SPEAKout Blog

“So You Wanna Be a Hope Dealer?"

By Anna Marcus / December 14, 2020

“Someone is waiting for you to be their ‘Hope Dealer,’ an audacious and fearless champion for children.” - Hasan Davis, Written Off. Are you a hope dealer? Do you hand out life chances for the kids you encounter, the kids in your classroom, or your own kids at home? You may be wondering what a hope dealer is or what it even means to be a hope dealer. If you want to learn more about ways you can make aRead more

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Acceptance

Adjudicated Youth

Behavior

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Conference on Inclusive Education

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Disability Categories

The Santa Job is Sometimes Hard…

By Nora Thompson / November 29, 2020

As the mom of a daughter with pretty significant disabilities, the holidays have always been challenging. We’d go to see Santa and take the annual picture. Positioning her on his lap took some time, wiping any drool away and maybe even getting her to smile meant we had to find the really patient Santa and go when there wasn’t a whole line of other kids waiting. I knew exactly which mall had that good Santa. She wasn’t verbal, so atRead more

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New from the RSA Transition Team: Chet Quest's Transition Guide to the Future

By Leann Springer / November 17, 2020

As a parent, do you need help knowing what comes next after high school for your child with a disability? As a young adult, do you wonder how you can be free to do what you want when you want to do it? The PEAK Parent Center RSA transition team headed by Beth Schaffner and Sherrell Bethel has been hard at work over the last several months! They, along with lead author Sami Peterson and contributing author Shirley Swope, areRead more

The Path to Freedom and Possibility

By Leann Springer / October 16, 2020

“The function of freedom is to free someone else.” - Toni Morrison Beginning last spring and into the summer, PEAK Parent Center staff began the momentous task of writing grant proposal applications to continue our work for the Parent Training and Information (PTI) Center project and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) Shift project. After a ton of work, It came down to the final hours and we rallied as a team to produce two proposals that met the stringent setRead more

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The Changing Season: Transition at PEAK

By Leann Springer / September 21, 2020

A change of season is upon us. Crisp cool mornings have made their way into the forecast. One of the earliest snowstorms in state history has passed. The more tolerable temperatures of fall are finally here. Can you hear the aspen leaves quaking in the breeze? Can you see the magnificent autumnal palette that will soon adorn our colorful Colorado landscape? The season at PEAK Parent Center is also changing. Barbara Buswell, PEAK’s co-founder and longtime Executive Director, is takingRead more

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Reflections On My Summer At PEAK

By Anna Marcus / August 31, 2020

I never would’ve expected to be so deeply impacted by an organization for which I almost missed the interview. Don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it seems. First, let’s rewind to December of 2020: I applied to PEAK Parent Center through Colorado College’s Public Interest Fellowship Program (PIFP). Flash-forward two months, I was studying abroad in Granada, Spain. February 25, my interview day, did not go as planned, to say the least. I arrived at school that morning toRead more

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Advice From Myrna Martin, A PEAK Parent Advisor

By PEAK Parent Center / August 18, 2020

Today, we highlight the work of our newest Parent Advisor, Myrna Martin. Myrna joined the PEAK staff in May of 2019 as a Bilingual Parent Advisor so she’s worked pretty well to get her boots muddy in the march to give parents answers, resources, and more as they navigate their own advocacy journeys. Myrna first became involved with PEAK when she herself sought resources and advice from a Parent Advisor for her child. We recently interviewed Myrna about her journeyRead more

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