Blog2017-12-10T00:00:16-05:00

Why the Disability Community Is Grieving

11-9 by Judy Endow Our grief is deep. 11-9 feels so much to our disability community like 9-11 to our society. Our grief is deep. We are not being overly dramatic. Yes, 9-11 saw

Judy Endow
Judy EndowWriter
Judy Endow, MSW is an author, artist, and international speaker on a variety of autism-related topics.

Toxic Autism Awareness

Toxic autism awareness - sorting out autism fact from autism fiction Judy Endow Autism Fact or Autism Fiction During the past week I have run into two different people in my personal life who have

  • Eye Contact and Autistic Dissociation One Example Photo of Judy Endow's art "Strike Me" I can remember the overwhelming experience having eye contact with others sometimes had on me as a child. Too much bright, bold, painful sensory information was received when directly looking into someone’s eyes for a sustained period of time. Judy Endow on Ollibean

Eye Contact and Autistic Dissociation: One Example

Autistic writer, artist and consultant, Judy Endow on eye contact and autistic dissociation.   Autistic Dissociation “Dissociation is the ability to cut off from what is happening around you or to you. In its simplest

Henry Frost
Henry FrostWriter, Jr. Editor
Henry Frost is an author and advocate for equal education and access.
  • picture of girl, boy and girl sitting on couch smiling
  • Love Not Fear, #autismacceptance, Henry Frost on Ollibean. Photo of boy with freckles looking at camera.

Love Not Fear

Love Not Fear. Henry Frost on Autism Acceptance Two Houses a story of Autism Acceptance. There are two houses. There are two boys that live in these houses. Each house inside has one family

Amy Sequenzia
Amy SequenziaWriter
Amy Sequenzia is a non-speaking Autistic, multiply disabled activist and writer. Amy writes about disability rights, civil rights and human rights.
  • They use Person First Language and forget our humanity. Amy Sequenzia on Ollibean

The Gymnastics of Person First Language

by Amy Sequenzia This post is about Person First Language and autism. Another title for this post could be: "Disability Language, and "Gymnastics". Some might find part of it funny, but I am not kidding.

  • The idea of Universal Design is not about kindness, or about compliance with the ADA. It is about common sense. When more people participate, everyone wins because human beings learn from each other. Amy Sequenzia on Ollibean

Universal Design and Disability Acceptance

by Amy Sequenzia Universal Design If you are reading this, you probably should know that inclusion of disabled students, with the supports they need, is beneficial to all students. Universal Design is a thing. It

  • Instead of listing all the reasons why your children’s disabilities, and the difficulties your children have, worry you so much, and makes you feel like you need to tell everyone, how about you start listing all the problems with an ableist society that is making your children’s lives so hard, not welcoming them, and putting them in real danger now, and as they become adults? Amy Sequenzia on Ollibean

Disability, Safety, and Value

Disability, Safety, and Value by Amy Sequenzia This post will mention the attitude of some parents. This post is not about love or wanting the best for a child. It is about being conscious that

Lauri Swann Hunt
Lauri Swann HuntWriter
Advocate committed to inclusion & social justice, proud mother of three wonderful humans, and part of the team that started Ollibean.
  • Image description: Photograph of boy with white skin and brown hair smiling with his eyes closed. "Breathe" is in text at top of image and Ollibean Logo is at the bottom.

The Quiet Key to This School’s Success

What do you do when you become the principal of a school with the lowest academic performance and  the highest rate of suspension, absenteeism, and teacher turn over? Nothing. Nothing for 15 minutes twice

Five Reasons You Need to Read ‘Ghost Boy’ by Martin Pistorius

For over ten years Martin Pistorius was trapped in his own body, fully cognizant, but unable to speak or move. He was surrounded by people who believed he was incapable of thinking and tried desperately to get just one person to notice. His story serves as a wake-up call for all of us to drastically change our assumptions about speech and intellectual capacity as well as the need to radically reform expectations and treatment of people with complex communication needs.

  • Image of young girl in multicolored hammock. She is smiling contently. "Loved As I Am" is in white text with small Ollibean logo.

LOVED As I Am

We can all use a daily reminder that we are loved, accepted and adored for being exactly who we are. Ollibean Goods of the Day- "LOVED as I am" , "You Are Loved" and "I Am Loved" .

All children should grow up feeling loved accepted and whole. Not just at home, but in their schools and communities.

Over 30 years of research shows that ALL students do better in inclusive educational settings – both socially and academically.

High expectations and access to rich academic content benefits each and every child.

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