COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout and the Disability Community in Arizona
On March 5th representatives of multiple disability organizations came together to talk about the need for Arizona to do more for the disability community in Arizona with the COVID-19 vaccine. Organization at this press conference have been fighting to prioritize...
Lessons Learned and a New Project for 2021
The beginning of the legislative session came with a rush of excitement. One year after attending the Pilot Parent Program of Southern Arizona’s Partners in Leadership program I was ready. I gathered data, contacted my local Senator, found allies within the community...
Bills, Bills, Bills
The legislative session has begun, and we are now in a sprint to the finish line. For a year I have been working with Senator Bowie from Legislative District 18 on two bills that will benefit the disability community in Arizona. SB1633-...
What’s Your 2020 Story?
This year we have all experienced an extraordinary event together- a global pandemic. This year was unlike any other year we have ever experienced and most likely something that we will never experience again. We have isolated, we have home schooled, we have tried to...
The Continuation of Self
When my son was diagnosed with autism, I knew that working in a lab as a geneticist or as a professor wouldn’t be in the cards for a while, but I was getting anxious, depressed, quiet. I had just received my Master of Science degree from Arizona State University and...
The Power of Advocacy
If COVID-19 has taught us anything it is that if you are raising a child who has a disability- you need to learn how to advocate. During this pandemic we saw some companies, schools and departments of government really step-up to help our community, but we also saw...
More Needs to be Done for Special Needs Families
Last week I reached out to families and asked them to share their stories about how online in-home schooling is going and to find out what more needs to be done. Parents are worried about their children falling behind because schools are not making accomodations for...
Create a One Page Intro for your Child
Therapists and teachers go in and out of our children’s lives… almost like a revolving door. I can remember at one time we were juggling 3 doctors, 5 ABA therapist, 1 speech therapist, and 1 physical therapist. I remember getting tired of repeating the same things...
Building a Functional Relationship with Your Child’s Therapist
Therapists are part of the package when you have a child with a disability, and there are so many of them: physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech therapists, and on, and on. My children have had as many as 4 therapists at a time and when I had a...
ABLE Accounts
ABLE (Achieving a Better Live Experience) accounts are a great resource for children and adults who have been diagnosed with a disability. It allows people with disabilities to keep more than $100,000.00 and still maintain their SSI benefits. When Matt and I had our...