Beautiful October day in Indiana

and we took advantage of it! Seger turns 3 this week, and Nash is 8 1/2 now.

Tomorrow is Teacher conference day for our boy, now 8 years old and in third grade. My blog has taken a back stage to daily/weekly/monthly events; my work at the Attorney General’s office as a criminal appeals attorney for you, the citizens of Indiana, my new appointment with the ARC of Indiana board of directors, working with Down Syndrome Indiana and ARC of Indiana to initiate post-secondary educational opportunities in Indiana, being Mom to Nash and trying so, so hard not to be “educator of Nash”, getting our powerful husband/dad BigDawg back on his feet after retinal detachment surgery took him OUT for two weeks…and still continuing.....ugh, he is so vital to our family! And now that our 2009 DSI Buddy Walk is over, so many positive raising over 110K, but knowing I will be involved in big changes soon, locally and nationally. I am just mind boggled at the split in the national spectrum in the DS movement right now with the major fundraiser (NDSS Buddy Walk) that has allowed ALL of our affiliates to progress to the point they are today. ALL of them. But I digress…. Tomorrow will be a “show me” day, a day for Nash to shine (we tend to leave the negatives for the communication notes, but even those have promise!) and I have no doubt he will do so. We have a fantastic team this year, wonderful accommodations. Looking forward to tomorrow, unlike the days when I couldn't see beyond the tears.

So you wanna Dash with Nash? 2009 DSI Buddy Walk® -Indy- October 10th!

The 2009 DSI Buddy Walk is Saturday, October 10th, 2009 Celebration Plaza, White River State Park - Downtown Indianapolis Join Team Dash with Nash! We are taking part in the Buddy Walk®, as an affliate of the National Down Syndrome Society, to raise money for Down Syndrome Indiana, an organization near and dear to our hearts. The Buddy Walk® has three primary goals: * To promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome* To raise funds locally and nationally for education, research and advocacy programs, and; * To enhance the position of the Down syndrome community, enabling us to positively influence local and national policy and practice. Please join our team and/or make a donation by visiting DASH WITH NASH You can donate online with a credit card or shoot me an email and send a check via snail mail, but it needs to be in by October 3rd to go to our team total. For more information about the Buddy Walk click here Thank you!

As I await for word on my son's first day back to school...third grade in his local elementary school

I reflect on Eunice Kennedy Shriver's words: "The right to play on any playing field? You have earned it. The right to study in any school? You have earned it. The right to hold a job? You have earned it. The right to be anyone's neighbor? You have earned it." Eunice Kennedy Shriver 1987 Special Olympic World Games - South Bend Indiana. By Jack McCallum Originally published in Sports Illustrated Magazine, December 8, 2008 On a steamy July 20th afternoon in 1968, Eunice Kennedy Shriver strode to the microphone at Soldier Field in Chicago and convened the first Special Olympics Games. It was only seven weeks after her younger brother, Robert, had been gunned down in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, and about five weeks before the Windy City exploded in violent confrontations between police and protestors at the Democratic National Convention. The assassination and the violence had lasting political effects on the American landscape...and, in a much different way, so did the Games at Soldier Field. With a crowd of fewer than 100 people dotting the 85,000-seat stadium, about 1,000 athletes from 26 states and Canada, all of them routinely classified in those days as mentally retarded, marched in the opening ceremonies and followed Shriver as she recited what is still the Special Olympics oath: Let me win, but if I cannot win let me be brave in the attempt. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who would become a polarizing figure at the convention that August, attended the four-day event and told Shriver, "You know, Eunice, the world will never be the same after this." While skeptics shook their heads and most of the press ignored the unprecedented competition, Shriver boldly predicted that one million of the world's intellectually challenged would someday compete athletically. She was wrong. Today, more than three million Special Olympic athletes are training year-round in all 50 states and 181 countries. They run races, toss softballs, lift weights, ski moguls, volley tennis balls and pirouette on skates. There are World Winter Games, the most recent in Boise, Idaho, in February, and World Summer Games, which will be staged next in Athens in 2011. Documentaries, Wide-World-of-Sports presentations, after-school TV specials, feature films, cross-aisle Congressional teamwork and relentlessly positive global word of mouth have educated the planet about Special Olympics and the capabilities of the sort of individuals who were once locked away in institutions. Schooling, medical treatment and athletic training have all changed for people with intellectual disabilities as a result of Shriver's vision; more important, so have minds, attitudes and laws. While Nash is still competing with his classmates in sports, he will have the opportunity to enter Special Olympics sports. Opportunity. What an amazing word. Thank you Mrs. Shriver for helping pave the way for our children and adults with disabilities. Rest in Peace.

As the Summer Ends....

really. Is it almost August? And to think school starts here August 11th? And we will have a third grader? The past few months have been tutoring for Nash, (reading awesome, math pwtttthh) swimming for Nash, movies and just being eight for Nash, Mom working on some awesome criminal appeals cases and winning for the State (in Zack and Cody style, Yeah Me!) Jeff working on his aquisitions for his company and legislative issues he loves to do (Yeah Him!) Seger getting more hotspots and me hating them, and switching foods from one $52.00 bag to another (Boo) We are also of course active with DSI, ARC of Indiana, and working on getting postsecondary education programs solidified in Indiana. So now realizing that this summer is almost hitting August, someone stop all of my communication devices because I want to deplane... please control my Blackberry, facebooking, blog reading (Yep I noticed my personal blogging is nada since I found facebook), twittering (joined but refuse to particiate) and yahoo groups for DSI. I wanted things to stand still for one minute, one hour, one day, to allow me to enjoy life for a bit. whew. Vacation on Captiva Island for a while allowed that for me/us....loved it. And so enjoyed that Nicole and family joined us... and now for a recap in photos of the last two months. ahhhhhhhhhhhh Nash and Mackenzie at the DSI flyin that brought in 11K for DSI. Awesome! Nash went to Camp Agape and so loves riding...that is our newest sport Nash and Seger brought in July 4th with a bang! and no fireworks were involved...loved the NYC fireworks on TV for this family The Johnson family had another birth on their farm and shared it with us Captiva Island Beach photos.......our home away from home now.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! Bubba says.... Originally uploaded by Nashtaters Have a safe and enjoyable Independence Day!

Supremes issue their decision in Forest Grove School District v. T.A.

I blogged about this case going before the Supreme Court HERE. The decision was released today, and yes, the school is responsible for reimbursment! Pete Wright writes: Despite a long history of ADHD, severe depression, substance abuse problems, and failing grades, Forest Grove School District determined that T. A. was not eligible for special education services under IDEA, nor for protections under Section 504. As T.A.'s behavior and education continued to spiral out of control, the school offered no help. Finally, his parents placed him in a private school for children with behavioral and emotional problems. In their 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court held that: ". . . IDEA authorizes [tuition] reimbursement for the cost of private special education services when a school district fails to provide a FAPE and the private-school placement is appropriate, regardless of whether the child previously received special education or related services through the public school." (page 16 of the decision) Full opinion here.