Parenting may feel really lonely these days, but the Center for Parent and Teen Communication uses science-based strategies to offer guidance and support for healthy family relationships. I don’t know about you, but a lot of family dynamics feel really challenging as we near a full year of pandemic living. Visit CPTC’s site and you might appreciate signing up for CPTC’s 100-word, daily parenting tip newsletter.

I believe this is one of the most difficult times to be a parent. The global pandemic combined with global racism, global warming, and so many other concerns makes parenting teens extra hard right now.

If you ever need a moment to pause and reflect on how you’re parenting your teens, you might be interested in the Center for Parent and Teen Communication’s 1-minute parenting tip touchpoints.

My favorite video focuses on Lighthouse Parenting. When our family sees each other ALL the time and our teens have fewer peers around, reminding myself to be a lighthouse is really helpful.
You might be interested in watching the CPTC animations for yourself. I’m not kidding when I say they are a great, quick way to check-in and shift how you’re thinking about parenting. I’d be curious to hear which one is your favorite.

The post Parenting Teens is Really Hard Right Now appeared first on Born Just Right.

The workshop invites students to design a change to help improve something in their world – small, big or anything in between!

We’re so excited to bring this new workshop to young people in 4th through 8th grade. It’s designed for students of all abilities – disabled or non-disabled. This is the first time we’ve had a chance to expand our work to even more kids. (You can learn more about BOOSTxBJR here.)

How does it work? The workshop includes five interactive sessions online. Each weekly session will be paired with a live Q+A to discuss, share and connect in real-time.

Why would a kid want to attend? Well, think back to five years ago when Jordan was given a blank page to think up anything. She was challenged to use her body in a fun or different way. Using the BOOST design process, she came up with Project Unicorn!

The series includes foundational concepts in the design process including brainstorming, sketching, prototyping, resilience & inclusion. And there’s something special you won’t see in other online design workshops: This is a chance to learn how to design WITH and not for others! There is even a chance to pitch ideas to an expert panel at the end of the workshop.

The workshop starts the week of January 25, 2021. Corporate donations from Disney and Microsoft helped offset the cost of the workshop but there is a $20 materials fee. We’re sending each workshop attendee a BOOST Box to use throughout the workshop. But don’t worry! There is a materials scholarship. Check out all of the details on the workshop webpage.

Leave a comment if you have questions! We’re so excited to see BOOST design@home come to life.

The post BOOST by Born Just Right Goes Virtual appeared first on Born Just Right.

Some kids shared some really great ideas and inventions and ideas they worked on after reading about Jordan. Other kids wrote out statements and questions. We will post a number of times this week with answers. We appreciate each and every one of them. Leave your extra questions or thoughts in the comments!

The Aldrich_Family Twitter shared 3D prints from Abby and Robbie. They shared with us how the two were inspired to print out little items and creating a plaque with their names after reading the article! They also sent us a couple of questions about how Jordan created Project Unicorn:
Q: How did you get the 3D printer to print a hollow space that allowed for the glitter to pass through?
A: I started learning to use computer-assisted design (CAD) with Tinkercad. Creating hollow things isn’t as easy with that tool. That’s why I worked with my design partner on a CAD called Fusion 360. We were able to design a unicorn horn that is hollow.

Q: Also, how did you get the glitter to actually shoot out?
A: I used compressed air! Here’s a little video I did a while ago that shows how it shoots:

8-year-old Riley sent a drawing of a concept created after watching the video shared by Scholastic. This is a prosthetic arm concept that “will have suction cups allowing kids to climb trees or buildings without falling.”

There were also a lot of questions from kids who wanted to know more about Project Unicorn:

Q: When did you start project unicorn? (from Haejen Pearl)
A: I started the creation when I attended a workshop in January 2016. I thought it would be cool to shoot glitter out of my arm and came up with an idea that worked. After the workshop, I worked with a design partner named Sam Hobish who helped me turn it into what it is today – a unicorn horn that shoots (biodegradable) glitter!

Q: Why do you like glitter so much? Is it like your favorite thing? (from Nikko)
A: I actually don’t know if glitter is my favorite thing in the world but I really love how it brings joy. I picked glitter shooting because I thought it would be a lot of fun. I had no idea so many people would love it. I really didn’t expect it would give me a chance to talk more about disabilities!

Q: Why did you pick a glitter arm? (from Schulyer)
A: When I was at the workshop, I was given a challenge to use my little arm as a way to do something fun or different. I noticed glitter on the table and picked it. I didn’t think it would work but it really works!

A lot of you asked about Jordan’s dogs. So, let’s introduce them to you:

Introducing Blue and Bailey! Blue is the grey dog and Bailey is the big, fluffy dog. Blue is almost three and Bailey is six. They are really silly but make us smile a lot when they aren’t barking or using the entire house as a wrestling match. Blue loves to play catch. Bailey loves getting his butt scratched.

We have SO many other questions, we plan to do a few more posts to answer them. There are more questions each and every day. So please don’t feel left out. We have to share your questions about favorite books, sports, daily lifestyle questions and so much more.

If you don’t want to wait, you can read our book! Jordan shared her story in a middle-grade chapter book called (you probably can guess) BORN JUST RIGHT. It’s available through your local bookstore (please support your local book store) or available for download. The hardback book is for sale now and the paperback comes out in June!

We can’t wait to share even more answers to your questions soon!

The post Kicking Off Answers to Your Scholastic’s Learn At Home Questions appeared first on Born Just Right.

We are starting to see a lot of questions come our way and we want to make it easy to share. Leave your comments on this post and we’ll try to answer questions and help expand on the lesson Scholastic started!

The post Welcome, Scholastic Learn at Home Students appeared first on Born Just Right.

It’s thrilling to also see dolls that represent the vitiligo and alopecia communities. You can learn a few more details about the new dolls in this CNN article.

In the past year, we have gotten the chance to speak out more about the importance of diversity in dolls. Jordan teamed up with leaders at Mattel and spoke at events in New York City and Minneapolis. She even had a chance to meet her doll design at last year’s New York Toy Fair. The Barbie design team even honored Jordan with a one-of-a-kind doll that looks just like her.

The only question up in the air – when will an upper limb difference make an appearance in a mainstream doll? We don’t know. But we are certain it will happen one of these days!

In the meantime, we plan to celebrate every step the doll industry takes to show representation AND inclusion. Designing WITH communities that have the lived experience represented in these dolls make a big difference.

The post Barbie Diversity Continues in 2020 appeared first on Born Just Right.

Last weekend, BJR partnered with the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City to offer a mini version of our BOOST workshop. The hands-on experience walks you through stations to brainstorm and develop a prototype. About 40 people participated in the one-of-a-kind experience!

The Kansas City workshop was such a success, we are excited to share a BOOSTxBorn Just Right Mini at this weekend’s Helping Hands Winter Outing outside of Boston. We can’t wait to see what the kids think and what great ideas they develop.

Even more exciting is the kids who attend this weekend might discover they’ll want to attend the next three-day BOOSTxBorn Just Right workshop at Microsoft’s Garage in Cambridge, MA April 23-25th. We can’t wait to return to a special spot where we held a workshop last year and was featured in Marvel’s Hero Project.

Don’t worry if you can’t attend the winter outing, we hope more kids ages 10+ consider applying to attend the April workshop. If you or your child is interested, fill out this form:

Once again, these events can’t happen without your support. Thanks to our many donors from Facebook and GoFundMe who help make this possible. We are always looking for new partners so we can continue to hold more workshops all year long.

The post New BOOST by Born Just Right Workshops appeared first on Born Just Right.

If you read the years and years of blog posts on this website, you’ll notice the evolution. I moved away from confusion and concern to acceptance while finding and developing resources and now toward more collaborations and education.

In the last four years, I’ve watched Jordan step up and start to develop her own voice to speak up and about disability. In that process, I was given the gift of meeting and learning from some tremendous leaders in the disability community: Liz Jackson, Alice Wong, Vilissa Thompson, Ashley Shew, Imani Barbarin, Rebecca Cokley and so many others offer insight and perspective through writing, speaking and social media platforms.

When I was new to the world of disability, I felt alone and I immediately sought out other parents of kids with limb differences. It helped me better understand ways I could provide support for Jordan. It also gave Jordan a chance to meet other kids who have similar experiences to hers. What I didn’t do was extend my view toward a wider view of the disability community. I’ve only started that process in the last few years as Jordan has grown and her opportunities in the world expanded. I needed to grow past my parent-focused view of disability and understand the community as a whole.

Why is this so important? From my perspective, listening to members of the many different disability communities makes it easier to parent a kid with a disability. It helps me better understand the language we should and shouldn’t use. I have learned so much about the gifts and challenges every person faces as a disabled adult in the United States and beyond.

The most important lesson I’ve learned is all typically bodied and minded people should take the time to listen.

Listen to disabled voices.

Take a deep breath and know there’s nothing wrong with “disability” as a word or as a community. It’s a powerful collective of people who see and experience life in so many different ways. Everyone deserves access. Everyone deserves an opportunity to succeed. That access and opportunity for all can happen if we all take the time to learn and listen.

I’m tremendously proud of Asmani Huda who attended a BOOST by Born Just Right workshop last year. She recently spoke at a TEDx event and her talk is so good. It’s worth taking a moment to listen to her. There is so much power in being disabled.

Here are some of the websites I keep an eye on to continue to listen and learn:
Disability Visibility Project
Crip The Vote chats
#CripTheVote on Twitter
Ashley Shew’s course blog, Technology and Disability
Critical Axis – insight on how disability is presented through advertising
The Disabled List – a disability-led consultancy
Crutches and Spice
Ramp Your Voice

The post Take the Time to Listen to Disabled Voices appeared first on Born Just Right.

After the release, watch parties popped up across the country. Autodesk Boston hosted a crew that included some of the workshop attendees who you see in the Marvel’s Hero Project episode.

Employees and volunteers of Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry projected the episode on a massive theater screen to celebrate the show while eating snacks out of unicorn party bags. We are so honored to have such a personal connection with the museum thanks to the Wired to Wear exhibit which you can see through May 2020.

In Washington, DC, a fundraiser and watch party gave us a chance to share the show, sign some books and share more details about Born Just Right’s work. We are so lucky to have so many friends and connections in DC. It was so incredible to return after our book signing earlier this summer.

And on Giving Tuesday, dozens of people pitched in to help support our work. Some people launched their own fundraisers, others purchased Born Just Right shirts and t-shirts from our Threadless store and others snagged an exclusive Bonfire design.

Your support makes a difference as Born Just Right focuses on growth in 2020. We hope to fund more workshops, participate in more events, develop more curriculum and continue to expand the conversation and understanding of the potential that comes from disability.

In honor of that focus, Jordan launched another birthday fundraiser! She’s turned down gifts for years and has asked for donations instead. In honor of turning 14, she hopes to raise $1400.

It’s incredible to think this website has existed for 14 years and so many of you have been a part of this community for so very long. Thank you for being a part of our world and we hope you have a chance to spend time with family and friends during the holidays!

The post Celebrating Born Just Right Support appeared first on Born Just Right.

We often hear from people asking how they can support our organization. This is a whole new fun way to get involved. Enter the new Born Just Right Patreon community!

We have easy monthly donation levels that start at $1/month. That first level gets you to access a new monthly magazine we are developing called the BOOST Inclusive Design Dispatch. If we can get enough subscribers, we’ll launch our first edition in January!

Membership levels grow from there. Enter monthly raffles for cool Born Just Right items and even the new Marvel’s Hero Project comic book, “Sensational Jordan” depending on which membership level you pick.

Why a Patreon?

Our goal is to add more Born Just Right workshops and events onto our calendar. We want to see more events with more regular locations and dates. As in the past, workshop attendees do not pay to attend, nor do they pay for their travel or accommodations if the event is out of state. Attendees also get a chance to partner with awesome volunteer designers to help continue building onto the design process after the workshops.

This Patreon will expand our work and the conversation about the need for inclusive design WITH the disability community. Your support helps Born Just Right’s mission to create a more inclusive world through design! 

The post Join the Born Just Right Patreon Community appeared first on Born Just Right.

Jordan was the first kid in the series presented with a copy of her comic and since she had a chance to preview her episode at Comic-Con, attendees had a chance to score a poster of the cover of her comic!

The first time we got to read the comic was after Jordan was surprised at the end of our BOOST workshop presentation (hosted by Microsoft New England’s Garage) during the Cambridge Science Festival. The Cambridge Innovation Center was a tremendous host to us for where all the attendees presented their designs from the weekend. Everyone who attended the event got to check out the comic. My favorite part of the entire episode of Marvel’s Hero Project happened while Cameron and Jordan talked about the comic.

Having a kid who is officially a part of the Marvel Universe is unreal. We are so proud and hope Jordan has nothing but happiness and joy ahead of her as we travel this unusual path.

The post Meet Marvel’s Hero Project’s “Sensational Jordan” Comic Book appeared first on Born Just Right.