Every time I write a new training course, I try to keep a picture in my mind of someone for whom this could make life better. If I can't see that person, then I think I must be heading in the wrong direction.
When I think about the Family Life & Disability course I just revised this week, the person who comes to mind is somebody's mom on the reservation, any reservation, really. She is sitting in the computer lab at the tribal college and it is bitterly cold outside. The nearest library with information on her child's disability is 130 miles away and she really doubts her car would make it that far, the heater isn't too reliable and the money for gas is money she needs to buy groceries.
She has been to the IEP meeting at Head Start but left with more questions than answers. Why does her child act the way he does? What can she do about it?
Three weeks ago, she took her toddler to the IHS clinic, they referred her to a specialist and now they say her child has Autism. She doesn't even know what Autism is. It's not like Diabetes or arthritis - no one she knows ever had Autism or has a child with Autism. She asks her mother and her aunties but everyone just gives her a blank look. So, she came to this workshop looking for answers.
Along with being somebody's mom, she's somebody's daughter and somebody's granddaughter and someone else's great-niece. One of those people has diabetes, has a visual impairment and may need to have a limb amputated. She doesn't mind providing care for her family. It is just one of those things you do, like washing bottles and changing diapers when you have a baby. If it needs to be done, she'll do it. She'd like a little bit more information, though, on how to help with exercises or provide skin care or make a person who is bed bound more comfortable.
That mom on the reservation with the old car, attending class in the winter, is smarter than people give her credit for. Contrary to what a lot of people think, she does know how to use a computer. She has a computer at home, but it is not very new and her only connection to the Internet is through dial-up. All of the web pages she needs on a CD sure would be nice. She could read them after her baby has fallen asleep and once she has gotten grandma comfortable. She's the one in the family that everyone always seems to call for advice, and her sister, Sue, had asked if she could try to find out something for her boy who is in special ed and is not doing so well in school this fall. He wants to drop out. Does that disability training class maybe have something on finding jobs for people with disabilities or keeping them in school? For the need to help out sister, Sue, we have added a Virtual Library, Reading Room and "Learn More" pages to the CD where she can do research.
Research? Yes, that mom is pretty smart and pretty dedicated to learning whatever she can to help her family. It is her strength and determination that are the best hope for the next generation. I am sure of it, because, as I write up the numbers for our final report for the Disability Access project, I realized that I have met 479 of those moms over the past two years. The work we do is to make their lives better because if anyone ever deserved a good life, it is them!
When I think about the Family Life & Disability course I just revised this week, the person who comes to mind is somebody's mom on the reservation, any reservation, really. She is sitting in the computer lab at the tribal college and it is bitterly cold outside. The nearest library with information on her child's disability is 130 miles away and she really doubts her car would make it that far, the heater isn't too reliable and the money for gas is money she needs to buy groceries.
She has been to the IEP meeting at Head Start but left with more questions than answers. Why does her child act the way he does? What can she do about it?
Three weeks ago, she took her toddler to the IHS clinic, they referred her to a specialist and now they say her child has Autism. She doesn't even know what Autism is. It's not like Diabetes or arthritis - no one she knows ever had Autism or has a child with Autism. She asks her mother and her aunties but everyone just gives her a blank look. So, she came to this workshop looking for answers.
Along with being somebody's mom, she's somebody's daughter and somebody's granddaughter and someone else's great-niece. One of those people has diabetes, has a visual impairment and may need to have a limb amputated. She doesn't mind providing care for her family. It is just one of those things you do, like washing bottles and changing diapers when you have a baby. If it needs to be done, she'll do it. She'd like a little bit more information, though, on how to help with exercises or provide skin care or make a person who is bed bound more comfortable.
That mom on the reservation with the old car, attending class in the winter, is smarter than people give her credit for. Contrary to what a lot of people think, she does know how to use a computer. She has a computer at home, but it is not very new and her only connection to the Internet is through dial-up. All of the web pages she needs on a CD sure would be nice. She could read them after her baby has fallen asleep and once she has gotten grandma comfortable. She's the one in the family that everyone always seems to call for advice, and her sister, Sue, had asked if she could try to find out something for her boy who is in special ed and is not doing so well in school this fall. He wants to drop out. Does that disability training class maybe have something on finding jobs for people with disabilities or keeping them in school? For the need to help out sister, Sue, we have added a Virtual Library, Reading Room and "Learn More" pages to the CD where she can do research.
Research? Yes, that mom is pretty smart and pretty dedicated to learning whatever she can to help her family. It is her strength and determination that are the best hope for the next generation. I am sure of it, because, as I write up the numbers for our final report for the Disability Access project, I realized that I have met 479 of those moms over the past two years. The work we do is to make their lives better because if anyone ever deserved a good life, it is them!
