Mornings in our home always start with coffee and conversation—which often revolves around how lucky we are to do what we do. The joy, the sense of community, the self confidence and advocacy, and the sense of pride that has blossomed over the past eight years really is something we are incredibly honored to be part of.

It goes without saying, this has been a year like no other. As we head towards what will definitely be a unique holiday season, it seems clear we will need to shift expectations on our old traditions. There is no better time than now to reflect on ways to stay positive, hopeful, and ideally be more inclusive!

What does the word accessibility mean to you?

Wheelchair ramps, automatically opening doors, and braille on elevators, I imagine you would say. Yes, that is what accessibility means in the world of architecture and physical environments, but what does accessibility mean for learning environments?

“Thank you - I am so glad we found you!”

“My daughter absolutely loved joining in yesterday, when is the next one?”

“What is all this Juice Talk?”

I am really lucky, I get to hear lots of happy stories. We here at IOB call it, "Juice." Juice is representative of all the good stories we get to share—stuff that makes us happy, proud, and know we are doing important and meaningful work.

Students thriving in a distance learning environment.

Until March of this year, I had not truly given thought to what it means to pivot. Being part of an organization with a mission that targets changing perceptions around autism, I thought I understood the nature and value of change - and then everything changed.

Wednesday night we started off the evening with a Question of the Day, “What is a piece of advice you received that you carry with you each day?” What we ended up with was a beautiful pool of wisdom that we can go swimming in anytime we need to!

Students thriving in a distance learning environment.

Until March of this year, I had not truly given thought to what it means to pivot. Being part of an organization with a mission that targets changing perceptions around autism, I thought I understood the nature and value of change - and then everything changed.

Summer is in full swing and we sure felt the heat last weekend here in Milwaukee! Last night we talked about quite a few different topics…from celebrations to Pop Tarts.

Transition. It’s a simple word that can be applied to so many things. Transition to and from work, from grade school to middle school, from puberty to adulthood. As a special education teacher, I’d like to call attention to something that often gets overlooked or is an afterthought in many IEP meetings - the Post Secondary Transition Plan, or PTP for short.

Last night we spent time catching up and sharing how we are all doing. As we find most of the time these days, we are all feeling so many emotions…all of the emotions. It can be a bit overwhelming at times how quickly we move from one feeling to the next!

Good morning! At least I hope it was a good morning. How are you feeling? Rested and ready? Or exhausted and needing more sleep? Last night we spent the majority of the conversation focused on sleep, or more specifically…a lack of it!

As a group, the Lighthouse parents are finding some comfort and joy in getting outside. Whether it is exercise or enjoying a cup of coffee on the patio, the months of being cooped up in the house have given us the desire to be outside as much as possible! Working in the garden, enjoying the beauty of the world coming to life around us, and breathing in the fresh air is a great way to rejuvenate and restore.

Last night was such a powerful conversation. Thank you for being there for each other, for trusting each other, and for being vulnerable with each other. As one parent shared with me this morning, “It was so good to hear how fierce these moms are and also hear their struggles!” If there was ever a conversation that embodied the saying, “We’re all in this together,” it was last night.

We all know that finding a balance in life can be a huge challenge! How many of us have struggled over the years to find that ever-elusive work-life balance? Struggled to find a way to balance self-care with childcare and running a home? I find that the quest for balance usually involves a bit of mindfulness, it takes intentional work to balance out our emotions.

I hope you are all doing well and continuing to find moments of joy both big and small. Last night we shared a few of those moments with each other. One example of a beautiful, but simple moment was noticing the light as it came through the kitchen window while doing daily chores.

Last week we talked about gratitude and how when we express what we are grateful for, we create a cycle where we continually find more and more to be grateful for. So we began our evening by sharing a few things that we were grateful for that day…

Last night we started the evening by sharing two words that describe how we were feeling at the moment. And the answers really gave a snapshot of how we might be finding ourselves at a turning point in our collective emotional journey.

Last night we spent some time talking about emotions. All of us are experiencing these times in different ways. Some of us are completely isolated, some of us (or our family members) need to go out into the community for work. Many of us are feeling upset about the ways our daily lives have had to change. Loneliness, anxiety, sadness, despair, anger…we are feeling them, our kids are feeling them.

“Help me!” It’s something we’re hearing from so many in our community.

From our students who have shared that they feel lost and confused.

From their parents who feel overwhelmed and unprepared.

From educators and support providers who are grappling with the challenges of supporting their students with autism in a meaningful and impactful way while they’re schooling at home.

Starting Thursday morning, we will be posting a Question of the Day via YouTube. We invite you all to engage and share your answers with whatever format you prefer.