Intellectual disAbility Archives - Healthy Minds Philly®

Rethinking Disability Awareness

March is disAbility Awareness Month, a time we dedicate to recognizing and understanding different abilities and needs. Everyone is different, but one of the biggest issues faced by people with disabilities is how to be seen as the unique person they are outside of their differences. Too often people are seen as a disability rather than a person. For many, the disabling condition inadvertently becomes how people are labeled. Even the most well-meaning person can be guilty of this, such as referencing a colleague as, “You know Josiah, the blind [...]

Janine Monico2023-02-22T16:09:05-05:00March 1st, 2023|Awareness, Intellectual disAbility|

The World of Autism: Diagnosis Reveal

I remember it like it was an old sore and someone snatches off the scab! Thoughts of that day still pain me like it just happened. My gut was screaming. Something was not right despite my pediatrician saying everything will be ok – boys are slower than girls and he’ll talk when he’s ready. I thought: Who am I to question what I was being told? I mean; he is the doctor. I couldn’t sleep the night before the diagnosis reveal. My brain was in overdrive. I felt relieved because [...]

Janine Monico2025-03-07T13:32:25-05:00April 1st, 2022|Autism, Intellectual disAbility|

Living in a Puzzling World with Infinite Possibilities

Every day I find myself working to grow within an environment that’s hard to understand socially – an environment where people sometimes have a hard time getting along with others. That difficulty is where I find the inspiration and realization that there’s so much more out there for me to understand. That one step was where I think I needed to begin. Learning how to discover myself from youth to adulthood gave me some ideas on where I am both personally and for the rest of the autism community. To [...]

Janine Monico2023-04-04T15:24:08-04:00April 1st, 2022|Autism, Intellectual disAbility|

Intellectual disAbility Month

Since the moment our nation declared independence, the words “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” have represented our freedom. These rights are said to be inalienable and for all. However, it wasn’t until 1990 that individuals with lived experience of disability were included and protected federally by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Before this, those who lived with disabilities were often cast aside, ignored, hidden, and disrespected. The unfortunate reality is that, sometimes, this still happens. Thankfully, there are hard workers committed to changing this. Before we get [...]

Janine Monico2022-03-14T21:49:22-04:00March 14th, 2022|Intellectual disAbility|