Columns

Many of my friends with disabilities have been posting about the 30th birthday of a well-known gem, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was signed into law on July 26, 1990. This milestone has generated a furnace of emotion, prompting all manner of incredible perspectives. I’ve read…

The time finally came for our family to make a decision about the type of schooling our children would choose this fall. The school district had offered two choices: a hybrid model in which students would attend in person two or three…

I’m a productivity geek. I’m not content with simply doing things. I want to do them well. And I want to do as much as I possibly can in the time I have left. Productivity has served me well. Over the years, productivity has gotten me a bachelor’s degree…

Our family has some generous gardening friends. One such friend keeps us spoiled with her garden goodies regularly. She has delivered to our porch zucchini, beans, lettuce, garlic, and fresh eggs. Oh, and tomatoes. *** Our baby Jeffrey’s routine…

The day boasted a brilliant sun. The warm winds blew through the trees and white, fluffy clouds adorned the sky. We packed up our car, loaded our two dogs, Ginny and Radcliffe, into the van, and headed out. We were on our way to Grandma and Grandpa’s…

“Pack my suitcase?” That famous quote from “Home Alone” coincides with a shellshocked expression on Kevin’s face. For a character who has no concept of independence at the start of the movie, packing his own luggage for a family…

Many, many years ago, I gave a presentation on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. I was in middle school at the time, and was hopelessly devoted to the concept of “normalcy.” I wanted more than anything to fit in. To live a different life, with…

I’ve collected a variety of scars throughout my life. Many people with SMA have comparable ones from similar surgeries. Even if you don’t have SMA, I’m guessing you also have at least one or two scars of your own. Each of my scars tells its own story of a…

This is going to be a tough truth to admit, mostly because I’m still a little embarrassed by it all these years later. But, here we go. When I was originally offered this role as a columnist for BioNews — the company that publishes this website — I…

School will start in a month or so, and Ella will be entering fifth grade, while her brother, Henry, starts sixth grade, and her sister, Ava, starts eighth grade. The local school system is presenting families with two options for this year. The first…