“Since the 2,500+ students and faculty didn’t get the honor of seeing Glenda’s yearbook photo, at least the internet can.”
‘Today my little sister received her school yearbook. She was intentionally left out due to her differences in ability.’: Sister to student with Down syndrome advocates for inclusion, ‘There is no excuse’
‘On our way home, we ended up front and center for a local protest. My daughter said, ‘Mama.’: Mom wonders about George Floyd’s final words, ‘I wonder if in those last few breaths, he was calling not on her, but us’
“I thought she was asking for me. She wasn’t.”
‘Well, mommy, I’m not just black. I’m white too!’ I had to explain, ‘I know baby, but people may just see your hair and tan skin.’: Mom to multiracial family urges ‘race talk’
“With everything currently happening in the news, I began to realize I needed to have ‘the talk’ with my children very soon. To see the confusion on their faces hurt.”
‘My husband must jog in front of me, so people don’t think he’s chasing me. If we call the police, I must be the one to answer the door.’: Woman urges ‘we must amplify black voices’
“My husband is funny, thoughtful, nerdy, outgoing, caring, and sweet. Everyone who knows him knows this. But still, it could have been him.”
‘Can I use your phone? I need to call the police.’ This woman found it ‘funny’ to scare little black boys, and I am heartbroken.’: Mom of black son says ‘images of 1950’s racism are on my 2020 TV’
“The people listening to her story worked in education, and most of them found this story funny. So, instead of cutting the story off, they laughed. I am heartbroken. This is my response.”
‘They put him on my chest for the first time. The doctors did a double take and immediately took him back. ‘Treacher Collins? WHAT?’: Little boy with Treacher Collins Syndrome spreads kindness and acceptance
“FINALLY! I was induced, and FOUR days later, PJ came out! His dad and I cried tears of joy. Then the doctors did a double take and took him away. I thought he was the most beautiful boy, but I feared how he would be treated by other kids. He will always look this way.”
‘My daughter was separated from her only true friend. Her teacher. A person who said, ‘Come to me as you are.’: Mom of autistic child thanks teachers for act of kindness ‘you are our heroes’
“Yesterday the teachers and administrators from my daughter’s school decided to put on a car parade. As her teacher drove away, she shouted out the window, ‘I love you, Campbell!’ They all knew her. Not just her homeroom or specials teachers, but every single one. As a special needs parent, I can’t explain how much that kind of acceptance means.”
‘I ended up at a play-date with my daughter’s bully. Her pain and hurt spilled out over coffee. I left with guilt.’: Mom encourages daughter to show bully grace, ‘We don’t know what others are going through’
“When my daughter told me about her bully, I advised her to ‘stay away from her.’ Weeks later, in walks her bully’s mother. Here I was, right across the table, with so many things to say. But I didn’t. For the first time in my life, I shut my mouth and listened. This mom was having a really hard day. A really hard life, actually. There was nothing she could do to stop it. She knew it had spilled out onto her daughter and that…that part hurt her most.”
‘There’s a rule at my daughter’s school. If you’re going to invite one child to your birthday party, you’re required to invite them all.’: Mom of autistic daughter says ‘You never know the gift you’ll get by simply saying yes to every child’
“Right now, my daughter is friends with no one. She keeps to herself and sees little interest in gossip or small talk. And that has to do with a little part of her called autism. Include the child who keeps to themselves. The one that’s weird. The one that’s ‘rude.’ Extend an invite to those who are like you, but also those who differ.”
‘I know it’s only for a few minutes, but having children does not entitle you to handicap parking.’: Mom pens PSA on handicap parking, ‘your convenience is not more important than our safety’
“I know it doesn’t feel like a big deal. I know other people are doing it. But I’ve been the mom unloading two wheelchairs, awkwardly lifting two children out of the vehicle in a normal parking space because a minivan of laughing teenagers with no blue tag pulled into the only available handicap space.”
