International Ataxia Awareness Day – held every year on September 25th – was created to promote awareness for this rare disease to better our chances of finding a cure.
Tag: SCA
SCA Q&A
In 2019, the school I taught at reinstated March as “Inclusion Month” – a month filled with speakers and fundraisers and events to promote the acceptance, respect, and inclusion of all individuals. So, in light of this, I took a couple of days to do something a bit different in my classroom. (What? I wasn’t actively test prepping!? It’s okay, I’m no longer a teacher.)
I said to my students, “The best way to learn about something is to ask questions, right? Now, part of Inclusion Month is learning about disabilities so you can better include people who have them. And lucky for you, you all personally know someone with a disability whom you can ask questions!”
The Unnecessary Effect of Ataxia Anxiety
In one of my first posts, I made a point to say, “I have Ataxia. Ataxia doesn’t have me.” Separating yourself from your disease is an essential part to being able to stay sane and happy. If you have a chronic illness, it’s so important not to let it control your life. So important, yet so difficult.
Top Teaching Tips
Since this is the first September in 25 years that I’m not excitedly going back to school, I’d love to instead share some teaching tips for anyone out there who’s brave enough to be educating teenagers for a living.
To prove that other teachers should read this, let me throw some credentials at you: I taught high school English for eight years (all grade levels, plus A.P. Literature), have a Masters in Literacy, and three NYS teaching certifications. And, I mean, if you want to put a “teaching with a disability” label on this, I did this all with a chronic illness. So, there you go.