Yep, that's right, Oprah Winfrey gets the first spot on our new blog. Several weeks students in my EBD course mentioned a story that Oprah did on a 7-year-old with childhood schizophrenia. Although I'm not a fan of talk shows I'm posting the link to the story from Oprah's website. The site includes interviews with Jani and her parents and some background information on schizophrenia. Jani on Oprah
Jani's father also has created a website to share the family's story. You can learn more about Jani and follow her fathers' blog here: Jani's Journey
The videos are interesting, informative, and sometimes heart-wrenching. Her parents are very open about their struggles to help Jani and the impact that this is having on their relationship. Kudos to Jani's family for sharing their story in order to increase awareness of this devastating mental illness and for fighting the good fight.
Hiya, M. & M. I saw your post about Jani and wanted to call you and your readers' attention to a story that appeared in the Los Angeles Times about her by Shari Roan. Also, I posted a list of other resources about childhood schizophrenia on EBD Blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links John! I love anything that helps my students get a well-rounded perspective of EBD instead of just considering what happens at school.
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled that you are our first poster - I'm a big fan of your EBD blog.
I saw Oprah's show about Jani and her familyjust this past week. I was so impressed with Jani's mother and father. As special education teachers, we love and choose to work with students such as Jani but often take for granted that after a day of school we return home to our 'normal' lives while our students return home to their families. Our students come and go over the years but the families of children with special needs have their lives changed in a tremendous way for the remainder of their lives. It's just a good reminder of the dedication and sacrifices that are made by parents such as Jani's.
ReplyDeleteNice comments Monica. I didn't know that O did another show about Jani. Thanks for the information; I'll look into it after the semeste and post more.
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