Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Thank you and you and you and you


Some of Facebook's flaws may have been revealed in recent months, but I'm a diehard fan girl. The community I've found there, especially on my blog page, is a regular source of guidance, inspiration, comfort and laughs, too. Same goes for this blog. So, greetings! I'm so glad you're here.

I've got community on the brain because of a podcast I recently did with Elizabeth Aquino and Jason Lehmbeck, two smart, voicey parents of children with special needs. They recently launched Who Lives Like This, which is all about caregivers of children with disabilities. Elizabeth and I know each other through the blogosphere; a gifted writer, she blogs at a moon, worn as if it had been a shell. I connected with Jason, a tech entrepreneur, through a mutual friend last year.

I swiped this photo from their podcast page to show you how cool they are. Hopefully they won't sue me.

The focus of I the episode I was on was community, but we chatted about lots of things—sibling relationships, iPad innovation and that scandal from years ago, ridiculously priced adaptive equipment, ableism and the Starbucks straw controversy. I'd be remiss if I didn't get Elizabeth a shout out for singing what could be the new anthem of parents like us everywhere.

In the course of our conversation, I mentioned the amazing feedback I got when I went on Facebook last spring and ranted about Max's hour and twenty minute bus ride to school. A bunch of other parents had experienced the same. That's where I learned that I could have a shorter bus ride written into his IEP—and that's exactly what happened. Thanks to this community, Max's mornings will be significantly improved this school year.

This is all to say: at the risk of sounding like a cheesy greeting card, I so appreciate you. Er, except the ones who leave rude comments. I am grateful for your insights, the info you share and your cyber shoulders to cry on. I am heartened that we are spreading the good word about our children in every form of social media, and changing perceptions every day. And I am so, so grateful for the reality checks and support that enable us to be stronger parents and to better enable our children. Rock on, Elizabeth and Jason.

Listen to episodes of Who Lives Like This here.

2 comments:

  1. Oh Ellen, thank you. We’re having a bit of a blue morning over here, and your words cheer me. It was such an honor — and fun — to have you on the podcast!

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  2. I love podcasts! Thanks so much for letting us know about it!!!

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Thanks for sharing!