Mikelle and I feel compelled to write about life with a disability, not just the challenges but the opportunities, the friendships, the innovations, and the brilliance of our communities in action as we share our everyday life living with a disability. With a little more information, motivation, we hope to share how our life is shining beautiful and maybe help you to shine beautiful, too.
Finances, Family and Special Needs Planning
Think beyond the will. I have known Betty Lehman for many years. Each time I see her, she provokes me–in a right way. I take pride in how I have helped Mikelle become financially secure as I have dug through the avalanche of paperwork and programs finding the best nuggets
National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Mikelle and I often write about employment strategies for people with disabilities. In celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month and the many changes coming forward with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act, we feel you need to hear directly from the Regional Services Administration Commissioner Janet LaBreck on what
Just What is an ABLE Account?
So much is hapening in the field of special education and rehabilitiation. We have the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act, which we will talk more about soon. The other significant new breathrough passed by the Congress in …… are ABLE Accounts, which in some ways resemble a college 529 Savings
Speechless over Speechless
Watching a version of your life on a 50” TV is a little intimidating. So I avoided it for as long as I could. Sure, I was curious, but as I read articles in the Denver Post, or researched the series on IMDB, I found myself holding my breath and
Are you a “Prepper”?
I had the phone pinned against my ear talking to a friend while making Mikelle’s bed, sweeping the floor and reining in the morning chaos. Mikelle’s VCR/TV played in the background. The Today Show typically brought light morning news and entertainment more like background noise on this sunny morning. That
Love The Locks You Rock!
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Mikelle, like any other woman, often feels the need for change. For her this could be a new purse, a pair of new sneakers, or the urge to dye her hair. When that urge begins to rear its head she is insistent. She will
Are Parents the Best Job Developers for Special Needs Children?
I don’t know, but I think so. After all, who knows our kids better than we do? We know our communities and our communities know us, right? We hope so. Here are few reasons why we might be our child’s best job developer. We, as parents, are great at negotiation.
Welcome to 21st Century Inclusion…This is important!
Embracing Technology for Children with Special Needs Among our many worries, aspirations, and concerns as parents, one stands out: the desire for our children with special needs to be included as typical citizens in our community. We look forward to seeing our kids working in jobs that suit them perfectly.
Back to the Future- A Visit with Rocky Mountain Human Services
It is always strange to walk back to the future. Earlier this month, I did just that, walked back into the organization I had helped found over twenty years ago. At that time, my inspiration was inclusion for people with disabilities at the end of the 20th Century. I
Mom’s Summer Vacation
Mom’s Summer Vacation Every summer my mom, Katherine Carol, hops on a plane and travels to the Dominican Republic (DR) for two weeks. It’s her chance to take a nice sunny break from our hectic everyday life. When she’s gone all my girls rally together to make sure I have
Couch Crushers
Couch Crushers At the end of April we realized that some changes were going to be forthcoming this spring/summer. Changes in Mikelle’s schedule, her staff, and not least of al, her apartment. First on our list of Things To Do was buy a new couch. This brought a plethora of
It’s What Friends Do
From time to time, we at the Shining Beautiful Blog series like to post an update about Ms Mikelle and her good buddy, Jerome. They’ve been friends for a long time, since 2003, thirteen years. Over the years their friendship has grown and changed just as they have grown and