicapped. So let's be careful where he is sent We want his life to be content Please Lord, find the parents who Will do a special job for You. They will not realize right away The leading role they're asked to play But with this child sent from above Comes stronger faith and richer love And soon they'll know the privilege given In caring for this gift from Heaven Their precious charge, so meek and mild, Is Heaven's very special child." Edna Massimilla |
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| Page 3 |
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| Page 4 |
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| Page 5 (family inclusion) |
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| Page 6 (community inclusion) |
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| Page 7 |
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| Page 8 (our playschool experience) |
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| Page 9 (text below) |
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| Page 10 (an exerpt from my Hope and Harmony speech) |
It does make me feel vulnerable to be so transparent with my life but it makes a difference in the way my children are perceived and treated. I made a scrapbook for Blade too, but his was for him and is up to him to share. He took it school last year to share with his whole class, he has just recently asked me to make some new pages for him to share at school. Blade's scrapbook is a whole other blog because I made it to show him, not others, how beautiful he is.
Being a parent advocate is difficult and emotional at times but when people really care, they are inspired to help
I LOVE this post and for a momma who's special little one is about to enter the school system, this is perfect! Thank you for sharing...I look forward to reading more!
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