Inclusion starts now

This song was chosen because this is another practice I teach my kids to do when they’re frustrated. Instead of hitting, I encourage them to clap their hands together if breathing, counting, and redirecting doesn’t work.

What other practices do you teach your kids or students when they’re dysregulated? Or what are ways you practice regulating yourself?

PS everyone suggests take a deep breath. Of course I always suggest that but didn’t want anyone rolling their eyes at my post.

Hey, you’re still here and reading. I respect you. 😘 have a great day.

It’s always fun to see these ideas in my head come to life. Back to school drop? Why not. 🍎 🍏

Use code SCHOOL for $5 off!

Recently attended a webinar from and my god she inspires me every time I hear her speak. This was one of the quotes I had to write down. 💕

Come join Matt McGee and I for a FREE webinar about supporting students with disabilities post graduation (this will be beneficial for educators, parents, and self-advocates of all ages!)

Empowering Students with Disabilities from IEPs to Graduation Checkout page for Empowering Students with Disabilities from IEPs to Graduation.

✨ WE FOUND YOU!! ✨

Hi! We are so happy you are here!

Matt and I (Kayla) have been working in education since 2010 and we have noticed teams struggle to prepare disabled students for what is AFTER public school.

We know you are the IEP masters for your students. We just want to help them you cross the finish line 🏁

This FREE WEBINAR is for you. No matter what grade you teach, how old your child is, or how old you are-we should all be prepared to have goals for after graduation.

Comment below 👇🏼 and we will send you a direct link to the event page (connected to a free, amazing Facebook group) and get ready to have your mind blown! 🤯

Don’t get me wrong. Fighting is normal! We all do it. What is important is to notice when you are starting to get heated, to stop, reevaluate what is important here, and have a conversation.

Personally, if a child was saying no to my request of trying on a shirt, I would say either, “I really want you to try this shirt on because it would match your dad and I think that would be so fun. Do you want to try it on here or in the dressing room?”

Or

“Hey, I’m sorry I’m getting so frustrated. I thought we could do this quick errand and get home. How about I buy the shirt and we can return it if you still don’t like it tomorrow?”

What would you say?

✨ NEW BOOK ALERT! ✨

Author just came out with his new book,

The ABC’s of Disabilities and I love it! 🥰

Swipe ➡️through to see some of the pages because I was surprised how many words were on each page. I was worried my children’s attention span wouldn’t last, but the colorful images and the interactive text made it fun till the end and then they asked, “Again!” 🎉

Each page was so carefully thought about and educational for everyone participating in the reading. 📚

One of my favorite letters is ’N’ for Normal. Seriously, swipe through and read it.

This book will be released in September, so save this post so you don’t forget it and I will share the link 🔗 once it is available :)

This is a COOL Facebook Group 😘

A completely FREE Facebook Group that is going to be focusing all on inclusion and how to support students with disabilities in school.

Even if you aren’t a parent or teacher of a student with a disability, you can join and learn from experts in the field and continue to

Come join the fun!!

Hey!!!! It’s July 1st!!

And it’s Disability Pride Month!!

For the next two months I will be dropping interviews with some amazing people!

Search INCLUSION STARTS NOW wherever you get your podcasts! 🎧

There are some great books out there with representation.

And can I tell you something? After working with organizations that support people who are deafblind, I learned that a lot of people don’t know how to recognize deafblindness!

Any sort of low vision combined with any different hearing level. People can be deafblind and can drive a car! 🚗

What questions do you have? Drop them below!

Happy PRIDE y’all!!! 🏳️‍🌈

Don’t forget to use code PRIDE for $8 off all my pride stuff 🌈

If it’s for yourself, for someone you love, or a stranger. Choose kindness 💕

Pride shirts are here!!

Use code PRIDE for $8 off 💕
The images are a little blurry but as you can see, still so cute.

Need the 🔗? Comment or message me!

I am absolutely obsessed with the cover!!!Friends, let me introduce you to…

✨ Miguel the Chameleon! ✨

Preorders are up and hopefully everything will be shipped in about 2 months to YOU!

Thank you .onoro for bringing all of my characters to life!!! 💕

Happy PRIDE y’all!! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

If my stance isn’t ever extremely clear, inclusion means you. 💕

🌈

Reading is my favorite way to learn.

I loved reading to my classroom as a teacher and I started noticing how hard it was to find books that had characters representing my students.

So I thought, fine, I’ll just write one myself. Well 1 became 2 and has now become 3 and these characters have become something so special to me.

Tyler the Snake is about Tyler who loves to dance, eats all kinds of cheese, and is deafblind. He shows the reader how he goes to school and along the way we all practice strategies to help regulate our bodies.

Dallas the Dog has the reader follow Dallas and her friends as they trick or treat in their neighborhood. Finding ways to make sure everyone can access the fun.

I can’t wait to share more about my 3rd book with you 💕 stay tuned!

In the meantime, let’s read together!

Happy Mother’s (or someone special) Day 💕

While I waited for some pancakes 🥞 for a to go order this morning, I read through some Mother’s Day posts today and there were some people mourning the loss of their mom, the grief of celebrating Mother’s Day in a different way then they pictured, or people who are trudging through the journey of becoming a mom.

What I do know, is that everyone can celebrate someone. If it’s buying them flowers or thanking them in your head in hopes the message gets to them. And while you’re at it, celebrate yourself.

Celebrate the love you give to your families or your students, buy yourself flowers, or spend time enjoying your own time today.

Today can be celebrated in many different ways or not celebrated at all. But I will always be celebrating you.

Time for updated welcome slides!

I FINALLY DID IT!!

I made a complete FREE guide with steps on how to ignite inclusion at your school site. ✨

I love her so much.

🔗 in bio, scroll to the bottom, and there she is! If you are already a subscriber, check your inbox-because you got her yesterday 💕

Raise inclusive kids.

Such a short trip but oh so thankful I was able to attend first anniversary party!! 🎉

4/6 of us were able to meet in person (some of us being virtual friends for years) and I am still on cloud 9 ☁️ ✨




fierce

GIVEAWAY!!!

I got this book at my public library’s shop and it is such a good book for people in education, trying to change their school’s cultures, or needing inspiration on how to educate others.

✨ All you have to do is like this post! ✨

Tag friends for extra entries!
Share your favorite quote in your stories for 3 entries!

I can only ship in the US 🇺🇸
And this isn’t affiliated with Instagram.

Is that all the stuff I have to say? 😂

Igniting inclusion at a school that doesn’t have the goal to include all students is hard and at times it can feel like you’re failing.

And if you can learn from it, then it’s not a failure, it’s a lesson. We are forever learners.

Thank you for the inspirational quote 💕

Yes, I just designed this.

Yes, I just bought 100 stickers of this.

And yes, this is the title of the book I am trying so hard to write.

Wanna know a fun fact?

I tried to write a book before and I am personally ashamed of what it was going to be called and about.

When I was in my early 20’s, as a new teacher, 10+ years ago, I started writing down experiences in the classroom.

I wanted to call it, The Sped Teacher Diaries. At the time, “Sped teacher” was what I called my profession, a lot. It wasn’t until the last few years, I learned about people in the disabled community not liking the word “sped.”

But the worst part, was the fact that some of these stories were not appropriate for me to share. It wasn’t spreading information on how to be inclusive. It wasn’t educating people on disabilities, accommodations, or communication.

But this book, is. Raise Inclusive Kids is all about how to focus on equity, empathy, and kindness. How learning about differences encourages are children to care for each other, learn about each other, and find solutions for everyone to be involved.

I can’t wait to keep sharing this journey with you. Thank you for being here with me.

Just watched the new Mean Girls last night and it made me appreciate this random line I made into a shirt about 3 or 4 years ago.

About to reorder it in a pink hoodie as mine is destroyed from wearing it so much. 😅

An amazing group of self-published authors are raising money for The Recess Project Inc. Help us reach our goal!!

https://go.rallyup.com/swingathon/m/writersforwego/Member/Details?fbclid=IwAR2JDpsVQKG7iPmZhyw8hXWDddBwXaLoKGOCuc8foUbpJnglUC16f5BxJMY

Swing-A-Thon  

So excited to be a part of this!!

Have you been searching for ideas on how to promote inclusion at your child's school or within your community?

Join Kayla Coburn, founder of Inclusion Starts Now, on March 23rd at the Hunter Syndrome Community Conference for her session "The ABC's of Inclusive Practices." Kayla will share why inclusion matters, how to be mindful of all abilities, and tips on practicing inclusion.

Invite your teachers, school administrators, family, and neighbors to learn alongside you. Practicing inclusion isn't difficult, and the payoff is great when everyone has fun!

Inclusion starts now

Happy Tuesday y’all

Enjoy this picture of a windbreaker I designed and then bought 24 hours after having surgery because I needed Inclusion Starts Now on another piece of clothing.

Just watched Poor Things and although it has nothing to do with including the disabled community, this quote really stuck out to me.

People get stuck in what they know. And unfortunately, segregating the disabled community is what a lot of people were taught thinking it was ok.

Well, it’s not.

And change can’t happen without you. So let’s just keep learning, talking, and making that change.