in the beginning… c2009
Inky Ed! will follow the journey of one little boy, Mac, as he starts kindergarten in 2009.
Mac will be going to school “through the same gates” as all the other five year olds – he will accessing an ‘inclusive education’ despite his multiple disabilites.
what’s the latest… c2012
Once described as the ‘most disabled child ever to be mainstreamed’ Mac started school with no mobility, no obvious communication or known visual capacity.
Now in Grade 3, Mac is working at grade level using a combination of partner assisted foot switches, typing in morse code, auditory and visual scanning and his ‘old faithful’ yes/no foot switches. Mac’s biggest complaint with school is there isn’t enough maths.
Mac has achieved much of this without any specialised support (but does have a moderately tech savvy Mum) – we hope we can share some useful informaton, break down much of the ‘guff’ around all things disability and share tricks and tips to make everyone’s life easier.
Inclusive Education is nothing exceptional. It really only needs two things… “the will” and “the skill”… and even the lack of ‘skill’ shouldn’t be a deal breaker. There are so many more benefits to an inclusive life that won’t be found in the curriculum to make the pursuit of an inclusive education worth it, WHATEVER IT TAKES.
BLOG CODE: Y589TF6K5396
Inky Ed 
Mac is my grandson. He has been an inspiration since the day he was born. I am sure he will continue to inspire everyone with whom he comes into contact.
Our little fighting tiger looks just great. How could he not be a fighting tiger with the terrific parents he has. They are just wonders…..
I am a primary school teacher about to teach Kindergarten next year (I have not taught it since 2000). I have a child who was born prematurely and has mild-moderate hearing loss and a range of delays in language, gross motor and fine motor etc. I would love to follow your blog as a matter of interest and inspiration. Jodi
Thanks Jodi
How exciting for you to be returning to the classroom and how lucky for the children to have your new insights from personal experience to bring with you.
Good luck in the new year.
Gina
Mac … I know that you ae really going to love school, your friend Courtney loves it and she is also going to a regular school like you.
Courtney says the best thing about school is being with the other kids and whilst she can’t do most of what they do, she loves to “play” with them and learn with them.
Courtney also loves clapping , as well as singing and dancing – her teacher is very special and makes sure that there is lots of clapping, singing and dancing in the class !
Gina and Shawn you are both an inspiration. And Gina your talent and flair in all areas astounds me. Just loved the party food and the school uniform flow chart.
Love Vick
Gina,
I saw you post this to Anita on Facebook…I will be following along if that’s ok? Mac is SO big! I still think of him as a baby, but of course as time passes they do grow older, don’t they?
I can’t wait to hear about your adventures in Kindergarten. Lucas loved Kindergarten. I hope Mac enjoys it as much as he did!
*hugs*
–Loryn
Loryn, love to have you along for the ride. I did send an email some time ago but realised i probably used the gmail one that no-one checks. Can’t believe we are at school… finally – at times I never thought it would happen.
Gina, I saw your amazing presentation on Prezi.com while I was trying to figure out how to insert audio on a presentation. Can you please help me? I need help urgently, as I need to finalize a presentation by next weekend. Thank you in advance for your help.
Jose email me at thedairy [at] internode [dot] on [dot] net for assistance. Cheers Gina
Hi Gina! So glad to be in touch. I will email you and we can catch up. I will have to make it down to visit sometime. I would love to talk with your friend as well. Gotta get to bed now but I will chat with you soon.
Trina