Ellen Hunter KidsAreAlright.org

KidsAreAlrigh.org I worked for Brian McNally in the 80s, he probably doesn’t remember me but… as the saying goes… “If you remember, you weren’t there.” (Which, by the way, is an excellent motto for myself referring to ‘what I ate for breakfast,’ today.) After years on the Upper West Side and then the East Village, my husband and I were smart enough to move back downtown to Battery Park City to raise our kids —We now take them to Odeon for every day occasions as the Odeon has become a neighborhood “joint.” How incredibly awesome? Fast Forward: I’ve become a hard core advocate for special needs children and parents on the LES; in the New York City D75 school system. My oldest daughter and I just returned from Europe after a month long trip for her high school graduation gift in which the last leg of our trip was London. After a silly night at a ridiculous show on The West End, we literally stumbled upon Balthazar…in my opinion, the definitive Brian McNally restaurant. To ...

HEARING Your Non-Verbal Autistic Child KidsAreAlright.org Updated:  May 28 The documentary “Far From the Tree” follows the incredible journeys of families who have a special needs child and the major challenges they face. Even with these INCREDIBLE day-to-day obstacles, parents are able to discover - through the power of love and empathy, the ability to create meaningful and important lives for both themselves, the siblings and their special needs child. The documentary is based on Andrew Solomon’s New York Times bestselling non-fiction book of the same title including in-depth interviews from “Parents, Siblings and the Special Children in Search of Identity.“ One of the most moving stories is one very similar to Eleana (above), beginning life as a non-verbal autistic learner struggling to communicate with those in the world around her. “I AM HER KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR, I AM HER VOICE, HER STRENGTH... IF I DON’T FIGHT FOR HER, WHO WILL?” Tina Vell...

What Is “The Right Education” for Your Alright Child? KidsAreAlright.org Updated:  Jun 25 “The ‘Right Education’ is one in which a young person learns the skills to find meaningful employment in a field that both interests and excites them, while being able to support an independent life.” Ellen Hunter, Founder KidsAreAlrighat.org Today, more than one million students at the age of twenty-one are graduating from an educational system that was not built for them. A system designed to neither recognize potential nor expect an individual with ANY type of disability to achieve. Young adults with special needs are no different than their non-disabled peers. They have the same desire for learning and growth; the same goals and dreams that can be furthered and realized by the right education. We all enjoy the sense of accomplishment that learning brings. By simply changing the pace of instruction, the amount of review and reinforcement, the modality of support and...

All Access Travel for Your Alright Kid I was blown away by the accommodations and inclusivity uniformly made for people with mobility restrictions in both public and private spaces while traveling throughout Northern Europe this summer. Most importantly, I realized that traveling abroad with an Alright Kid shouldn’t be daunting... there is amazing, yes AMAZING support for you, more than you would expect. I found a wonderful website with tips on traveling: r icksteves.com Tiergarten Berlin, Germany. July 2019 Travel: Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality Online travel magazine and travel advice MossRehab ResourceNet Clearinghouse of accessible travel resources Emerging Horizons Travel info for wheelchair users and slow walkers Overseas Interpreting Company Help for deaf individuals looking for sign-language interpreting in Britain and the European Union Tours: Sage Traveling European trip-planning for people with disabilities, wit...