Camp Linda

01/11/2021

A growing list of businesses run by people with disabilities (or those who are chronically ill) to shop from this holiday season. 💜

Sharing my journey of understanding what it means to create inclusive spaces. Applying all that knowledge to develop Camp Linda alongside the population we are building for.

07/11/2020

Today is the day Chris Nikic is competing in his first Iron Man Triathlon! He is the first man with Down Syndrome to attempt an Iron Man. Chris did his first triathalon through Special Olympics and was hooked. His goal over the years was just to get 1% better and now here he is! Follow for all the action. We are rooting you on today Chris!!

06/11/2020

Shoutout to Jess Benham! She is the first openly autistic candidate and the first openly bi candidate to win a seat on the Pennsylvania State Legislature! Thanks for sharing your truth so openly and paving the way for others. We’ll be cheering you on!!

Photo: This is an image of Jess in a white suit leaning against a white wall. She has brown hair and she is smiling.

03/11/2020

“On October 21, John Morris prepared to take his first flight since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He planned to travel from his home in Gainesville, Florida, through Dallas and onto Roswell, New Mexico.

He arrived at the American Airlines check-in counter at Gainesville Regional Airport and started the normal process of declaring his power wheelchair, only to have a supervisor inform him that since his wheelchair weighed more than 300 pounds, it was too heavy and he would not be allowed to board his scheduled flight. Additionally, Morris was informed that because of the limitations of the CRJ 700 and 900 jets American flies into both his home airport and Roswell, the airline would not be able to rebook him. “Basically, they just said, ‘We’ll cancel your ticket right here, and have a nice day,’” says Morris. “I was shell shocked.” -

This is ableism. It is refusing accommodations required in order for this person safely travel. It assumes that people with disabilities have less of a right to have the same lives as everyone else due to their accommodations.

Photo: This is a picture of a man in his wheelchair with a white shirt and pink shorts smiling at the camera in front of historical columned building.

03/11/2020

And black disabled lives.

23/10/2020

Dru stuck to boys clothes until high school. As a dwarf she could only wear clothes for younger children and girls clothing often looked too young. Boys clothes were more solid color and therefor seemed more age appropriate. She went on to get a degree in fashion marketing and management. She brought a bunch of designs to Macys and Nordstroms but no one was interested except for people at her school. She decided to bring together the designers from her program and in order to think about how to design clothes for her community to feel comfortable and confident. She just launched her brand Short Favor this spring. “I want something that is affordable, fits, and that small adjustments can be made because of how we designed the clothing.”

Check out her work at: https://shortfavorclothing.com/

Photo: A picture of Dru Presta wearing a black hat and a lace shirt looking at the camera from the side.

20/10/2020

Don’t get me wrong, I’m pumped people are voting in droves. But SIXTEEN PERCENT of the eligible voters in the US have a disability. Every act that prevents this massive block of voters from having their voices heard is voter suppression. Notice it. Call it out. We all can do our part.

19/10/2020

Let’s talk about intersectionality for a minute. Intersectionality is the concept of overlapping identities - ie, a disabled person who is also a person of color or a personal of color who also identifies as trans. Intersectionality deeply matters in the discussion of how we make our society more inclusive. It is not enough to just say that black people are disproportionately targeted by police (they are). But if you add in the percentage of those people who are also disabled you start to see a very troubling picture. The Ruderman Foundation estimated that one-third to one-half of all people killed by the police are disabled. Did you know that Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Elijah McClain and Tanisha Anderson all had disabilities or underlining health issues?

In many cases things that are inherent to a disability are often interpreted incorrectly. There is the story of Pearl Pearson Jr., a deaf man who did not initially know he was being pulled over, when he pulled to the side he could not hear the police officer so he reached for his placard to explain his disability but before he could do that the cop punched him in the face. There are other stories of people with Cerebral Palsy being accused of being drunk simply due to the way their body moves differently. People with disabilities get cops called on them fairly often for what their neighbors interpret as “strange behavior.”

Can you imagine having to have this on your house? Can you imagine the fear those parents must have? We need to do better across the board. We need better training. We need to not just teach kids with disabilities how to fit in with their peers but we should be spending just as much time teaching their peers how to interact with them. We must break the idea that anything outside of normal should be feared. We can do better.

Photo: This is a picture of a garage with a sign that reads “Attention. An autistic man lives here. He does not know what a cop is or what a gun is. He makes loud noises. He will not hurt you. He does not understand words or commands! Oh yes: He is black too.

Photo cred:

23/03/2020

Celebrating World Down Syndrome Day this week, we decided to share some more footage from our visit with Patrick. This time focusing on what makes having Down Syndrome so special!

Patrick and Beth shared Patrick's journey to self-love through the amazing work of Camp PALS and the Congratulation's Project.

09/03/2020

"So Pip was looking extra cute & getting a bit more attention than usual at the grocery store...I swear taking her anywhere is something to see- she's like a magnet...Sucks out "Oh my goodness aren't you cute" type comments from almost everyone she sees before they even realize they are talking...

As such after a lady commented on how cute Pip was, she leaned in and said in a quieter voice, "But what is wrong with her?" to which I replied, "Absolutely nothing", smiled and whisked my darling & our dignity away...

I didn't mean to come across as rude or short but I wanted to make sure I made enough of a statement that this lady, thinks about what happened, thinks about how she could have approached the situation a bit differently...

I honestly have no problem people asking questions...I get that people might be curious...Heck I am known to my friends as "Barbara freaking Walters" because I ask a zillion questions a minute...

But here's the thing friends...Yes she has Down syndrome...Yes she has glasses and yes she sometimes even has a bloody patch...But there is nothing WRONG with her...I would hope that no one would approach me with such words when Noal is around...First off because I don't want him associating Down syndrome with it meaning something is wrong or broken...And second because Noal might not be as diplomatic as I am...He already put a 5 year old in her place and let me tell you, he will be raised knowing different is not WRONG...Different is beautiful...Different is cool...Different is special..And it's awesome that we all just that..."



https://www.happysoulproject.com/2014/01/what-makes-you-different-is-what-makes.html #.Uwy86vldV8E

31/01/2020

(2/2) “My son was born on the 17th June 2019 at Leicester Royal Infirmary via C-Section. I was in the hospital for two days and then we came home to start our life as a family unit.

I was lucky, my partner managed to have a whole month off work to help me as I was recovering. And he was magnificent. That month we existed in a truly blissful bubble. And when it came to an end, I was genuinely terrified that everyone that said I couldn’t do it was right.

What would I do? How would I cope? What will happen if I can’t manage?

I think these are questions most new mother’s experience when faced with the enormous task of keeping a tiny human alive. But for me, my insecurities were being reinforced by society.

That first day of just me and Oscar was eye-opening for me. Not only did I manage. I flourished. It was like I’d found what I was put on this earth to do. And as he grew older, bigger, more wiggly, we’ve only found more ways of dealing and coping with our day to day. It’s about the small adaptions.

I put him on my lap and shuffle on my bum to get us downstairs in the morning. I use a baby carrier instead of a buggy. He helps me get him out of his cot and put him in and out of his walker by being good and patient and accepting it takes me a little longer than when Daddy does it. He’s grown up knowing no different. And I love the relationship my son and I have.”

29/01/2020

1/2 “I found out I was pregnant on the 16th of November 2018. It came as a shock. I’d been to the doctors a month prior to discuss trying to get pregnant, only to be faced with, ultimately baseless assumptions that I would struggle to conceive.

I was told that it would take me a long time and that I would qualify for IVF after six months of trying. The GP actually said to me during this meeting that she didn’t know anything about my condition, she actually had to google the symptoms of what I have. But she decided to give me this advice anyway. Despite it being ultimately useless.

Finding out I was pregnant my initial response was one of both unadulterated joy and complete paralysing panic. Having been told by various people that my body was not equipped for such a thing for so long, I was utterly convinced it would go wrong.

This couldn’t happen. My body will let me down. Don’t get too excited. This won’t last long. You can’t do it.

To be honest; this way of thinking lasted throughout my pregnancy. It definitely put a black cloud over my experience. I was too scared to do anything. Move. Think too much about my little boy growing inside my tummy. My anxiety was at an all-time high. Before every midwife appointment, every scan, every trip to the hospital, I was preparing myself for bad news.

It frustrates me to no end because my pregnancy was perfect. Textbook, if you like. He grew at the right rate. He was always happy and snug and being exactly as he should. I didn’t even get morning sickness. As I got further along my mobility reduced. I was tired, irritable, enormous, fed up. Everything a mother in her third trimester should be! And yet I was burdened by this unbelievable panic.

It makes me think how wonderful my experience could have been if I’d have had the right words. The right advice. The right encouragement, from anyone in a position of authority. But they didn’t know any better than I did. All they could go on was their own assumption and their own prejudice.”

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https://www.simplyemma.co.uk/disability-and-parenthood-what-its-like-being-a-disabled-mum/