Cerebral palsy is a birth defect that is usually congenital, but can also be acquired in rare cases. It occurs when a developing brain sustains damage either during pregnancy, birth, or the first few years of life. There are four types of cerebral palsy and each type varies in…

Disability EducationMacy GilsonAugust 31, 2021What is the cerebral palsy, cerebral palsy in babies, baby with cerebral palsy, cerebral palsy as adults, adults with cerebral palsy, treatment for cerebral palsy, cerebral palsy genetic, cerebral palsy with spastic quadriplegia, cerebral palsy with spastic diplegia, cerebral palsy signs, cerebral palsy hereditary, cause for cerebral palsy, cerebral palsy spastic, life expectancy for cerebral palsy, infant with cerebral palsyComment

What is Turner Syndrome

Turner Syndrome is a chromosomal condition that occurs when one of the X chromosomes is missing or partially missing. Turner Syndrome is most commonly diagnosed during pregnancy or early infancy/childhood, but in rare cases can be diagnosed in adolescence. It only affects girls because…

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School With Special Education | Everything You Need to Know

Here is a list of the most important things you should know if your child attends school with special education. If your child qualifies, they will be placed in special education, which is “specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability…”

Parent Resources, Educator Resources, Disability EducationMacy GilsonApril 9, 2021school with special education, private school with special education, special education, teacher in special education, job special education, quote on special education, what is idea for special education, what is a special education, laws about special education Comments

Invisible Disabilities: Part Two

Last week, I started a new blog series all about invisible disabilities and today I am back to share Part Two. To review, an invisible disability is an umbrella term used to describe any disability that is not immediately apparent to another person and invisible disabilities make up 90% of all disabilities. It is estimated that approximately 10% of people in the United States has an invisible disability.

Disability EducationMacy GilsonJanuary 30, 2021invisible disabilities, hidden disabilities, disability stereotypes, disability education, epilepsy, seizure disorder, lupus, autoimmune disease, hidden disability, learning disability, language processing disability, auditory processing disability, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphiaComment

Invisible Disabilities: Part One

Invisible Disability, or Hidden Disability, means exactly as what it sounds like - a disability that is hidden. This umbrella term is used to describe any disability that is not immediately apparent to another person. An invisible disability most commonly refers to a person who does not use an assistive device (such as a cochlear implant) or other support (such as a white cane for the blind), though it can also include people who occasionally use an assistive device/support. For example, a person with lupus may only use a wheelchair during a flare up to relieve joint pain.

Disability EducationMacy GilsonJanuary 20, 2021invisible disabilities, hidden disabilities, disability stereotypes, disability education, epilepsy, seizure disorder, lupus, autoimmune disease, hidden disability, learning disability, language processing disability, auditory processing disability, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphiaComment

How to Talk to Your Children About Disabilities

Talking to your children about disabilities does not have to be scary or awkward. There are so many little things you can do on a daily basis to educate your children! I have compiled by top five tips to increase your child’s disability awareness to create a more inclusive home and community.

Parent Resources, Disability Education, Educator ResourcesMacy GilsonOctober 12, 2020how to talk about disabilities, how to talk to your children about disabilities, talking about disabilities, books about disabilities, disability education, parenting advice, special needs parentingComment

Let's Talk | AAC

AAC, or Augmentative and Alternative Communication, is a form of communication used by individuals who are nonverbal, meaning they cannot consistently rely on verbal speech to communicate. Last week, I wrote a blog post that dives in to nonverbal communication and if you are interested, you can read the post here.

Ableist Terms to Stop Using

Before we can discuss ableist terms, I think it’s important to define what ableism is and what it means for our society. Ableism, by literal definition, is the favoring of able-bodied people and discrimination of disabled people. Ableism is the belief that an able-bodied person is better than, superior to, or more valuable than a disabled person. Ableism can manifest in a variety of ways, such as assuming incompetence, segregation in schools (think general education vs. special education), and portraying disabilities as “inspirational” or “devastating.” Ableism includes stereotypes, discrimination and prejudices and, just like sexism and sexism, deems an entire population as “inferior” to another.