Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area

  Last Sunday was the annual Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk.  I went because for the last few months I have been helping the Down Syndrome connection of the Bay Area bring Services to the Peninsula. I love helping them  because they have really cute kids and I feel that having services to meet the needs  of those with  DS is a great thing.  Here is a poster that I made on my own for the walk. I got lots of help from my facebook friends. I think the poster turned out  well What do you think?

 To learn more about the organization click here 

Did you know

 Of women with Developmental Disabilities are raped.  We need  to teach men to respect women. This needs to end.   It is not acceptable.  We must do better.

Stranger Danger

 I have a story about a guy  treating me badly.  It happened in 2011, on a rainy day in March . I was  running to  try to catch the bus and  missed it. This   junky  four passenger car comes up.  Inside it was  a white man.  He offered me a ride.   Stranger Danger  kicked in and I said no and continued to walk and did not think anything of it. Until  about two minutes later  when he came back again.  He asked me again if I wanted a ride, I declined.  He then asked if I wanted money to have sex with him.  I told him to leave me alone.  That was really  scary and I am glad that   he did not  try to get out of his car because I do have a physical disability so  he would have been able to  do what he wanted with me.  It wasn't funny , and not something to joke about.  It was just plain wrong,  Men need to treat Women with respect. 

Today is theDS walk

Pictures coming tomorrow

Weekend Picture

On being left out -- Speechless episode three

 So today I am going to be talking about Speechless Episode three.  Something I want to relate to is JJ being left out.  In this episode, the students at JJ's high school have a homecoming bonfire at a place that in inaccessible which makes JJ feel left out . JJ's mom  talks to the principal and has it cancelled.


I do not agree with  Maya's decision because   it is not realistic.  For me in additon to Cerebral Palsy  I have NVLD which is similar to Asperger's making dances and social things in middle school and high school really hard  for me.  In seventh grade, I didn't have the social skills or friends to navigate the middle school dances;however,  my favorite general education teacher was  working at  the dances.  I went and hung out with her. While this was not socially appropriate    I at least got to experince a dance.  I think it would be more embarissing to cancel dances  because I did not know how to behave because that would bulid resentment towards me  and be counterproductive.  What could be done is  have a fun night. What that means is during the dance, or bonfire, or other special event, have something  fun that  the kid gets to pick.  Play a board game, have a movie night  or something enjoyable.

 Another option would be for schools to plan ahead for these social events with  staff and  parents.  Maybe that could mean having a quiet room during the dance with a movie playing which would be open to all students-- Bookgirl's  privite school  did this and I thought it was a great idea.  Schools should not promote activites for general education  students that are inaccesable for  disabled students.  It is not right.   This  can be easily avoided and its up to adults to  make sure that social  events are  held accessable   venues.

  For students that have problems making friends a good thing to have is a circle of friends.   Circle of friends is a program where students with disabilities have a circle of  able bodied peers that help them out. Their are plaining meetings that students parttake in to set the student up for social success.  I  really wish  I would have had something like this.  I wonder if it is to late to have one.  

Communication difficulties can't stop me

hi guys no speechless post because I am really tried but I wanted to blog about something that happened today .I was walking down town and saw a man with his son with a sign for food .As luck has it today theres  a farmers market . I tried to have them come with m so they could pick up what they needed but they didnt speak English that well  and my speech is affected but that didn't stop me .I got two bags of pears and gave one to them People with disabilities can make a difference

World Cerebral Palsy Day 2016

 Happy World Cerebral Palsy Day everyone.   Here is the video  I have been working on. It is so fun to be able to make this because it shows us  that we are not alone.  This video is  the first upgrade because the pictures now have backgrounds. I  worked very hard  on this and hope you enjoy the upgrade.

People like me on TV : What I could relate too in Speechless episode two

So  today I will be talking about Speechless episode two. Today I want to talk about the adults in one's life .

           On this episode of Speechless. JJ  says that he wants to have an aide that his mother doesn't agree with. In the first episode,   Mimi  and Kenneth  get into a fight at the school when Kenneth uses the word cripple,  but at a  carnival   JJ and  Kenneth  team up to save  JJ's younger brother from the bullies.


          When your a kid with disabilities you tend to have many adults in your life.  For me I had  OT, PT,ST  an aide  along with the typical adults  in a kid's life. For me the problem was  compounded   when I was diagnosis with  Non  Verbal  Learning disorder , which makes social skills nearly impossible to learn.  For me I get along better with adults.  As a teenager, I had favorite teachers  like my Freshman Spanish teacher, and my  Senior English teacher along with my golf coach.
      As a college student I  made friends with many  of my professors at my community college.  In fact they are the ones that  made me consider  that place a second home.   The key about those people  is  that they are not connected to my parents.  I love my parents a lot but sometimes I need space away from my parents to talk and interact  with adults.
 JJ obviously needs that space as well which is why he  insisted that he needs  Kenneth as his aide. I can not wait to watch their relationship grow as the show progresses.



  Speaking about friends  that are adults  here is a picture of me and my friend  sporting our green for World Cerebral Palsy Day last year.   Tomorrow is World CP Day so  do not forget to stop on by the blog for the world CP montage.

  Here is a preview.

People like me on TV

      Hay guys. I am sure that most of you know about the new ABC show called Speechless. Its a American sitcom about a family of five. The mother, played by Mimi Driver,  is a fierce advocate for her son JJ because he has a Cerebral Palsy. JJ is played by Micah Flower who himself  has Cerebral Palsy. This almost never happens.  There have been two episodes so far and while I have a milder form of Cerebral Palsy  there are still things that I can relate to.  I am going to be blogging about them  every Thursday but since I am down two episodes I am going to use today and tomorrow  to blog about it.

 Zack Anner has talked about how mothers that have disabled children fight for their kids, so I am going to say that my mom has always been my best advocate too. She fought for me to have a college education.

The thing I  want to talk about is how people talk down to the disabled.   This happens twice in the episode.  Once where  their in a parking lot and people are mocking him and the other time is when JJ enters class.

  This has become a big issue for me recently. I was hoping once I graduated from college that I would not have to face this.  I was just recently at a  disability conference where people  taught that I did not know how to read. This is extremely frustrating to me and makes me angry.  What able bodied people can do about it is  assume that a disabled person understands what is going on.   For me I am trying to work on a way to handle this.

Sunday Dance Party Throwing it back a few years

Welcome

  HI guys so its October and that means its time for the 31 for 21.  I am  participating
this year in a effort to  get back into blogging.  I have some  good ideas for you guys. So please stick around. I am  going to try and write  Monday though Friday and have either  pictures or videos on  the weekend.   Here is  today's picture.

 As you can tell from the  picture of me and my dad, I do not have DS. I have lots of friends with DS and am working to help brining services for individuals  with DS  to my area.  More on that later this month.   I have Cerebral Palsy , World CP Day is coming up October 5th so make sure you come back  to see the World CP montage .




Grab This Button

25 Life Lessons that I have learned due to my disability

   

  So today is my 25 birthday.  I have been on this earth 25 years! For me 25 seems so old.  I mean I  remember being a 21 year old and still feeling like a teenager and people in their mid 20s being so old but now the  jokes on me because  I am 25,  a quarter century old.

 Over the past 24 years I have learned a thing or two about disabilities.  I have had 8,640 days  of living with disability.  As a result,  I have had a unique experience being on this earth.  It is different than my parents or any of  my siblings.    There have been  lots of hard days but  not all days have been difficult.  In fact, there have been many life lessons that I have gained by having  a disability.

Here isa my count down list of 25.

 25  There will be hard days.   

 There will be  hard days for everyone life is hard at times. Sometimes it will be a hard day due to having a disability and some hard days happen because  life is just plan hard.

24  Hard Days do not last forever.

   

    Sometimes in the mist of  a bout of very strong OCD  I have hard weeks or months.  As hard as theres things might seem day after day,  there will be a day where it becomes better again.  

23  Laughter  makes everything better 

    On those hard days its important to have laughter.  A little joke and smile might be all you need  to make you  feel better.  Laughter has been crucial for me because it gives me a small break from  my fears and troubles.

22   Never take anything for granted 

  I know some people out there,  I know because unfortunately I have had to deal with them, think that humans beings are naturally able to walk talk  and do a verity of things independently and take those things for granted. I do not because I know  a lot of people who can not always do these things and they are not broken people.   

21  Disabilities are not something to be sorry about 

 One of the things I hate a lot is when people  apologize after I have told them that I have CP.  Those people I have found are the nice people who just do not know what to say.   There is nothing to be sorry about. I have a good life. 

20.  Kids are curious about disabilities,  so it is important not to dismiss their curiosity.

Both growing up and now as an adult,  kids are curious about why I speak differently.  I  know that it  is important to be honest with kids and give them the vocabulary  and knowledge to embrace people with disabilities.  I am not going to be publishing a book on Cerebral Palsy  this year but I am hoping  it will be at a later date.

19. Being in the right environment is critical for success.

  

 I have experienced this from jr. high 'til today . When I am in the right environment, I am able to do well and when I am not  it is hard for me to meet  expectations.  It is key that more  environments try to accommodate those with disabilities like my Jr College and CSEB did.

18. Words matter.

Despite what the saying, "sticks and stones" says,  words can and do hurt.   It is important  to be respectful to each other.  You can do this by ending the R word and listening to minority communities about what words or phrases mean to them.

17.  Friendships are critical.

Friendships are important. I did not have a lot of good friends growing up, so I treasure the friendships that I have now.  I am friends with my old professors, service providers, and some peers. These relationships are important because they allow me to have experiences outside of my family. 

16.  Inspiration is not necessarily a good thing. 

    Being disabled and having disabled friends online has allowed me to understand  that Inspo Porn       is not always the best  way to represent people with disabilities in the media.  ( For more click here

15 Ableism is real.

      While we learn about a lot of other stuff in school and college we rarely learn about Ableism.  I  have experienced ableism  and it is not fun.  It does exist  and as a young adult I now have a responsibility to speak against it and make other people  aware of its existence.

14. Disabled people have made contributions.

  Something else that you do not learn about in school is the story of the disability rights movement.  Helen Keller was not the only disabled individual who made a difference to American  History.  There have be others.  These  stories  need telling. I learned about the 504 protests that happened in SF in the seventies and the Capital crawl  to help  push through the ADA. 

13.  Media is slowly  changing.

   There has never been a better time to be a person with a disability.  Shows like Born This Way, Switched at Birth, and Speechless and the modeling industry advocacy organization, Changing The Face of Beauty are showing  the world that being disabled is ok. They are doing this by allowing real disabled actors to be portrayed in these roles. This is very exciting. 

12.  Being Brave is a crucial.

  Sometimes it is hard to be brave but it is important. When  I decided this summer to go back to Speech Therapy at 24 I was being brave and I am seeing the  results.

11.  Be Assertive 

  You have to speak up if things are not going right. Back in middle school, I was told to ignore bullies now I know that was wrong information.  You have to speak up, not only for yourself but for  others coming behind you. 

10   People you meet  online are not always creepy.

 I have met the best people online who are connected to disability.  We are truly a global community and are using  our voices and life stories to help each other.  I am hoping to attend the NDSC  conference next June to meet more of these awesome people.

9.   No one has a crystal ball.

   Though out my life well meaning people have tried to paint a future for me.  They said I couldn't go to college or live on my own.  This past year I graduated college with a GPA above 3.0.  This has proved to me that I make my own future just like my sisters and cousins. 

8.  Do not assume.

   I think humans tend to assume a lot of things about people. I have done this too and feel bad. I know that having an open  mind when meeting new people is important.

7.  Great expectations.

     My parents taught me this one. They  never seemed to be bogged down by what professionals said to them. They expect me to be my best. They pushed me to go to college and have advocated for me  to have the best life I possibly can. Sometimes when I start listening to nay sayers  they are the firsts ones to say no, that I can achieve success in life. 

6       Two wheel bikes are overrated 

 While  I can successfully ride a two wheeler on flat lands.  I much rather zip around on a three wheel bike. Although it has been broken for a few years.  I love that bike a lot. 

5.  Celebrate  the little things  

 When I am  able to  do something new. I tense up and get so excited, it is the best feeling because I know how hard I had to work to get there. 

4.  Community matters.

  I have found community  in therapy centers, Special Olympics and online.  I love making the World CP Montage  and mentoring kids with developmental disabilities.  The disability community is my tribe. I love being a part of  this great community.

3.  Hugs are not used enough.

 Being involved in the disability community has taught me that hugs are great.  It is the best thing that people can do. It feels great and is so easy. I  love giving hugs!

2.  Sometimes you have to be creative.

This could be called  different ways to do things.  Recently I have used a nickname for myself and it has worked well.

1.  Inclusion is key.

 Inclusion in life is so important. I know I am biased, but I think the best job in the world is advocating for inclusion of people with disabilities!

World CP montage

 Note : You can not send them to me in a comment but  email still works

If by chance then do not judge

  So, I am in speech therapy again and  am working hard and sometimes , ok a lot of the time,   I drool.  Once  while saying the /th/ sound  I accidentally  sprayed  my speech  therapist .  I got so embarrassed and rushed to apologize . She wasn't mad and  said that I couldn't help  it.

 This week  in America two  black men were shot by the police.  This  is not new, but this is the first time I am talking about it.  Black lives , not all lives in particular  because black lives have been tossed away  without  public regard for all of America's history mater. They matter because they are  people who are a part of families. They matter because  the person killed by the police  is someone's son, brother, lover, friend. They matter.

 One of the reasons that it seems silly to me to judge someone based on a characteristic , such as race, gender, sexual oreantation,  religion  or ability.  Is that  these are characteristics  that the person  themselves     has no control over.  The individual person does not  chose these characteristics yet in America we tend to  punish certain groups for a characteristic  that  they themselves did not have control over.   Just like disability, my mixed  race identity  has  contributed to the person that I am.  I am  a disabled women of color.  I knew about slavery  before it was taught to us.  My mom has stories of the Jim Crow south as do my grandparents.  It shapes me into a more conscious person.  It is not something I chose, but it has shaped me into the person that I am today.

 To judge someone because they are  different for whatever reason is wrong.  Because it is all by chance.   Random Chance.  The bad thing is that some people think they are better because of chance.  There  is one race the human race.  We are better together.


  Remember the Golden Rule:  Treat Others The Same Way You Want to be Treated 


  My deepest condolences to those that have loss  a person to police violence 

My Journey to a BA

Last Final

Just finished my last final of college undergrad. 17 months ago I was told that I could not complete a degree in Liberal Studies at NDNU. Eight years ago I was told that I could not go to college to do behavior problems and I really should work in a back room. But yet tomorrow I will get my BA. Impossible is nothing. Never underestimate anyone. Have high hopes and use inclusion to get there.

6/10/16

"Ableist, Stereotypical, and Offensive" or: Why I Hate "Me Before You"

Legacy

   Once upon a time there was a young women  who went to a grad fair.  Seeing  all the graduation ceremonies  they  left because there were things for other graduations , Black Grad,  Asian Grad but no graduations for those with disabilities.  Being  a disabled  advocate she went to the disability program and  mentioned it to the staff.  The staff liked it so they  put it on. Today was that day.  It was a fun day. This will be an annual   celebration   at the school. This is pretty good legacy to leave behind.  

 For those of you that are worried that this means  this graduate will not  be included  in the traditional ceremony, Don' t worry she will walk across the stage in  ten days.

Happy b day Book girl

 Book girl is amazing.  She always is looking out for  me.    She is awesome.   Happy b day  Book girl   Love you  lots.



 AZ