A Wheelchair View

It has become a long term goal to move to Cincinnati, Ohio from my small town of Hamilton, Ohio for quite some time. The reasons are countless, more accessibility in housing, transportation and jobs, as well as more opportunity to show and sell my artwork. My husband and I are going through a separation so I thought that this is the moment to make the big move happen. One more leap of faith into the middle of great hope and humble dreams. Here in Hamilton there are few resources for the kind of independence that a big city has to offer, but moving further away from family and into the arms of friends that I haven’t even made yet is both scary and exciting. However, I know if I do not make the effort and take the risk I will regret it. With every goal comes effort and resilience. I must keep a determination to go knock on the next door when the one I have been beating on closes. Sometimes I feel like I am just having a staring contest with a teddy bear and it is inevitable that I will ...

The time has come and Butler County is implementing the updates applied to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004. Ohio updated the special education rules, effective July 1, 2008. The purpose of the update to requirements is to improve and ensure that children with disabilities have equal opportunity, full participation in education, independent living and economic self-sufficiency. In her introduction letter to the Operating Standards for Ohio Educational Agencies (OSOEA) serving Children with Disabilities hand book, Susan Tave Zelman, Superintendent of Public Instruction lists the new emphasis on the following standards: • High expectations and support; • Intervening services provided as early as possible; • Evaluation of research-based interventions; • Highly qualified teachers; • Flexibility in requirements in reevaluating student progress and needs; • Instruction in general curriculum, presented in settings with non-disabled peers as much as p...