As a parent with a disability, I firmly believe in teachable moments, learning experiences, and the like. The parenting experience has definitely been one of self-awareness, joy, tears, and yes, even pain. It is impossible for my son to pretend I fit into the societal expectations of what a mom should be because the cards […]
reflections
The Truth About the 100th Day of School
DISCLAIMER: I am not judging any of my fellow parents or their kiddos for participating in this, but I do hope my perspective will challenge you to think carefully about whether and how you decide to do so. I know that there is no ill intent, and that this is something meant to be fun and […]
Disabled Parenting Project’s Best of the Decade
Last week, we shared the DPP’s Top 5 Blog Posts of 2019. If you haven’t already done so, check it out! Although the DPP has only been around since 2015 (it feels like so much longer!), since we are heading into a new decade it is a good time to take stock of our accomplishments […]
Disabled Parenting Project’s Top Blog Posts of 2019
As we near the end of another successful year at the Disabled Parenting Project (DPP), we wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the many folks who contributed their time by authoring one or more blog posts this year. We truly appreciate our writers and readers! Thank you! Below is a list of the top […]
How things change: Reflections from a disabled mom about the holidays
Everything was difficult for me as a disabled mom, and I say it that way now looking back as I marvel at how I survived raising kids in a nondisabled world before access to technology afforded us some of the small luxuries we enjoy now, and before disabled moms were as visible as they seem […]
Not in Spite of Me, Because of Me
I would like to say that having a disability and being a mother, are two unrelated characteristics about me. Unfortunately, just like all other facets of my life, my role as a mother is directly affected by FA (my disease). Some aspects of my parenting style are the same as they would be, but even […]
Remembering Carrie Ann Lucas
On Sunday, the disability community lost Carrie Ann Lucas, one of its fiercest members, and I lost a mentor, colleague, and above all, dear friend. Carrie Ann was a disabled mother, activist, and attorney. Carrie Ann died because of a broken health care system that does not value the lives of disabled people. Over the […]
Playing Indoors: Advice from a Mother with a Disability
I didn’t grow up playing outside all that often. Partially because of my disability, and partially because we weren’t raised playing outside of the house. When I was younger, it wasn’t something we did and looking back on it, the lack of outdoor activity doesn’t make me feel like I missed out on a great […]
A Gift for Mother’s Day
It is that time of year – Mother’s Day. For years, I worried I might never get the chance to become a mother. I was not totally sure, growing up with a physical disability, that I would be able to have children. I was even less sure that I could find a good partner who […]
Mother: Reflections from a Mother with a Disability
I am a mother. I carried my child in my womb and I felt his movements. His heartbeat kept time with mine because he came from me… He is mine. I am his mother. I use a wheelchair. And yet, that has never changed the fact that I am his mother. There is pain, (there […]