When Megan Tehseldar received her daughter Stella’s autism diagnosis, it opened a new world. One that reshaped her parenting and her purpose as an educator and advocate.
As the mother of a daughter with autism and a dedicated teacher at Texas Virtual Academy Hallsville, Tehseldar has long been passionate about creating welcoming spaces for everybody, no matter their abilities, both in the classroom and beyond. Recently, she partnered with Harris County to place communication boards in two local parks to help non-verbal park goers engage with others and participate in playground activities.
“Just kind of being in that community in the world of education and seeing that need for accessibility but also seeing like the isolation that can come with the diagnosis really made me want to make some of these spaces a little bit more accessible and welcoming to the autism community and any of our special needs communities in general. So that’s kind of like what drove me initially to get this program or this project started,” she told Houston Life’s Melanie Camp.
Tehseldar worked with Harris County to install the communication boards after teaming up with the non-profit Channing’s Joy.
“I’ve talked to their founder a couple of times, and she was willing to work with us and donate the money to do this, so I kind of worked with her to secure the funding first. The county was really willing to work with us, especially because we provided the funding,” said Tehseldar.
Right now, there are two communication boards in Houston parks, one at Russ Poppe Family Park, 11675 Grant Rd, Houston, TX 77070, and the other at Meyer Park,7700 Cypresswood Dr, Spring, TX 77379.
Tehseldar also shares online resources for families who need special education support at loveoverlabels.net.
You can follow her on Instagram is @loveoverlabelsadvocacy
Facebook is Facebook.com/loveoverlabels
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