Music, welcome back. It's the time of the episode where I share three reflections from my conversation with our guest and two calls to action. Number one, disability is a part of life during our conversation, Kelly brought up something really important that we don't talk enough about how we need to make disability a normal part of our everyday conversation. It's interesting how society tends to shy away from discussing disability, and I think that just actually ends up creating more problems than it solves. I love what Kelly has to say about this. She pointed out that even something as simple as talking about disabilities in prenatal classes can make. Make a huge difference when we treat disability as just another part of life, which it is, rather than something unusual or scary, it helps everyone feel more comfortable, and the more we have these conversations, the more we can build inclusive communities where everyone feels welcome and valued, and I don't think this is just about parenting. It's super important for teachers as well. When we as educators create classrooms and schools where disability is seen as a natural part of human diversity, it pushes everyone from teachers to administrators to policy makers to think differently and more inclusively about how we design our education system. Okay, number two, parents sharing vision statements at IEP meetings. I love this so much. Vision Statements and IEPs are incredibly powerful tools. Kelly talked about how these statements help guide the educational journey for our learners and give us a way to measure progress. It's just beautiful how she described their family tradition. At every IEP meeting, they start by reading their vision statement out loud, and this one simple act helps everyone focus on what really matters and creates a sense of teamwork among everyone involved. I think that these vision statements do more than just look good on paper. They help create real, practical goals and shape how resources are used. And as I mentioned earlier, when families set these visions, just like Noah's family did in the story that I started the episode with, it gives everyone a clear direction. It makes sure that every decision about a student's education lines up with what the family hopes to achieve in the long run, and eventually that student will be part of that vision. Making, perhaps most importantly, these vision statements can help shift how educators think about their students, instead of focusing on what students can't do, they can start thinking and seeing all the possibilities and potential a student has, number three, strengthening Parent Teacher collaborations for better outcomes. One of the biggest takeaways from my conversation with Kelly was about how parents and teachers really need to work together. Both Kelly and I emphasize that building trust and keeping those lines of communication open are absolutely essential for helping disabled learners succeed in school. And I love how Kelly put it, teachers need the communication and the buy in from the parents. They need parents to trust them as members of the team. When everyone's on the same page like this, even those very stressful IEP meetings can become positive opportunities for collaboration and creative problem solving. Kelly shared some really interesting stories about this during our chat. She talked about situations where things started off rocky because of trust issues, but once everyone started communicating openly and regularly, the whole dynamic changed, and it just goes to show what's possible when parents and teachers coming together as partners instead of seeing each other as opponents. It's also super important to remember that every family comes from their own unique background with their own culture and way of communicating, and when educators make an effort to understand and respect those differences and really make themselves available to families. They become trusted allies, rather than just authority figures. This kind of partnership makes such a big difference. It's how I wanted to be perceived when I was in the classroom. And I hope, if you're an educator and you're listening, this is how you also want to be received. All right, that's three for me. Here's two for you. Number one, check out everything no one tells you about parenting disabled child. You can find it wherever books are sold. If you want a unique way of supporting local and independent bookstores, you can find this book on bookshop.org, I just checked you can find it there. Also check out Kelly's website, Kelly coleman.com, that's k, e, L, L, E, y, C, O, L, E, M, a n, dot C, O, M, you can find her on social media, and I'm sure she would love a message from you. To say that you heard her on the think inclusive podcast. Okay, number two, sign up to get the MCIE newsletters. Will 2025 be the year that we rely more on email communication than on social media? Well, I think it just might be that with all the changes and uncertainty of social media companies, we are going to lean into newsletters and our website to provide you with information and resources about inclusive education. So go to mcie.org scroll all the way down, type in your email and hit subscribe, or you can sign up at this direct link, B, I T, dot, l, y, slash, capital M, C, i e, dash, capital N, E, W, s, l, e, t, t, e, r, s, and I will make sure to put that link in the show notes, we have two newsletters, the weekly ish and what's up with MCIE, the weekly ish is my bi weekly update about what's going on in the world of inclusive education. And what's up is where we tell you where we've been and what we've been doing for that month. Oh, and a bonus call to action is that if you love the podcast and you want to support our work with this resource, the services we provide to school districts and the many other resources that are available on our website, please consider a monthly donation to MCIE, there's a Donate link on the Top of our website. Mcie.org We are a 501, c3, non profit organization, and your gift is tax deductible. That's it for this episode of Think inclusive. Time for the credits. Think inclusive is written, edited, design, mixed and mastered by me Tim Villegas, and is a production of the Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education, Original Music by miles credit, additional music from melody. Thank you to our sponsor, IXL. Learn more at IX l.com/inclusive we appreciate each and every one of you that listens, and we'd love to hear from you about how you are using these episodes. Are you using them for a class you teach? Are you sending them to school administrators, or are you just enjoying them? Let us know what episode you really enjoyed. You can always reach out to me. AT T villegas@mcie.org. That's T, V, I, L, L, E, G, A, s@mcie.org, thanks for your time and attention and remember, inclusion always works.