tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401303964563152307.post3390010285466499671..comments2024-03-28T21:36:55.157-04:00Comments on Love That Max : I'm going for a walk, Max saidEllen Seidmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01433429847255621203noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401303964563152307.post-69505939526575913642019-03-27T06:23:02.927-04:002019-03-27T06:23:02.927-04:00Love this, great post!Love this, great post!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17312836542709163886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401303964563152307.post-49507367285398884872019-03-26T15:01:03.649-04:002019-03-26T15:01:03.649-04:00For most of my life I have been all about people w...For most of my life I have been all about people with disabilities exercising freedom and the dignity of risk and all that. I still am. But I do occasionally get a jolt when I think back to moments in my life when I did new things, and realize that my parents were probably at least having heart palpitations, even though they almost never let on that they were nervous or surprised.apulranghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16133974049950425863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401303964563152307.post-72018226237992465012019-03-26T13:34:43.562-04:002019-03-26T13:34:43.562-04:00Nice, all the bestNice, all the bestAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11281908955854229751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401303964563152307.post-41775188134547877192019-03-26T11:50:16.115-04:002019-03-26T11:50:16.115-04:00I lived in the same apartment in Queens, NY from a...I lived in the same apartment in Queens, NY from age 4 to 15. When I was 10 my mom let me walk to the local card shop to get her a mother's day present. It was about six blocks away and I was on my crutches. This was the very early 90'S so no tracking. Every single store owner I ran into asked where my mom was and if I needed help getting home. People who lived in my building, who were on their way home from work, and offered to walk with me. I had no idea until that day how much of a community I had looking out for me. It was very reassuring. For the next week people were telling my mom how awesome it was to see me out and about. Memories I still treasure.CJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01065078361139719088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401303964563152307.post-29404792415962563752019-03-26T10:39:02.957-04:002019-03-26T10:39:02.957-04:00Sounds like you have a pretty solid community in y...Sounds like you have a pretty solid community in your neighborhood! I read an article once about the dignity of risk and how often people with disabilities are not allowed to take any risks. My 4th grade teacher would not allow me to do PE. She was so scared I would get hurt. It took a few weeks and my mom coming to school before my nervous teacher sent me out to play dodgeball with everyone else. I got hurt. I fell. I patched up my own bloodied knees and kept playing. Dodgeball with 4th graders is kind of brutal. But the physical pain did not compared to the mental pain of being excluded. That teacher went from someone I thought hated me to one of ky favorite teachers ever but she had to learn to let go. It's scary as an adult to know that it's easier for people to hurt me. I know that first hand and it sucks for you as a parent ro have to worry about if people will hurt Max. But by confronting your fears you are uou giving Max the gift of a fuller life, of more agency, and hopefully independence that will continue to grow. I know people who were so scared they never let their kids try anything. As adults these grown children are essentially helpless but very frustrated because they are capable of much more even with their various limitations. I try to encourage parents of younger kids to avoid thinking they can or should protect their children from everything-rather you prepare your child as much as possible so they can get what they want from life. Sometimes we protect other people in order to protect ourselves from fear and in the end that can end up hurting the very people we care about. I'm glad Max is getting a chance to flex his wings in a caring environment. This could be the first step in him eventually being able to go to a job by himself or catch an uber to his favorite resturant for a date. And it shows maturity that when he wasn't happy with the emotional state of the house he decided to go and take a walk, enjoy the outside, and let other people work out their own issues ;). Jamienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401303964563152307.post-61702871294476769902019-03-26T09:49:22.519-04:002019-03-26T09:49:22.519-04:00I am working with my local Karate master to develo...I am working with my local Karate master to develop a 6 week course on personal safety and self defense for my daughter, 23 has down syndrome. We are going to offer it to a small handpicked group of about 10 young adults who are currently out there in the community without supervision, e.g, class to gym or work to friend's house etc. <br /><br />My daughter is excellent at following routines and it is not her I worry about, it is the rest of the world I don't trust. I wonder if this would be a next step for Max, even one of the many existing programs out there that he could participate in like Home Alone or Self Defense. <br /><br />They will be covering things like, personal space, danger signals, assertive body language, how to break free of an unwanted hold and most importantly (to my daughter and most women out there...) to SCREAM. The teacher tells me that the best weapon we have is our voice, but being able to scream is something we are discouraged from doing (be polite, be quiet, be a good girl) so they are going to learn, literally, to scream.<br /><br /><br />FunMumX3https://www.blogger.com/profile/14864705865361747669noreply@blogger.com