Well, it took me a long time to figure out what this blog should be about. I thought about all of the facets of my life: my education, my social life, my emotions, my physical fitness, et cetera. And I have come to the conclusion that I have creative outlets for all of those facets, except for my professional life.
Most people don't know that in addition to being a full-time student and part-time journalist for Second Supper, I'm also a Residential Coordinator for a local agency which provides services to individuals with developmental, physical, and cognitive disabilities. I've worked for two different agencies, serving clients with vastly differing needs and abilities. I've also lived for 13 years with an uncle with Down Syndrome, and have therefore seen much of the day-to-day programming and care that is necessary for working with these incredibly special and unique individuals.
This is a field I was born into. My grandmother started the first school in this region for individuals with disabilities, and serving our community has been a tradition my family has carried on through several generations and various branches of our family tree.
I hope to regularly update this blog with vignettes from the history of the care of the variously disabled, personal experiences derived from my work, advice or tactics I have encountered or developed, and related political activism.
Please keep living the dream of education and equality as it applies to this population of people. While it is our purpose to help them help themselves, it is their purpose to teach us about ourselves.
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