Latest Blog Posts
Looking for what’s new? These are the latest chapters of our story—honest glimpses into family, education, and advocacy.
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When the Crowd Goes Quiet
At one point on this journey, I found myself deep in an advocacy effort alongside a younger mom—newer to the world of disability rights, but fierce, brilliant, and already exhausted by the weight of this fight. We were trying to create real change. The kind that disrupts power structures. The…
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The GOP’s Big Beautiful Assault on the Disability Community
I stare out the window at the giant TRUMP sign on the hillside of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Is there no escaping him? I turn to my husband and sigh, “I am going to put my earbuds in and face the music. I have to listen to the School Board meeting.”…
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Where are the Gestalts?
As we begin incorporating Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) strategies into Sienna’s everyday life, I won’t lie—my brain feels like it’s juggling flaming Post-it notes. Haley and I sat down to start compiling Sienna’s gestalts—those beautiful little scripts she uses to communicate. Some are clear as day, others are whispered so…
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The Key to Sienna’s Voice
“Mrs. Striner, you called the meeting—why don’t you begin? We appreciate the agenda you prepared.” The school psychologist gestures for me to start. I take a deep breath. Where do I even begin? “Before we dive into the agenda, I want to bring us back to why we’re here—Sienna. Over the past several…
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Everything You Need to Know About What’s to Come
For the past few weeks, I’ve had this aching sense of dread and foreboding. How will I know if the government has gone too far? How will I know when it’s time to leave — to protect Sienna? The sheer volume of lies and destruction that have become a daily…
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Why Every American Should Be Terrified of Project 2025
Project 2025’s end goal is simple and terrifying: – Consolidate federal power under an authoritarian presidency. – Dismantle programs that protect and serve the most vulnerable. – Privatize public systems—turning healthcare, education, and even civil rights into commodities. – Rewrite America into a nation where only a select few belong—and…
