Website Spotlight: All Kids Can

March is Disability Awareness Month. These days, I think each month is home to so many causes that it can be hard to keep them straight - personally, I think that disability awareness should be a year-round thing. Although my child is too young to really talk to about disabilities yet, as a teacher who has been in middle school and high school classrooms, I've had ample opportunities to work with kids who have various disabilities and help create open dialogues that respect the differences while still allowing for curiosity.

One of the biggest things I always tried to do in my classroom was to create an overall environment of respect and celebration of achievements. When there's an environment of trust, it makes it easier to be open about differences. When working with younger kids, if I was asked a question about a person with disabilities, I would often encourage them to ask the person themselves (after helping them word the question appropriately) because I feel that t is much more polite to talk to people instead of about them. I've also found that most people with disabilities - of any age - are willing to talk to people who are genuinely curious, particularly younger kids who may not have had any experience with people with disabilities before. It also helps that I have a cousin who is developmentally disabled and deaf, and two other cousins who are autistic and mute, as many of our family members grow up with people with disabilities being treated with love and being around just like anyone else.

All Kids Can is a program by the CVS Caremark Foundation. The program provides grants to enable all kids to be able to learn, play, and succeed. It also provides links to a game from the CDC about disabilities, and highlights organizations devoted to working with kids with disabilities. If this is a cause special to you, be sure to check it out to see what ways you can help in your area.