Posts Tagged ‘discrimination’
Heartbroken at the Airport-Special Needs Families Are Getting Denied at the Gate
On Saint Patrick’s Day, I got up at 3:00 a.m. had our bags packed the night before, ready for a trip with my baby girl to visit family in Montana. I filled a carry-on bag with new toys, snacks, hand sanitizer, charged headphones, and of course, our masks. That morning I woke up our two-year-old Nora, she meet me with a doe eyed look but was in good spirits. I changed her into a cute black shirt with toile on the bottom and slipped on a black hoodie paired with…
Read MoreI Don’t Mind You Staring At My Brother’s Disability
Living 36 years of my life having a brother with a disability has made me embrace the things I can’t change. Being the sibling of a brother with a disability has taught me many life lessons, and one of those lessons I’m sharing today in this blog. There is one thing that all families who have a child/sibling with a disability have experienced more often than not…….People who stare. When they notice a difference in the people around them, they stare. When they observe or hear a different form of…
Read MoreNot Hired, or even Fired, because of Autism
Growing up I didn’t know much about people with Autism. In fact the only thing I really knew was that I have a younger brother who has Autism. He was diagnosed with PDD (Persuasive Developmental Disorder), which apparently was very hard to diagnose years ago, when he was 13 years old. Despite getting diagnosed late and receiving no therapy due to private insurance cut off age limit, he went on to graduate high school. I was so proud of him for what he had accomplished. But I never imagined what…
Read MoreAn Open Letter to the Bullies of the World:
Dear Bullies, I wish I could say there is probably a reason for the hate in your heart but I won’t be able to do that. Your tough childhood or the excuse that hurt people in return hurt people are reasons wasted on me. You see there comes a time in our lives where we need to stop blaming others for the way we are and start learning from the difficulties of our past. YOU though are in a class of bullies all by themselves. The kind that would target…
Read MoreShe’s Just a Kid who Never Learned to Discriminate
An elementary school friend of mine has a daughter not much younger than my own. These days, we only connected through social media and a shared love of our small hometown memories. My daughter had a major speech delay; so did hers. We bonded over the similarities. Her daughter Harper was diagnosed with autism; with a lot of speech therapy–my kid learned to form words. When Kate was old enough to learn about autism, we started discussing it. I mean, we started discussing it before three. She asked all…
Read MoreWe Don’t Take Kids With Autism
So something really weird happened the other day… I called a dentist to schedule an appointment for my son and the conversation went like this… Me: “Hi my name’s Amber and I was wondering if I could schedule an initial consult for my son? He’s 5 years old and I should mention he has autism.” Receptionist: “We don’t take kids with autism.” Me: “ummmmmmm….what do you mean you don’t take kids with autism?” Receptionist: “Cause of their autism medicine, we don’t deal with that here.” Me: “Ummmmmm… What’s autism medicine?” Receptionist: “The…
Read MoreFamily asked to Leave Restaurant due to Son’s ‘Noises’
A family says they are left heartbroken and saddened after they were asked to leave an Outback Steakhouse restaurant in Glen Burnie, Maryland on Saturday night because of their son who has Childhood Apraxia of Speech, a neurological disorder. Amanda Braun’s son, Killian, was born with Childhood Apraxia of Speech. The disorder affects Killian in many ways especially communication and behavior. Sometimes when he speaks, his words are unclear. My son Cooper also has apraxia along with autism. To us this means he wants to communicate, he knows what he…
Read MoreBoy Forced to Wear Fluorescent Bib so Teachers Know he’s Autistic
A London woman has sued her son’s school after claiming it made her autistic 7-year-old son wear a fluorescent safety vest on the playground. Why wear a vest you ask? So the students and teachers would know that he was autistic of course. The mom of a seven-year-old boy has launched legal action against his school after she says he was forced to wear a fluorescent bib so teachers would know he was autistic. Joanne Logan, said she had launched the case so that other kids like her son Charlie…
Read More