Category: People
-
How Collaborative & Proactive Solutions has helped our family
I’ve considered our parenting style “middle of the road” since our two children were born. We read “What to Expect when you’re Expecting,” sleep books, toddler books, and so on. We never spanked. We sent kids to their rooms for timeouts, created behavior charts, and counted to three. We used “grandma’s rule” – you can…
-
Advocating for change in Pennsylvania
Being an advocate is not just my career. From the day we brought our daughter home, I have fought for her. You see, my daughter is on the Autism Spectrum with severe anxiety. This journey hasn’t been an easy one. Before she was diagnosed it was a constant battle getting doctors to hear me when…
-
How is that legal?
I drove my 5th-grade son, Caleb, up to a historic brick building on a brisk, sunny March morning. I told Caleb that this was the first school built in the district, and promised to look up the year it was built after the tour if the school director didn’t know.
-
Is Your Child “Violent?” Why the answer to this question may save your child’s life.
Schools are telling us year after year that children are becoming increasingly more violent. In fact, they use this to justify restraint, seclusion, mass suspensions, expulsions, and zero tolerance policies. Many children have the word ascribed to them in their IEP documents as early as Kindergarten. Yes, we are expected to believe armies of violent…
-
Help! I’m trapped in the “safe room”
Kindergarten and First grade were challenging. My son, who is biracial and autistic, was suspended regularly and I took him out of school for the last two months of Kindergarten, as they were unable to support him. By the end of First Grade, he spent most of his days working one on one with an…
-
Reflections on my childhood: Locked in the principal’s office
Today’s guest author is Jennifer Abbanat. Jennifer is a wife and mom to 3 kids ages 18, 16, and 13. Jennifer is an advocate and voice for her neurodiverse children. She and her family live in Northern California.
-
Advocating for change in Billerica Massachusetts
Today’s guest author is Carole Reardon. Carole is an advocate and parent from Billerica Massachusetts. Currently, she is a stay at home mother, however, she spent over 20 years in the education field and has an undergraduate degree in human development, with a minor in early childhood education. Additionally, Carole has a Master’s degree in curriculum and…
-
Autism isn’t a crime
Autistic, especially non-speaking children, are one of the largest groups to be subjected to restraint and seclusion. Restraint and seclusion are the inevitable outcome of the failures of behaviorism. Autism isn’t a “behavioral problem.” It only becomes one when autistic people are denied appropriate accommodations and mistreated. The behaviors schools are trying to modify are…
-
Statement on George Floyd’s Death by Police Restraint
The Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint (AASR) viewed the video of the last moments of George Floyd’s life with horror, fury, and unbearable sadness. We feel deep sorrow for George Floyd and his family as well as unrelenting sadness and despair for the black community and our country. It is incumbent on our leaders and…
-
The power of believing in children
Today’s guest author is Amy Welch. Amy is a paraprofessional who has experience working with students on the Autism spectrum and those with behavior disorders. A lot of what she does with her students comes from her own personal experiences with her son. She was forced to become a well-educated advocate for him after facing…