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A Writer’s Guide to Writing and Working with People with Disabilities
NOV 11, 2018 BY DALE HARRIS One out of every five Americans is currently living with some form of a disability. This means that the chances are high that you know, work with, or even teach a disabled person. Perhaps you’re writing about a person with a disability, maybe you’re tutoring a disabled student, or maybe you’re interested in hiring a person with a disability. You want to make sure that you’ve done your part to make the environment as safe and accessible as is possible. But if you’re new to working with people with disabilities, it can be tough to know where and how to start. Keep on reading this post to…
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Hold me closer Tony Danza…
I remember liking the 80’s song “Africa” by Toto. I always thought that the lyric was “I bless the rains down in Africa.” This morning, though, my song reality was momentarily shaken when I learned I might have been singing the wrong lyrics to “Africa” all this time during my solo drive time concerts. I was half-watching a report on Today about a couple who works to preserve the lion population in Africa and the title of the segment was “Bless the manes down in Africa. Hmm…was that really the lyric? “Manes” in Africa were blessed, not “rains?” The song itself was not played on the segment, but even Greg did not…
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How to See if You Have Misophonia
Misophonia means “hatred of sound.” It is a condition where you cannot tolerate some sounds (also called “trigger sounds”) and you may respond to these sounds in an extreme way, such as by avoiding situations or yelling at the person who making the sound. Although reports of misophonia have increased over the years, misophonia is not well understood by the medical community because only a few studies have been conducted on it so far.[1] [2] If you think that you might have misophonia, then there are several things you can do to check. Diagnosing Yourself With Misophonia Determine if you are sensitive to certain sounds. Any sound can potentially be disturbing to a person…
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Friday reflections
October 19, 2018 My mom turns 74 today. A few weeks ago, my dad turned 76. Both of my parents are Libras. My brother and I are Geminis. I think my parents had a mating season-eww. Last night I got distracted on Youtube while looking for other information. I got trapped in a “Youtube vortex” and watched a video on Youtube of Vin Scully’s call of Kirk Gibson’s 1988 World Series home run for the Dodgers. The combination of Scully’s voice, Gibson pumping his fists in the air as…
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Friday Reflections-October 5, 2018
A few things I pondered on my way to work this morning: I have been under heavier surveillance since I was diagnosed with MS in 1995. Since then, someone always seems to know (or thinks they have to know) where I am, which makes sneaking around practically impossible-if I wanted to sneak around, that is. I can’t even sneak up on my own kid! Since Alex is now 16, it would be nice to be able to be less conspicuous when I need to find out what he’s doing. A point of contention for me: Even if someone, anyone, says he is listening to you, I think it’s rude for…
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How Public Schools Are Failing Our Kids
I recently read this article about the problems public schools face, and while I agree with the majority of the points the author outlines, I took issue with one point: http://EzineArticles.com/?Life-Skills—How-Public-Schools-Are-Failing-Our-Kids&id=9765525 As a result of the problems public schools face, the responsibility for teaching life skills has shifted to parents. ************************************************************** I recently read this article about the problems public schools face, and while I agree with the majority of the points the author outlines, I took issue with one point: As a result of the problems public schools face, the responsibility for teaching life skills has shifted to parents. about the problems public schools face, and while I agree…
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Misophonia and me
Growing up, I spent several summers in the backseat of my parents’ car trying not to kill my little brother as my parents ventured to various historical sites. Most of these places were not interesting to us, so we were essentially captives on these historical journeys throughout this country. My father would sometimes chew gum on these road trips, and if he did, I did everything I could to block out the sound. He chewed gum with intensity, as if the piece of gum held every bit of tension that filled his body. For all I know, that little wad of Big Red chewing gum could have represented opposing…
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Mama, don’t let your baby grow up to be a snowflake…
I do not want to raise a kid that can’t do anything for himself. I want Alex to be able to function on his own when he goes to college in a few years, to do his own laundry-especially to get dirt stains out of baseball pants-and to manage his time so that he can study and also have fun. So far, Alex is learning most of the skills he needs, so now I am tackling the biggie-money management. One of the best lessons I did as a parent was during the summer when Alex was about 12 years old and he wanted to buy fast food all the time…
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This Cathedral for Boys, This Cathedral of Dreams
in the summertime,within the ivy-covered walls,upon the sun-drenched grass, the green, green grasswhere full grown boys lived out my dreams,in nine inning shares of timelessness,to hear the thunder of Ted Williams’ bat,to watch the smooth, smooth stride of Willie Mays,to sit in awe of lads once like me,but who grew up somewhere to become so much more,these mythic figures of a mythic game,a game once began on sandy backlots,now continued on fields in majestic ballparks,they are all grown up these once little boys,grown-up beyond the reach of mortals who wear tailored grey suits as they go to work,they live in realms of near perfection,they walk in air beyond our own,they…
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The Baseball ⚾️
A Children’s Story by Nancy Quinn “Matt!” called out mom. “It’s time for dinner.” Mom’s voice floated from the edge of the town park to the group playing baseball. Always quick to obey his parents, Matt quickly hit the baseball to the edge of the park and grinned. Yes, that tiny round pebble that the boys found this morning was the perfect baseball. With satisfaction, he swung the stick he had carved out for a bat over his shoulder and stepped away from home plate. Thankfully the bases and home plate didn’t blow away today like the last time they played baseball. Using oak leaves as the bases don’t always…