Newsletter: Presume Competence!

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Disability is Natural E-NewsletterSeptember 16, 2010

What do apples have to do with disability? A green apple is more like red apples than different, just as a person with a disability is more like people without disabilities than different. And the U.S. Developmental Disabilities Act states, "Disability is a natural part of the human experience..." Yes, Disability is Natural!

In This Issue

Presume Competence

Think About It...

NEW BOOK!

News

Presentations

LINKS TODISABILITYIS NATURALPeople First LanguageAre You Readyfor a Change?Your StoriesNewslettersPresentationsTerms of Usefor Reprints

SPREAD THE WORD!

When you see, meet, or think about a person with a disability,PRESUME COMPETENCE!©Kathie Snow

Embracing this concept can positively and powerfullychange lives!It's available on posters, magnets, bookmarks,and other productsat theDisabilityis NaturalOnline Store.

It's Time to PRESUME COMPETENCE!

What does it mean to Presume Competence? People without disabilities know what it means; they experience it every day of their lives, but may seldom think about it...

Parents buy a bicycle for their son or daughter, knowing the child doesn't yet know how to ride the two-wheeler. But they presume competence; they know the child will learn how to ride. (And some of us need our training wheels on longer than others!)

Some five-year-olds start kindergarten already knowing how to read; others barely know their ABCs. But the teacher presumes all are competent and all will learn.

When young adults leave home to strike out on their own, few are considered "ready" by their parents. Nevertheless, parents presume their children will learn, survive, thrive, and succeed, one way or another.

The list could go on and on...think of other examples. But the same is not true for most children and adults with disabilities. They are usually presumed incompetent. As a result, they're held back; prevented from participating in ordinary, age-appropriate activities; "placed" in special, segregated settings; and more.

They're put in a no-win situation: they're essentially required to prove they're competent. But if they're held to the usual "able-bodied" standard, this becomes an impossible feat. A child, for example, may be placed in a segregated special ed classroom because he's unable to write with a pencil. The focus is on the mechanics of "handwriting" instead of "learning to write sentences" (composing text). The child may never be able to write with a pencil (my son, who's working on his Bachelor's degree, doesn't), so why isn't the child provided with a computer and allowed to learn and belong in a general education classroom? Again, think of other examples from your own experiences...

A series of articles on this topic can help us do better, because children and adults with disabilities deserve better, don't they? (Click on the links below to open the PDFs.)

Presume Competence: Challenging Conventional Wisdom About People with Disabilities

Do Disability Organizations Presume Competence?Eliminating the Presumed Incompetence Paradigm

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Think About It..."Why not?" is a slogan for an interesting life.Mason CooleyAll truth passes through three states. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.Arthur SchopenhauerMany are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal.Friedrich Nietzsche

NEW BOOK!APPLE-BITES: Commonsense Disability Strategies for EveryoneIt's a little book with BIG, life-changing ideas, and it's priced just right at $10.00. APPLE-BITES: Commonsense Disability Strategies for Everyone is divided into three sections: ATTITUDES (new ways of thinking and talking), VOICES (what people with disabilities want us to know), and ACTIONS (how we can do things differently). Each page features one main idea or strategy, illustrated by a graphic and detailed in text. It's a valuable tool for people with disabilities, families, educators, service providers, therapists, physicians, and anyone else who is involved in the lives of children or adults with disabilities. This powerful little book can help us all regain our common sense and generate positive, long-lasting change! Click here to learn more.Take the People First Language Pledge! Click here for People First Language articles and the Pledge certificate.Browse the 150+ articles on our site---download your favorites, share with others, and use for trainings. There are so many ways to embrace positive ways of thinking and effective strategies for change---let's do it!Check out the one-of-a-kind products in our online store: life-changing Disability is Natural books/DVD, and bookmarks, note cards, posters, magnets, and badges in over 25 attitude-adjusting designs. Buy for yourself, family members, educators, service providers, medical personnel, and others who impact the lives of children and adults with disabilities. Let's get our attitudes on the right track, and make positive changes in the lives of our fellow citizens who happen to have disabilities!

NewsREAL-LIFE WISDOMThere's a lot of wisdom out there! Click here for "Your Stories" and benefit from a variety of amazing, insightful, and powerful testimonies.INCLUSIVE EDUCATION CONFERENCESWe can make inclusive education a reality! Check out these two opportunities:INCLUSIONmatters; December 8-9, 2010, Lafayette, LA. Visit www.fhfjefferson.org for more info.Inclusion Works!; February 23-26, 2011, Austin, TX.Visit www.thearcoftexas.org for more info.

Disability is Natural PresentationsI'll be presenting in Michigan, South Dakota, Colorado, California, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania in the coming weeks, including at the Supported Life Conference in Sacramento and the TASH Conference in Denver. I'd love to see you at any of those presentations! Click here to learn more about my presentations.

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Remember to Presume Competence in people with disabilities!

KathieDisability is NaturalBraveHeart Press©2010 Kathie Snow; all rights reserved.