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I want to rewind a couple weeks ago to advocating at the Texas capitol with my LEND cohort. We were joined by Lonestar LEND, a counterpart program based in Houston. It was a fun and chaotic day, in which we met with staffers to discuss issues and bills affecting the disability community. We capped off the day with a presentation by an ABA (applied behavior analysis) provider. I’ve talked about ABA before; it’s the predominant therapy recommended for children with autism....

Ok now for my hot take and how, once again, Revi is challenging me to think critically. While our neurologist spoke with us and discussed the MANY considerations of surgery, she said something so casually that stuck in my mind. She said something to the effect of this: ‘surgery on a child who is learning to read versus surgery on Revi who is learning personal care skills has different implications.’ This statement really packs a punch....

For my LEND program, I have a practicum placement in which I observe a developmental pediatrician meet, assess, evaluate, diagnose and treat children with various developmental disabilities. Overall the doctor is knowledgeable and really spot on with so much of her care for the families, but she occasionally says things that make my jaw drop. The day after Revi and I had the horrible and traumatic onboarding appointment, I observed the developmental pediatrician give her diagnostic findings to the mom of a 5 year old....

Assume competence. This is a mantra that Kiran and I have been trying to live by when it comes to Revi. I often have to remind myself, that although I do my best to understand Revi and know what he wants or what he needs, ultimately he is the only one who knows his own thoughts and desires. Just because Revi does not express them in ways that I understand, does not mean he lacks opinions....