Welcome and thank you for coming to visit with us. Allow me to introduce the two main authors of this blog. Tracy Mueller is mom to two young girls and an assistant professor in the department of special education at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC). Tracy completed her doctorate at the University of California at Santa Barbara where she studied strategies to build and foster the parent-professional partnership in relation to special education. Anna Stewart is mother to three kids, two with special needs. She is the parent liaison to special education in the Boulder Valley School District and the author of over 300 articles, reviews, essays, and a book, Mother Blessings: Honoring Women Becoming Mothers.

Together, they have presented at national conferences, collaborated on a series of on-line teaching modules for UNC, and are working on a book about parent and professional collaboration.

The blog is named Voices of Inclusion to bring together all the people participating in special education. This includes but is not limited to: children; siblings; parents; family members; teachers; therapists; medical providers; researchers; educators; classmates; and friends.

In our work, we have witnessed and been involved in many different kinds of interactions among people in the world of special education. Most of these interactions have been positive, however, we have also seen what can happen when collaboration takes a wrong turn.

We believe in the power of respectful collaboration. Collaboration is not a one-time event that might happen at an IEP meeting. It is an ongoing process requiring honest communication, evidence-based strategies and an open mind. Within the structure, parents and teachers are empowered to think outside of the box.

We want to challenge our readers and our contributors to dream. We want to discuss, consider, and debate. And in order to do so, we need to hear from everyone. It is important to note that we are not using this platform to pick on people, complain, or harass. We are here to encourage members of the community to reflect and share with the ultimate goal of expression – we are all voices of inclusion.

In future entries, we will open the discussion between parents and professionals by asking questions and posing our thoughts. Tracy and Anna have talked for hours about issues such as including students with significant behavior issues, teachers’ thoughts on the lack of educational resources, and parent empowerment strategies.

We encourage you to participate by sharing your experiences, stories, beliefs, strengths, and challenges. We look forward to hearing from you!