Motherhood

“I have learned that love doesn’t have to be perfect or conventional to be real, and my child has taught me to embrace the imperfections that make life beautiful.”

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Employment and why it matters

Meaningful employment is an essential aspect of a fulfilling life for all individuals, including those who experience Down syndrome and other intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Here are some reasons why meaningful employment is important to people who experience Down syndrome and other IDD: This is why we work so hard at GiGi’s! We see…

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Meet Rita & Abbey

Isn’t GiGi’s Playhouse just fabulous? It does say “playhouse” after all. When we lived in Wisconsin, I had heard of GiGi’s but never took advantage of any of the programs. I didn’t think they applied to my daughter who was well past being a baby! But when we moved to NC a year ago, I…

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Freely changing lives by giving their time!

The definition of a volunteer is “a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task.” Yes, you read that right; FREELY offers to take part in a task. A volunteer gives up their time, energy, and so many other priceless parts of themselves to help a cause. GiGi’s is a 99% Volunteer run organization which means that there are 1,000’s…

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Why Community Support Matters <3

When I was 23 years old and fresh out of college, I became a Developmental Therapist. My job entailed going to different daycares and people’s homes in the Raleigh area and helping children, ages birth-3 years old, to meet their developmental milestones. There was so much joy in getting to support parents on their journey of helping their children take first steps, speak for the…

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“When I answered the phone, I will never forget what she said.”

When I left teaching special education to start Able Transition, I was excited, scared, grateful and fearful. The tension of all of these emotions were very real. I knew quality life-long transition planning needed to happen. But I was afraid of the what if’s and how I would manage to educate others on what transition…

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