“Honey, you have to see the interview on Colbert from last night. The CEO of Special Olympics was on talking about person-first language!” my husband excitedly said to me one morning last week. I had fallen asleep while we were watching it together the night before. And, no, I didn’t fall asleep during it’s 11:30pm timeslot. I am (just a little) embarrassed to admit that we were watching our DVR’d version at about 8pm!

I did watch it. And then I watched it again. And then I tweeted it and posted it on my Facebook wall. And I kept thinking about it and talking about it with anyone who would listen. Here is the clip, in case you haven’t seen it. Watch it and then meet me back here and we can discuss.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Tim Shriver
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

OK. Pretty good, right? By “pretty” I mean, I love to see this kind of advocacy taking place on a show with such wide influence. Also, I do love the R-word campaign. But, by “pretty,” I also mean that I do have some criticisms. With no disrespect meant to Tim Shriver, President and CEO of Special Olympics, I think he got a little lost in his message. Here is what I mean:

The clip is about the “R-word” campaign. However, Mr. Shriver talks about person-first language and the importance of putting the person before the disability. In my opinion, that doesn’t have much to do with the R-word campaign, which is focused on stopping people from using the word “retard” as a slang insult. The campaign is beautiful and effective in its simplicity. Instead, Mr. Shriver talked about how mental retardation was a term that was used in the past and that now the term is intellectual disabilities. Which is true, but not really related to the R-word campaign. Which brings me to my next point…

· Mr. Shriver said that, although he knew that others didn’t like it, he likes the term “intellectual diffabilities” (a mash-up of the word “difference” and the word “disability”). I, personally, have a strong negative reaction to that term. It is one of those cringe-inducing, overly euphemistic terms like handicapable or differently-abled.

· I also didn’t love how he explained person-first language. I sat there thinking that I could do a much better job. Of course, being interviewed by Stephen Colbert may be one of the hardest things to do on television, so I shouldn’t be so judgmental. And I am really not trying to be judgey. I know Mr. Shriver was trying to poke fun at Colbert when he called him a “person with goop in his hair,” but I don’t know if it really helped viewers develop any new understanding of people with disabilities.

Again, no disrespect intended to Mr. Shriver and the incredible work he and his family have done for people with disabilities.

I think that the most important sentence in that entire interview was the one that Colbert delivered as a spontaneous PSA at the end. I thought it brilliantly summed up the point of the R-word campaign in a way that was light, funny and important.

What are your thoughts?

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We have an app! How cool are we?

There has been lots of excitement around the KIT office, and lots of travel to faraway places to spread the word of inclusion. I am hoping that some of our busy trainers will contribute their journals to this blog in the near future, but until then I interrupt our regular programming for a commercial for our new iPhone app!

One of the many reasons I love working for KIT is the way we can have an idea and then get it off the ground quickly. This ability is directly related to the diverse team of talents we have here. It took a village to make an iPhone app, and we are thrilled to offer it to you for FREE! Many thanks to the Special Hope Foundation, who made this possible.

Click here to download it for your iPhone. The app includes many just-in-time training tools, like short instructional videos, booklets, FAQs and access to our training calendar. You can also link to our various social media outlets through the app.

We did start with the iPhone, but we plan to secure more funding to create apps for the other smart phones as well. Hang in there Android and Blackberry users!

Inclusion is...leveraging the latest technology!

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KIT Receives Award from MEAF

MEAF Director Kevin Webb with Torrie Dunlap of KIT

Please forgive this post if it looks too "braggy." KIT received a great honor last Friday in Washington, DC and I'd like to share it with you. For the past six years KIT has been fortunate enough to receive both financial and moral support from the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF). Their mission is to provide grants that support the full inclusion of children and youth with disabilities in society, and thus, KIT and MEAF have partnered in numerous ways to promote inclusion. We have greatly appreciated the MEAF model, which intentionally creates partnerships between organizations, for the benefit of both. Thanks to MEAF, KIT was able to enjoy a mutually-beneficial relationship with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, for instance. Now for the braggy part...

Last week at their 20th Anniversary Luncheon MEAF presented KIT with one of 8 Inclusion Champion Awards. The award was presented by Dr. Carol Kochhar-Bryant of George Washington University. It was a very meaningful presentation, as Dr. Kochhar-Bryant has been an advisor for MEAF since their beginnings and she knows a lot about KIT's work. She suggested that KIT had influenced MEAF's understanding of inclusion and they way they approached their own work. I was very moved by that statement. I was also so grateful to have the opportunity to accept the award on behalf of my colleagues, our board of directors and the many organizations we have partnered with throughout our time as a MEAF grantee.

Taking the Message of Inclusion to the TOP!

One of the highlights of my career happened last week- I got to go to the Pentagon on official business to discuss KIT's work with US Military Child & Youth Services. I really can't say more than that...but I can tell you that there is a Starbucks and a Best Buy inside the Pentagon. I had no idea!

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Connecting Compassion with Inclusion

Oh, boy, do I love a good TED talk. This one, by Krista Tippett, is about one of my favorite subjects- compassion. If that wasn't enough, she mentions Matthew Sanford (a yogi and a self-advocate) in her talk. Check it out and reconnect with compassion. Pay particular attention to her description of compassion as both kind and curious. She quotes someone who says that compassion is "curiosity without assumptions." I think that is a very nice way to describe our work in inclusion.

Is it really still an afterthought?

As I mentioned in my last post I recently attended the National Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks meeting, funded by the C.S. Mott Foundation. While there I attended several workshop sessions on diversity, equity and access. And, of course, in every workshop and plenary session I ever attend I always have my ears attuned to any mention of inclusion, access, disability and equity. It’s like my brain has meta tags. I’m always listening for a series of keywords related to KIT’s work, so that I can get an idea of where the national conversation on inclusion is at any point in time.

At the Mott meeting I was heartened to hear that information on inclusion was something people felt they needed. When I started at KIT over eight years ago people were more likely to say to me “we don’t have any of those kids in our program.” Of course, I generalize. And that’s the point, really. To get a general idea of where people and organizations are in their approach to inclusion. Even though the discussion is much more open than it was eight years ago, it still seems to be focused on this idea of “special needs.” That some kids have needs that are special, and our program doesn’t know how to meet the needs, for instance. Which is a very good start. Recognizing that we need to support all kinds of needs is a great place to begin.

However, I’d love to see that discussion broadened and deepened even further. Could we recognize that all kids are different, have different needs, interests, challenges and strengths, and that our program design should allow for and support those needs? Could we see that children with disabilities are all of all ethnicities, socio-economics and religions so that “special needs” is not a separate category of diversity, but perhaps that ability difference runs through everyone and every community?

I am not at all trying to diminish the needs of children who have disabilities. I hope it doesn’t sound like that. Rather, I want to elevate the discussion so that “special needs” is not an afterthought, but a more intentional part of the process of providing child and youth development programs. And, for those of us in the field of inclusion, I think that’s our charge. We need to insert ourselves into the mainstream, instead of remaining a fringe or “boutique” concept. I can envision a landscape where every afterschool conference has sessions on inclusion, and beyond that they may not even be discrete sessions but instead interwoven in every session. I would love to see every quality assessment tool or rubric address inclusion, again, not in a separate category, but reflected in every category. Workforce development, professional development and certificate programs should ensure that people have the knowledge and understanding to support all kinds of children in all types of programs.

Maybe I’m getting more impatient as I get older. I just feel like as far as we have come there is still this sense of “oh yeah, and special needs.” My energy for this is boundless, and my colleagues at KIT are tireless and devoted advocates, but it’s going to take all of us and you to make this happen. It’s going to take us all, finding every possible entryway that we can, so that someday soon any child can be welcomed and supported in any program in any community.

Inclusion is…a team effort.

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Talkin' About Afterschool with Mott

After a 2-month travel hiatus, I was back on the road last week! I do get a little itchy when I’ve been in my office chair for too long, so the chance to “move about the country” was perfectly timed. I took a pleasant and on-time flight (thank you, Southwest!) to Fort Lauderdale, FL to attend the 2001 National Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks meeting, funding by the C.S. Mott Foundation. I am the Co-Chair of the California Afterschool Network’s Leadership Team, which is why I had the opportunity to attend the meeting. Coincidentally, KIT’s Dr. Mary Shea also attended the meeting as part of the Oregon After School for Kids (ASK) team. Mary and I both had a great time reconnecting with the state networks who have hired KIT to provide training, conference keynotes, technical assistance or strategic planning for their state (big shout outs to Michigan, Wyoming, Connecticut, Missouri and Washington!).

In addition to the great networking, the meeting also allowed for a lot of learning. It was exciting to hear Dr. Milton Chen, senior fellow and executive director emeritus at The George Lucas Educational Foundation (and an ordained Jedi Master by George Lucas himself!), discuss the ideas from his book Education Nation. As he described it, an Education Nation is “a learning society where education of children is the highest priority, equal to a strong economy, high employment and national security, which rely on education.” He defined a “ladder of learning” from pre-K through high school blending formal and informal learning through schools, technology, museums, libraries, churches, youth groups and parks. A real strength of the United States, Dr. Chen said, is our informal learning institutions- parks, camps, museums, libraries and other non-profits. Here, here! To see some examples, visit the George Lucas Educational Foundation’s website on what works in education. It’s easy for those of us in the out-of-school field to think that k-12 education doesn’t apply to us. That that’s what they do, and we do something different. But the truth is it’s all the same kids. Our kids. The more we can integrate their learning and development in all parts of their lives, wholly and thoughtfully, the better off they will be. And the better of we will be, as they are our future!

I’ve got more to share about the Mott meeting so check back later in the week and into next week!

Oh, and that cute photo is of most of our California team. From left, Gordon Jackson, Assistant Superintendant and the California Department of Education, me, Julie Jarrett, After School Programs Administrator for Butte County Office of Education and Andee Press-Dawson, Executive Director of the California Afterschool Network. This photo was taken just after we showed all the other states how it’s done on the dance floor to the sounds of The Mambo Kings!

Happy New Year

Today is the very last day of the year. It’s always been one of my favorite days. I love the process of reflecting back on the year that was, and setting some intentions for the year ahead. It’s a powerful time to take stock of what’s working well in the balance of life, and also to examine what may need some tweaking.

This year I am really thinking about what’s been happening at KIT lately. We’ve grown tremendously in the past year, to meet an ever growing demand for information and resources about inclusion. I am thrilled that more and more organizations understand that they need to be doing more to ensure that children with disabilities have access to their programs and services. I can’t help but think back to 2003, when I started working at KIT, and how most of my time was spent begging people to learn about inclusion. I’d call program after program and the response I got was “your training sounds great, but we don’t have any of those kids here.” So much has changed since then.

2011 will be an incredibly dynamic year for KIT. But what absolutely won’t change is our steadfast commitment to supporting out-of-school time professionals in their efforts to include all children in their programs and activities. We’ve got exciting new methods for sharing inclusion, a team of new staff with fresh perspectives and some new opportunities that will allow us to reach out to new audiences. It’s going to be a great year.

Happy New Year to you and yours!

So grateful

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and all is quiet around the KIT offices. Email and phone calls from the outside world have all but stopped, and those of us working (and not battling the opt-out campaign at airports today) are doing a combination of catching-up and getting ahead. It’s nice to have a quiet day after months and months of hustle and bustle around here. What am I doing, you ask? Mostly sitting with a soft smile on my face as I consider all that I am grateful for here at KIT. In honor of Thanksgiving, I’ve made a short list that I share with you today. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!

I am grateful for…

· The amazing group of women who I get to work with at KIT. From Jan’s incredibly visionary leadership, to Sara, Cheryl and Amanda keeping all of our processes in place, to Alicia’s work in re-branding and making our materials and website more hip and modern, to the passionate and dedicated group of NTCI staff (Wendi, Nili, Julie, Kara, Suzanne and Selena) who are constantly on the phone and in the field showing people the beauty and power of inclusion. And, I can’t leave Mary and Alissa off of the list, as I am supremely grateful to both of them for how they have, and continue to, help move KIT forward. Everyday I am grateful to get to spend my days with such a talented, fun and creative group of women.

· Our KIT affiliates who open themselves up to trying new ways of teaching, new ways of learning and new ways of relating to children and their families. They have been incredibly game, and I am both impressed with and very proud of their efforts. I know that everyday they make the world a better place for children.

· Our own KIT board of directors. When I arrived at the office this morning our Board President (Dr. Jane McAuliffe)’s 17 year-old son was sitting at a computer volunteering his time on a day off of school by helping enter training data (a very tedious job!). Making my way to my own office I bumped into board member Rahul Dangui who said he came by this morning just to “hang out” for a bit. Our board members are committed, supportive and enthusiastic about our mission.

· The US Military’s commitment to inclusion and their willingness to allow KIT to come in and, in the words of one of their staff, “shake things up.”

· Everyone of our partners, supporters, friends and collaborators who have helped spread the word about inclusion this past year.

· All of our learners, who teach us something every day.

· The Youth Inclusion Voices who have created an amazing message campaign called I Am Norm.

Donors and funders who believe in our work, volunteers who selflessly give their time and talents...

I think I’ll have to continue this list into next week and the week after, as I can think of so many more things and people that I am grateful for at KIT.

Peace!

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I've (Been to) Kansas City...Kansas City (There I Was)

At KIT one of our big hopes is that people who learn about inclusion will take their knowledge and spread it around. It’s obviously great if people learn new techniques to include children with disabilities and go back and use them in their own classrooms and programs, but it is even better if people take the message and philosophy of inclusion and share it with their colleagues so that it completely permeates an organization. We’ve seen organizations be absolutely transformed by inclusion- the concept of ensuring that every child is welcomed, valued and supported.

A wonderful example of this “psst…pass it along” is the after school program called Kids Country in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Over the past several years Kids Country has been a National Affiliate of KIT, a program that is generously funded by the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF). To say that we have been impressed with them would be a big, big understatement. In addition to doing the hard internal work of examining their own programs to improve inclusiveness, they have also been spreading the word about the value of inclusion far and wide in the state of Missouri. At our recent National Conference on Inclusion we honored their efforts with our highest honor, the KIT Leadership Award.

The staff of Lee's Summit Kids Country accepting their award.

This past weekend I attended the Missouri School Age Care Professional Development Institute (PDI), where I was a keynote speaker and presenter. This year’s PDI was organized by the staff at Kids Country and held in Kansas City. I was absolutely blown away by how the Kids Country staff incorporated inclusion as a theme throughout the event. Their passion for access and inclusion was obvious in their large-scale decisions (keynote speakers) and even in the smallest details (wonderful quotes about inclusion in their conference program).

Me with Tyler Greene- check out his video

So, thank you Lee’s Summit Kids Country! Spending the weekend with you and the dedicated professionals from the state of Missouri was an absolute gift.

Inclusion is…taking your passion and sharing it with others.

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