 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
REVOLUTIONARY COMMON SENSE LIBRARY
 |
A Time for Thanks
Revolutionary Common Sense by Kathie Snow
www.disabilityisnatural.com
As the Thanksgiving holiday nears, it’s time to reflect on the many things for which we’re thankful. I hope you’ll take time to share your appreciation for others—to personally tell people, “I’m thankful for you and what you do!” Words of appreciation can make someone’s day and inspire more great deeds! I’m thankful for:
- Everyone who uses People First Language and promotes positive images of people with disabilities.
- People who don’t pepper their vocabulary with disability-labels-turned-insults (such as idiot, moron, imbecile, lame, retarded, etc.) and who don’t use disability labels as metaphors (like “he turned a deaf ear,” “she was blind to...,” “the economy was crippled by...,” and so forth).
- Parents
who have high expectations and dream big dreams for their children with disabilities—and their other children, too—and
then do whatever it takes to support those dreams.
- People
with disabilities who teach us what’s really important.
- Parents and professionals who recognize the expertise of adults with
developmental disabilities.
- Parents
and Early Intervention workers who ensure very young children with disabilities
remain “babies in their natural environments” instead
of the youngest “clients in the system.”
- Parents who choose to keep their three- and four- year-old children
at home or in other typical settings instead of in segregated, special education
settings.
- Educators who make inclusion work.
- Parents
who know that inclusion in all areas—not services—is
the path to their children’s success.
- Therapists
and other professionals who practice as consultants and provide technical
assistance so parents, teachers, and others can ensure children and
adults with disabilities can engage in beneficial activities in the most
natural ways possible, in natural environments—so they can live Real
Lives.
- Physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals who help parents
remain proud of and hopeful for their children with disabilities, instead of
plunging parents into the depths of despair with dire prognoses.
- Parents who stand up for their children and reject the negative comments
of doctors, therapists, educators, or others who presume to know the value, abilities,
or potential of a child, based on a medical diagnosis.
- Parents who protect their children from attitudes, language, services,
and interventions that destroy self- esteem and crush self-determination.
- People
who embrace the paradigm that disability is natural, and who know that a
person’s abilities, interests, and dreams are more important than
a diagnosis.
- People with disabilities and family members who know that accepting services
is a choice, not a mandate, and, as a result, they make thoughtful decisions
and use the system as The Last Resort, not The First Choice.
- Providers
who proactively collaborate with non-disability entities in their communities
to meet the needs of people they serve in typical, inclusive settings.
- People with disabilities and family members who seek and find assistance,
inclusion, reciprocity, and support from the natural supports in their communities.
- People who recognize the value of assistive technology, and who do whatever
it takes to ensure people with disabilities have the tools they need to succeed.
- People
who recognize the immorality of segregating individuals with disabilities—whether
in special ed preschools, special ed classrooms, congregate living arrangements,
day programs, sheltered/enclave work, and other “special” (segregated)
activities.
- People who know that inclusion is borne not from laws, programs, and services, but from our individual and collective hearts, minds, and actions.
And I’m thankful for everyone who reads this message, shares it with others,
lives it, breathes it, and commits to doing whatever it takes to create a more
welcoming, inclusive society for all. Happy Thanksgiving!
©2001-06 Kathie Snow, www.disabilityisnatural.com. Permission is granted for non-commercial use of this article: you may print this web page and photocopy it to share with others. Click here to download the PDF handout version of the article. As a courtesy, please tell me (kathie@disabilityisnatural.com) how/when you use it. Do not violate copyright laws: request permission before reprinting or republishing in newsletters, on websites, or in other media. Clip art from Adobe In-Design.
[A New Way of Thinking]
[The Disability is Natural Book and Video]
[About Us]
[People First Language]
[The Disability is Natural Store]
[Revolutionary Common Sense Articles]
[Presentations/Exhibits]
[Rave Reviews]
[Newsletter Library ]
[Contact Us]
[Home]
Disability is Natural
BraveHeart Press
Toll-free: 1-866-948-2222
1-719-687-0735
Fax: 1-719-687-8114
P. O. Box 7245
Woodland Park, CO 80863
Copyright © 2001 - 2008 by BraveHeart Press
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
|
 |
|
||
Our words reflect the way we think, so let's get rid of descriptors like "handicapped, physically disabled, mentally retarded, learning disabled" and other words that focus on the condition instead of the person. People First Language promotes dignity and respect for all!
Web search engine marketing by PageCafe Web Design and Marketing