What can parents and teachers do to help facilitate the sorts of ongoing, mutually reciprocal interactions that lead to true friendship? Dr. Zach Rossetti is a special education professor who says that parents and teachers can help foster better friendship-building opportunities: it starts with enabling a shared space for social engagement, then simply getting out of the way. And of course, inclusive education and teaching social skills (for all kids, not just kids with disabilities) play a big ...
Jun 28, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 117
Why is it so important to include kids with disabilities in the general education classroom? To Diane Richler, an international disability advocate with fifty years of experience, it boils down to human rights. All people have the right to a quality education, and for kids with intellectual disabilities, inclusive programs are the highest quality programs. Diane’s work with the international disability community is trying to help promote the essential human rights of people with intellectual dis...
Jun 26, 2021•52 min•Ep. 116
How can a school psychologist help your child with a disability? Striving for inclusive education is a complex battle and when parents develop a relationship with the school psychologist, that can help to simplify and demystify the process. Aaron Dunham is one such psychologist and he joined Genia for this week’s podcast to talk about the confluence between data, cooperation, and even humility in striving for systemic change, as well as psychoeducational assessments and how parents can decide wh...
Jun 18, 2021•49 min•Ep. 115
The research is clear: inclusion works. But too many programs are still segregating students based on ability. Educator and academic Jacqueline Specht is researching the best ways to implement inclusion into the classroom, and she has identified educator training as a critical period in establishing the individual pedagogical values and self-confidence needed to not just accommodate students with disabilities, but embrace them as worthy participants in the classroom. Listen now to her chat with ...
Jun 07, 2021•56 min•Ep. 114
When activists and advocates focus their efforts regionally, but have access to resources and allies that spread across the globe, it’s a potent formula for empowering members of a community and really democratizing the advocacy process. The Citizen Network Coop’s Simon Duffy and Markus Vähälä know that rebellion is at the heart of this empowerment and that cooperation is key to really challenging the status quo. Listen now to their talk with Genia Stephen about the rebelliousness of social prog...
May 31, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 113
Catherine Whitcher's IEP creation methods have helped thousands of parents and schools work together to prepare students for further education, employment, and independent living. Through her Master IEP Coach Mentorship + Network, Catherine teaches parents how to demystify and assume their rights as members of the IEP team and how to ensure their child’s best interests are truly reflected in their IEP. She joined Genia Stephen for a conversation about IEP strategy and making sure parent input is...
May 24, 2021•36 min•Ep. 112
Special education should not be synonymous with separate education. That’s the position of the MCIE’s Tim Villegas. The MCIE works with educators and school districts to help integrate meaningful inclusive education into the classroom. Moving from full segregation to authentic inclusion is not going to happen overnight. But although the pace of change can be slow, incremental progress still counts as progress. And when children with disabilities don’t have access to inclusive education programs,...
May 17, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 111
There’s a term too often neglected in conversations about disability: citizen . This is a core guiding principle of the Citizen-Centered Leadership Development (CCLD) Community of Practice, Carol Blessing’s innovative 15-week course for service providers that work with people with disabilities. In this episode, Genia Stephen talks to Carol about her CCLD program and her concept of radicalized citizenship. Carol explains how the social model of disability, which is often held up as the gold stand...
May 10, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 110
Addie Loerzel is a 15-year-old girl with a disability who has raised nearly $80,000 for the Sunshine Foundation. She’s also the current crown-holder of the Princess of America Miss Minnesota pageant and a regular public speaker and advocate for kids with disabilities. In this week’s episode Genia Stephen welcomes Addie to the podcast to talk about how she has accomplished so much for someone so young, and where she’s looking to take her fundraising efforts next. She’s an inspiring youth leader w...
May 03, 2021•27 min
Genia Stephen turns hosting duties over to Pamela Mansell, who interviews Dr. Hanns Meissner, author of Creating Blue Space: Fostering Innovative Support Practices for People with Developmental Disabilities . Hanns talks to Pamela about his innovative concept of “blue space,” the peaceful centre of a storm, and how blue space can be an important factor in achieving real independence and community participation for people with disabilities. By understanding how blue space works and how to wield i...
Apr 26, 2021•58 min
Dr. Leyton Schnellert is a lifelong inclusive education teacher who believes it doesn’t have to be difficult for teachers to tailor their curriculum to the students taking the course. In fact, Leyton says that students are the curriculum, and that when teachers recognize this, inclusive education becomes a lot easier to attain. He stresses open-ended pedagogy and collaboration as important to inclusivity, as well as decolonizing and indigenizing education. Listen now to his chat with Genia Steph...
Apr 19, 2021•1 hr 9 min
What, exactly, do parents really need to say to government officials in charge of education? When parents unify their message and demand inclusion over segregation, it’s the best way to move toward real equity for children with disabilities. This week’s podcast is the conclusion to a special two-part series with Gordon Porter and David Towell, two internationally renowned inclusive education advocates who believe that parents have the most powerful voice in the current dialogue around education....
Apr 13, 2021•56 min
What can the Canadian province of New Brunswick teach us about inclusive education? Gordon Porter and David Towell, two internationally renowned inclusive education advocates, teamed up to write Advancing Inclusive Education , using the New Brunswick system as a case study for how ministries of education can implement progressive policies that meet the needs of all students. For this episode, the first in a two-part series, they talked with Good Things in Life host Genia Stephen about the ten st...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 30 min
Inclusion is possible, but it’s hard. For episode 104, Genia was thrilled to chat with Susan Dunnigan, a social worker, mother, and advocate for inclusion. Susan’s memoir, Warrior Angel , documents her family’s ongoing pursuit of normalcy while supporting and advocating for her son Matt. Susan and Genia chatted about the importance of the two As of inclusive education: advocacy and allyship, and how the two work together to carve out a place for children with disabilities within the mainstream e...
Mar 29, 2021•48 min
When you’re a parent of a child with a disability, it can be hard to recognize when it’s time to really step back and let your kid take more control of their own life. For this episode, Genia Stephen turned things over to guest host Carrie Ahrens, a member of Inclusion Academy. Carrie interviewed Hope House Foundation executive director Lynne Seagle about the ways that caregivers and professionals in the social service system can empower young adults with disabilities to take control of their ow...
Mar 27, 2021•1 hr 5 min
Good Things in Life host Genia Stephen and storyteller Katie Bachmeyer wrap up their three-part discussion on medical safeguarding by identifying the ways that the right mindset really makes a difference in patient advocacy, both on the part of the health care worker and the patient advocate. Genia, who’s been providing medical safeguarding services for her sister in intensive care since November 2020, talks about how any health care worker, regardless of their personality, can truly change the ...
Mar 17, 2021•25 min
In Part 2 of this special interview series, storyteller Katie Bachmeyer asks Good Things host Genia Stephen about what it’s like when a hospital becomes your home. Genia notes that the some rules and systems in place around the hospital are designed primarily to protect and empower service providers, not patients. When patients in long-term inpatient care get no respite from the system—because they can’t go home, after all—there is a negative impact on the patient.
Mar 16, 2021•37 min
For this special 100th episode of the podcast, Good Things host Genia Stephen flips the script a bit: this time, someone else is interviewing her! Filmmaker and storyteller Katie Bachmeyer asks Genia about what medical safeguarding really means. Safeguards provide support for their loved ones with disabilities, but they also act as advocates and interpreters for vulnerable people that are too often devalued by the medical system. Sometimes safeguards even make the difference between life and dea...
Mar 03, 2021•1 hr 9 min
Genia Stephen talks about her reflections on her sister’s experience of being an intensive care patient with a disability who needs support to be safe. Medical safeguarding of vulnerable hospital patients can make the difference between life and death. In Inclusion Academy, Good Things In Life’s monthly membership, we’ll be covering how to be an effective medical advocate. For more information and to join go to goodthingsinlife.org/join ....
Feb 23, 2021•14 min
Choice is the friend of inclusion. Now, more than ever we need to feel ready and inspired to teach all of our students, Pre-K through 12th grade. It's all about creating the most inclusive educational system possible where every person (big and small) not only survives, but thrives. In this podcast (an audio recording of a webinar with inclusive education experts Drs. Julie Causton and Kristie Pretti-Frontczak), Causton and Pretti-Frontczak share the "why's" behind inclusion and share some of th...
Feb 16, 2021•1 hr 26 min
In this podcast, I chat with Andy Willemsen, a developmental service worker and community living advocate, about four key areas of knowledge that parents can equip themselves with in order to help support their child’s educational needs: knowledge about your own child, knowledge about the way the system functions, knowledge about the different actors within the system, and knowledge about what your options are going forward. We also chat about the importance of equity, empathy, teamwork, and tra...
Feb 08, 2021•51 min
This bonus podcast episode is the audio recording of David Lepofsky's YouTube video on tips for parents about school advocacy. If you want to watch the video, you can find that at goodthingsinlife.org/david and that will direct you over to the Osgoode Hall Law School YouTube site, which is where David originally published the video. In this episode, David shares some practical suggestions and strategies for parents to try out to ensure that your child is fully included and fully benefits from th...
Feb 04, 2021•47 min
David Lepofsky, lawyer and disability rights activist, discusses how knowledge is power when it comes to advocating for inclusion in school. Understanding the system means parents can better navigate the issues and work with the school to achieve inclusion goals.
Feb 04, 2021•51 min
A sneak peak into the tragedy and grief, joys, wins, contributions, successes and massive strains of 2020 for host Genia Stephen and Good Things In Life. Plus, a "where we are headed" look into the future. Join Inclusion Academy here . Email support@goodthingsinlife.org if you have an idea for a podcast episode or want to be a guest host.
Feb 02, 2021•20 min
Every parent has dreams for their children. Yet, when our kids have disabilities, we need to make those dreams clear. We need to create a vision and then act to make it happen. Darcy Elks shares the pathway to making our dreams a reality.
Feb 01, 2021•51 min
Angela Breeden and Julie White tell the story of the On Purpose Project, a community group that brings neighbours with and without disabilities together for civic improvement projects and creates opportunities for meaningful work and a sense of belonging along the way.
Dec 16, 2020•40 min
Joe Clayton survived years of abuse while institutionalized at the now-closed Rideau Regional Centre. Now an artist who runs Nature Natives Art Gallery, he tells his story with immense courage and strength in order to prevent others from living through what he did. #Triggeralert: this episode contains discussions of sexual assault and physical abuse. It also contains a story of moving through hurt and trauma toward community.
Dec 09, 2020•34 min
Faith Clarke is an organizational health and teamwork specialist who has developed a structured, principled approach to onboarding, training and supporting support workers. In this episode, we talk about how to build a home health team that really works for your family.
Dec 02, 2020•48 min
Institutionalization hurts the person institutionalized, the family, and our community. Marilyn Dolmage, Vici Clarke and Victoria Freeman discuss their experiences of having their sibling with a disability institutionalized as a child. #triggeralert.
Nov 23, 2020•1 hr 31 min
Victoria Freeman’s book “A World without Martha: A Memoir of Sisters, Disability and Difference” is fundamentally about what it means to live in a world where only some people are deemed worthy of love. On the podcast, Victoria and I read excerpts from the book and explore the themes of this all-too-real story. This podcast comes with a #triggeralert. It also comes with the opportunity to use Victoria’s story - and Martha’s story - as motivation, fuel, learning to make life better for those in o...
Nov 11, 2020•1 hr
