Sean Adelman's Blog, page 5

Cheer Try-Outs

Here we go!

Here we go!

Hey guys so on last Friday night some girls from cheer came to my house they took me in a car blindfolded I was told not to speak so I fell asleep it was so late so when we had all girls at a friends house we took our blindfolds off we saw everyone that made the cheer team so I was one of them so while we waited for the pizza to come so I ate one piece of pizza and that was it so we also made t-shirts and that’s how I knew that I made the cheer team again .

This blog is all by Dev!  No edits, no corrections   More to come

 

 

Win an Ipad!

Raise Expectations is running a contest to win a new Ipad!

apple Ipad

 

The contest will start Monday March 4th and end April 17th 2013.

Enter the contest by sending  in your answer to the question:

“How did Sam describe her dad after trying out his new bike in their driveway on his birthday?” from the book Sam’s Top Secret Journal, book 1- We Spy.

Get yours today!

 

Send your answer in by responding here in the comments, email to sue48104@me.com or message me on RaiseExpectations Facebook page,   Don’t give away the answer on the main page, but message me

All correct answers will be entered into the drawing.  To win you must come from a household that has at least one child under the age of 16 or a household with a person who has a developmental disability.  All answers must include contact information in the event they win the contest.  We reserve the right to independently verify the household information is within the guidelines of the contest already stipulated. We will be awarding one Ipad (500$ value!) to a contestant who will be randomly drawn.

Get your copy of Sam’s Top Secret Journal by clicking on this link:  Sam’s Top Secret Journal. Sam’s Top Secret Journal can also be downloaded on Kindle, borrowed from the Seattle public library or purchased from any independent bookstore!

Join us in celebrating National Disabilities Awareness Month!

And International Down Syndrome Day 3-21!

 

 

A Mom’s Oversight, True Inclusion???

So, I’m working on another post that has been swimming in my head, but just has not fully formed yet about the Nature vs. Nurture aspect of parenting. Then last night happened… I was not prepared, so I do not have any great pictures, but I will have the memories.

Just one of the crowd

As so many of us know, days get busy and plans do not always work out. Dev is a busy kid, her older sister and younger brother are busy too. Last week Dev had 4 playoff basketball games that we had to work in to the schedule last minute, requiring canceling of piano lessons, numerous family dinners, homework help, blah blah blah. So when Monday evening rolled around and we got word that Dev was expected to be at school for another Cheer leading thing on Tuesday night 5:30-7:30 we were a little frustrated.

The cheer leaders were expected to be school ambassadors for the “Prospective Students Evening”. A little added pressure was given to the girls that are planning on trying out again for the squad next year as it would “show their dedication”… They have been asked to help out at school for all kinds of things where they usually stand around looking cute, handing out fliers show people around the school. OK, we will do it, Dev loves the squad.. Since we missed last weeks piano lessons I reworked the schedule so that Dev would go to piano early, her sister would take her to school so she could be there from 6-7:30. I thought a good effort!

So all goes as things go (left overs for dinner).. I head out to pick her up getting to school around 7:25 as she is supposed to be done at 7:30. I text Dev that I’m parked in the usual spot and she responds “k” (how cool that she totally uses the phone well). So I wait… and think about all the times the squad has had to be at school and hold doors, set up chairs, hand out flyers… And wait… I think how great it is that Dev is part of the squad… I call, text… Wait… 20 min later I call again… I get frustrated… 8:00 still No response… It’s time to go in…

The school is deserted, the janitors are finishing up… I start to worry a little, but keep going. I find a few people near the auditorium, so I wonder that way. I open the door to the auditorium and find it packed with parents and potential new students for next year. And who do I see right in the middle of the stage with about 20 other kids taking questions from the crowd… (If only I had been a good mom and turned on the camera…)

Parent from the crowd, “What do you like best about Hale?”

Student to the left of Dev “the Japanese program”

Dev, “the teachers, they really know how to make learning fun”

Student to the right of Dev, “the Drama program”

No fan fair, no mention that Dev has Down Syndrome, no “wow, you did great”, no trying to slipping the microphone past… She’s just a regular kid to all the kids on the stage. Wow…

There was no preparation– for her or for me…  No, “Hi Sue, we would love if Dev could be on stage to show that we are an inclusive school”, no script for her to remember… It was REAL…

 

Born this Way…

Dev and Sean worked together on this.  They had so much fun.  Sean reworked the words, and Dev loved it!  We hope you do too!

 

Do you have any favorite songs that play over in your mind?

“Pushing Myself”

Dev just started a ski team here in Seattle called “SkiHawks”.   We have skied for awhile.  First just Sean and I, then on vacations.  Now here in Seattle we can ski almost every weekend!  It has been a lot of fun for most of the family….  Dev has always been our “reluctant” skier.  She would go, and be in a class in the morning then ski with me in the afternoon, but she has never been a “big fan”

We knew about the “SkiHawks” through a friend that works with Sean.  We were hesitant because the team races…  Dev has amazing control on skis, but she has never cared for speed, be in skis, on a bike, on a boat, in general.  So we did not think it would be a great fit, but the work mate encouraged us.  We gave in with the thought if she did not like it we would let her out of it…

As with so many things, Dev surprised us.  She LOVED her coach (an amazing person and skier). After her first lesson she was looking forward to the next weekend with a fever!  She would mention skiing at dinner, on the way home from school, just counting down the days.  The next week (just last weekend) the race course was set up.  She has never been near gates let alone want to go down them.  But…  when we met up at lunch, she said “I did the race course twice!”

We asked her coach how it went and she said there was an invitational coming up and if Dev wanted to be in it they could try the course again, but she might have to push herself a little to go faster…  We told Dev it was up to her and her coach and we would support what ever she chose.  They headed out for the afternoon part of the lesson.

We met her coach at the end of the day.  She was impressed with the change in Dev, but did not get the chance to say more before Dev interjected, “I went FAST!!”,  “I’m going to race next week”.  We were excited for her and glad she was having such a great time with her coach, but did not give it too much more thought.

Then, Dev and I were in the car heading to gymnastics practice.  She had clearly been thinking about things.  She said “you know mom, I had a great time skiing with Galynn.  I think I’m going to push my self in gymnastics today, just like when I was skiing…”  She thought again for a while then added “and in Cheer practice“.  I thought this was great and remarked that when you push your self it may be difficult, but it is a way to get better at what your working on.  Again she thought for a second or to then added “I’m going to push myself in long division too”

I love this kid.  She is determined, persistent, and usually happy about it.

Here is the video of her first Race with the SkiHawks program.  She did 3 runs and improved her time on each one!  Sean was snowboarding while filming too!

 

Thanks for watch, I’ll let you know about the improvements in long division too

Becoming a better Hobbit, Wizard or Human

While riding my bike to work this morning I had one of those life changing moments when someone tried to run me off the rode then honked their horn at me as they did so. I was in there way and they were probably late for work.  This wasn’t some masked stranger but a neighbor who probably didn’t recognize me.

After my anger subsided I realized something.  The person who ran me off the road was someone who drove a fuel efficient car, gave to charities, and probably went to church.  Yet, when it came to getting to work, they were willing to put my life in danger?  As I approached work I was reminded of my adventure to see “The Hobbit ” with my family over the weekend.

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Lets all learn to be better

As Gandalf tried to explain why he chose this little hobbit for such a pivotal role in their adventure he said: ” —….  believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay… small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? That’s because I am afraid and it gives me courage.”

At the time I didn’t think too much about the exchange, but the events of my day brought it to light.  Every simple kindness, every thank you, gratitude, they are ripples in the ocean that turn into waves.  Opening that door, smiling, giving praise, these simple things build us up and come from our heart.  Being a better hobbit doesn’t cost anything, except, maybe, thirty seconds of our day to be considerate of others.  Keeping up appearances does not stave off evil, or make us better, more earnest, human beings.  The daily struggle to be happy, to think of others takes energy, but it also gives back.  When you smile and say thank and it’s returned your battery is recharged, you become lighter on your feet and ready to move on.

When we think of inclusion we think of just the special kids and forget we are all different and that the small kindnesses we give each other all small microcosms of inclusion.  Find me a better movie that touts the benefits of inclusion more then the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings.  A small “half ling” joins a band of dwarfs who don’t have a home with a large wizard.  They are eventually joined by humans and elves.  All these beings are very different and it’s only as they get to know each other do they discover that through all their differences these pieces make a whole and they fit together like a beautiful puzzle.

As we strive to get though each day think not of how you can make the world a better place, just be nice.  Raise the bar for humanity by being a normal person who thinks of others.  The simple things do matter, and they matter most when we are at our lowest.

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“We can all learn from Gandalf”

KING 5 Interview! So Exciting!

Tell me what you think!

Thankfulness

Thanksgiving here was not our typical holiday. We still spent a lot of time enjoying food, thinking of family and friends and watching football, but Sean and Dev also had a new experience: Being on TV!

Why?  Mainly to keep working on getting the message out there that the world will be a better place the more inclusive it is.

Inclusive: not excluding any particular groups of people in a society.

It seems that our society is becoming more inclusive and exclusive at the same time. We have an African American President, a Female Secretary of State, openly gay members of Congress, and a person with an Intellectual Disability on the ADA panel. Yet, the closed-mindedness of the political season was astounding. The division of past and future, good and evil and black and white seems to be razor sharp.

Raise Expectations started out as a way for Sean and I to look outward and share our experiences of “Special Education”. In the process we have come to realize that it is not just about the inclusion of kids with DS, ID or DDD (what ever DX), but it is more about celebrating differences. We do believe inclusive education is key in teaching appreciation and empathy to all.

The earlier we are exposed to different genders, races, religions, cultures, abilities (physical and intellectual) and ideologies the less scary they are; the sooner we can learn the value that each difference brings to this world. I hope we, as a society, can learn to be more open minded, accepting and inclusive.

I’m going to choose to be Thankful and Hopeful, to live in the Positive.  My new favorite quote is from Einstein: ” Learn from yesterday, Live for today, Hope for tomorrow”.  Dev seems to do this everyday, she is, as Sean said “an ambassador of possibilities”.

Dev and Sean (and a few more cheer leaders will be on KING 5 New Day Northwest on December 5th at 11am! Please take a look!

Enjoy

Looking in the Mirror

Catching sight of your self in the store window can sometimes wake you up. What do I look like to others vs what I look like to myself. And more still what do I look like compared to what I think I look like.

We just found this great teaching video about DS done by the Kansas City DS Guild.

Our family enjoyed it, we decided it would be great to send on the teachers, principle, coaches at Dev’s school. They also thought it was well done and thought it would be a great thing to show their student population through “mentorship classes”. The school strives to be inclusive and has a variety of kids in a variety of settings. Yeah! Lots of great stuff right.

Almost as an after thought we decided to share it with Dev, after all she is an expert when it comes to DS, right… Dev knows she has DS, like she knows she as blond hair and girl parts. We have talked about how it may be harder for her to learn new things, or say certain sounds; how she is super flexible and very empathetic as being related to DS, but not overly so.

9.9 times out of 10 when I see Dev I see Dev, I do not see Down Syndrome. 9.9 times out of 10 when I head to store I’m not thinking about the jean’s and t-shirt I have on… But when I get to the store what do others see… When Dev gets to school/on the bus, what do others see…

Every morning when I get up I do not think about how blessed I am to wake up in a bed, warm, with food in the fridge. I also do not think about being challenged by my serious need for glasses or my constant disorganization. I get up put on my glasses, and get going on the day. Dev is the same. She does not get up each day and say “oh yeah, I have DS, I need to work on… today” She just gets going.

Open Heart, Open Mind

After Dev watched the video, she stated, “ I have 47 chromosomes” (yep), “cool”. Then she said, “I need to find a friend with DS, because they make great friends”. She sees herself as the person able to be a good friend to a person with DS, as well as the person with DS. She identifies with both sides of the picture. I think that is remarkable. I what more people to see the world from the possibilities point of view, and open their minds and hearts.

To order the film or to donate to this great program follow this link: http://www.justlikeyou-downsyndrome.org/support/

“Be a Fan of Unity”

That is the slogan on the Special Olympics Blog site.   What a great sentiment:  Unity, coming together as one, working for a common goal.  It seem so obvious, why is it so difficult?

We are new to Special Olympics.  We have had limited interactions, Sean helped with physicals for a few years in Florida when the kids where little, but Dev has never competed, and we have not volunteered recently.  We have always trended towards an inclusive reality, and Dev has been able to participate.

For the most part we just signed her up, continuing with the “ask for forgiveness rather than permission” philosophy.  Pre-school- elementary soccer, softball, dance, gymnastic, basketball, swimming… You name it, Dev was on a team and loved it. As parents we helped coach or supplied snacks.  The other parents and coaches were always encouraging, the teammates played and enjoyed too, Unified to win the games/scores/play.

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“hitting a home run”!

Soccer as a pre-schooler means running around in a pack after a ball

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dev on the bar, looking beautiful! 3rd in line

Dev, waving at us from 3rd place!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving in to middle school things became harder, as skills progressed.  The middle school in Michigan had a “no cut” policy for some sports, so those are the ones she played.  Her early experiences and abilities gave her skills to be included. She played on the B teams for middle school basketball, and swam.  She also joined a rock climbing club, what a great sport!  In Seattle she also played on basketball team (#14) and enjoyed gymnastics classes.

 

Dev loves to climb high on the walls and in life!

If we could find a convenient climbing gym, I think she would still be climbing

High school, as many of you know, she has been cheer leading.  First she joined a cheer team specifically for kids with disabilities.  It was a wonderful experience and Dev learned a lot of cheering skills, but also learned she liked inclusive teams.  So when she made the high school team for her sophomore year she was thrilled!  She has learned more cheers and dances than I ever thought she would be able too. Recently a friend mentioned the Unified Soccer Team at Hale.  The teams  have equal numbers of players with and with out intellectual disabilities.

Through the years, the coaches and the teammates have learned a lot too, not to pre-judge or underestimate. Teams work when everyone is working together for a common goal.  Each member of the team has a role, some are big some are small, but they rely on each other.  I hope that is the direction the Special Olympics are going with their Unified Team approach.

In life our lives are tied to each other.  We can build each other up or tear each other down, but we are connected.  We learn from ALL of those around us, how we treat others is how we will be treated.  “We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same” (Ann Frank). Together, unified, we can make the world a better place.