6 Summer Tips for Parents of Children with Disabilities

6 Summer Tips for Parents of Children with Disabilities; Removing the Stumbling Block

Our thoughts are beginning to turn from desks to lounge chairs, from carpools to lazy afternoons by the pool, and from early-morning alarms to long evenings spent making s’mores and catching fireflies.

We might assume that all families look forward to summer vacation, but sometimes it’s anxiety and not joy that accompanies the dismissal bell on that last day of school. Parents of children with a variety of disabilities and learning issues, for example, often notice that their kids tend to thrive on the structure and routine the academic year provides; the prospect of long stretches of unscheduled time can be overwhelming.

Acceptance: The True Measure of Inclusion

Our responsibility as advocates of inclusion is to create spaces where people will be able to say, “Thank you for accepting me for who I am while giving me the courage to grow, explore and reach past my own perceived limitations.”; Removing the Stumbling Block

Acceptance. 

The action or process of being received as adequate or suitable, typically to be admitted into a group.

It's what we all want, isn't it? 

No One is Perfect - It's Why Pencils Have Erasers


One of the things I find most compelling about Judaism is the way in which we read Torah. Not just the pomp & circumstance of ritual surrounding it, although that is definitely awesome; but rather, the fact that we read the same words over and over, year in and year out. Each and every time we read a portion we can learn something new, glean some insight that we didn't catch before. 

We are different each and every time we encounter Torah; Removing the Stumbling Block

Why, you might wonder, could that be if the words never change? It is because we change. We are different each and every time we encounter Torah, and we bring our unique selves and our personal perspectives to the stories and messages in our ancient text. When successful, we merge the two to find wisdom and guidance for our modern lives.

Nevertheless, there are those portions that some try to avoid. They're the ones our kids hope they won’t draw for their b'nei mitzvah. Yes, of course, we know there is no “bad” parsha. But nonetheless, when we reach tazria-m’tzora, we find a parsha that speaks about ritual uncleanliness, skin disease and other such maladies. Woo hoo!

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