I have ordered so many books that didn't deliver the content that I was looking for. The reviews, the synopsis were grossly exaggerated or just plain wrong.
BUT Disability is Natural is different! I am going to require (or try to) my son's future teachers to read `Disability is Natural' over the summer break. I am going to encourage every one of you to order and read this book as soon as possible. Not only will it inspire you, it will give you the tools you have been seeking!
Not only does Kathie Snow accurately chronicle the history of disability, the current situations with our special education system and a variety of professional and parental attitudes that affect our children for a lifetime, she then provides the means for preventing history from repeating itself, changing the system, and changing our attitudes as well as other's attitudes.
One paragraph that intimately touched me discusses what happens to our children when we have `had enough' of the Special Education System and decided `I quit.' Her estimation is this happens around middle school and high school...I see the burnout occurring much much sooner in many cases, and potentially my case also (until now!)I will excerpt this paragraph here:"When we've given up advocating, the dangers to our children are great. The middle and high school years are crucially important: they're the springboard for our children entering the adult world of work or post-secondary education. We desperately want out of they system, but since we quit advocating, we must go to the experts for vocational help. At some point, we may no longer have to deal with the system anymore, but our children will. Sadly, if we haven't prepared them for SELF-ADVOCACY, they'll be at the mercy of the experts."
Now, she doesn't just lecture us on `how we should be thinking' she gives us to tools on `HOW TO DO IT!"
The book turns full circle from the history, where we are today, then HOW to successfully take our children into adult-hood and independence.
Kathie helps us explore the natural resources in our community, what are they, how do we get them to work? (another excerpt) "When we use the system, we have to follow the rules of the system. We must take the single path (eligibility and red tape)......In community there is not just one path to take, there are many. There are no rules, no passwords, no gatekeepers. In community, we get what we want and need using the same methods as others: using the existing resources in our cities and towns, depending on friends, networking, calling on old connections and making new ones, offering to give, being creative, thinking out of the box, and being both flexible and persistent."
You will find practical things that you can actually DO. If your teachers read this book, hopefully their attitudes will change because they will be able to see where we have been, in a different perspective than "I don't need any more work." Perhaps they will feel empowered to `change the system' and we can actually form a team!
There are three sections of the book:The Way Things WereThe Way Things AreThe Way Things Can Be
Under the heading of `The Way Things Can Be' there are 11 chapters, I will list their titles here: `A New Paradigm' `People First Language' `Transformation' `Self-Determination' `Tools for Success: Meeting Needs and More' `Natural Lives in Community' `The Early Years' `Inclusive Education: Blueprint for Success' `Homeschooling, Unschooling, Alternative Education' `Bright Future for Teens and Young Adults' `Promoting Positive Images' Leadership and Influence'.These chapters provide the `How To' tools to raise successful children with disabilities. She frequently mentions stories of children with Down syndrome in the book as well as other different abilities.
There is a thorough Appendix at the end of the book that lists Disability Organizations from all over the country.
So, finally a book that has it all under one cover...yes it is over 600 pages long, and I haven't been able to put it down since it arrived last week! Covering therapy, assistive technology, education, life in the community, and finally leadership (every Disability-Related Organization's employees and Board Members should read this chapter) I will end with a quote from the back cover of the book, "Bright futures are possible for babies, children, and young adults with disabilities. Let's dream big dreams for our kids and turn those dreams into realities, STARTING NOW!"
