Toddlers To Grandparents

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas 🎄

Merry Christmas to our disability community, families, caregivers, and supporters. Today, we celebrate more than a holiday, we celebrate love, belonging, and the beautiful diversity of the people we serve and stand beside every day.

We honor the caregivers who show up with patience, advocacy, and unwavering commitment, even when the work is unseen or exhausting. We honor families who adapt traditions, advocate fiercely, and create spaces where their loved ones can thrive. We honor disabled individuals whose resilience, creativity, and honesty teach us daily what inclusion really means.

As we gather today, we are reminded that joy does not have one look. Peace does not have one path. Connection does not require perfection. What matters most is presence, understanding, and the willingness to meet one another where we are.

We are deeply grateful to walk this journey together. May today bring moments of comfort, warmth, and belonging, and may the year ahead continue to move us toward greater accessibility, compassion, and inclusion for all.

12/24/2025

Christmas Eve: Calm, Comfort, and Connection 🎄

On Christmas Eve, many families slow down, reflect, and spend time together. For disabled individuals and their families, this evening is often about creating a sense of safety, predictability, and emotional comfort amid a season that can otherwise feel overwhelming.

Loud gatherings, bright lights, changes in routine, and social expectations can be especially challenging for people with sensory sensitivities, autism, ADHD, anxiety, intellectual disabilities, or chronic health conditions. Choosing calm over chaos allows everyone to experience the magic of the night in ways that feel safe and meaningful.

“Inclusion is not about perfection, it is about presence.”

What Can Be Done to Create an Inclusive Christmas Eve:

• Keep routines as familiar as possible
Maintaining normal meal times, bedtime routines, and evening rituals helps reduce anxiety. Even small consistencies can provide a powerful sense of stability.

• Create quiet, low-stimulus spaces
Set aside a room or corner with dim lighting, soft blankets, and minimal noise where someone can step away if they feel overwhelmed.

• Be flexible with traditions
Participation may look different for everyone. Some may engage briefly, observe quietly, or opt out entirely. All forms of participation are valid.

• Lower sensory input
Choose gentle lighting instead of flashing decorations, reduce background noise, and avoid strong scents when possible.

• Prepare ahead when possible
Sharing plans in advance, using visual schedules, or explaining what to expect can help ease uncertainty and stress.

• Respond with patience and compassion
If emotions run high, remember that behavior is communication. A calm, understanding response builds trust and emotional safety.

• Honor rest as part of celebration
Rest is not missing out. For many disabled individuals, rest is what makes connection possible.

A truly inclusive Christmas Eve is not measured by how closely it matches tradition, but by how supported and seen everyone feels. When we lead with compassion and understanding, we create moments of peace that last far beyond the holiday itself.

12/17/2025

2025 Payroll End - PPL/CDCN

Recently CDCN put a banner on their site noting that that “final payroll for 2025 was 12/19”

Payroll cycles:

For CDCN:https://49126966.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na2.net/hubfs/49126966/QI%20Documents/Forms/CDVA/Payroll%20Related%20Form/En_2025_QI_Payroll-Calendar-CDVA_FIN.pdf

For PPL:https://pplfirst.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/VA-Cardinal-Care-Pay-Schedule-A-Central-VA-_-Tidewater-2025-1-2.pdf

12/10/2025

December 10 – Human Rights Day (Disability Rights = Human Rights)

On Human Rights Day, we affirm that disability rights are human rights. Every person deserves safety, respect, communication access, education, and healthcare without barriers. When we remove obstacles for disabled people, we build a better world for everyone. 🌍💜

12/09/2025

12/09/2025

Brendan Fraser recently opened up on The Kelly Clarkson Show about being a father to an autistic child and his words landed powerfully.

A heartfelt call to treat neurodivergent families with compassion, support, and commitment.

He reminded the world that families with autistic loved ones deserve understanding, real services, and communities that show up for them, not just in theory, but in action.

As parents and advocates, we feel this deeply.
And voices like his help push the conversation forward in a way that’s human, honest, and needed.

12/08/2025

The holiday season can be joyful, but it can also be overwhelming for disabled individuals who face sensory overload, mobility barriers, or changes in routine. This month, let’s create spaces where everyone feels welcome and supported. Small acts of inclusion matter.

12/05/2025

To every disabled child, teen, adult, and elder in our community: you are not ‘too much’ and you are never ‘less than.’ Your presence, needs, and dreams belong in every room, every season, every celebration. We’re grateful for you today and every day.

12/03/2025

December 3 – International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD)

Fostering disability-inclusive societies for advancing social progress

Observed annually on December 3, this UN day promotes the rights, dignity, and well-being of persons with disabilities, and calls for fully inclusive, accessible societies.

Today is International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Disability is not the absence of ability, it is a different way of moving through the world. Our communities are stronger, kinder, and more creative when disabled voices are centered and heard. 💙💚

11/28/2025

🎉 Congratulations to Our Stroller Giveaway Winner

We are excited to announce the winner of our Adaptive Stroller Giveaway. Thank you to everyone who submitted entries and shared your stories with us. We were truly moved by the love and dedication shown by each family in our Toddlers community.

Our winning family shared how much this stroller will mean to them:

“This stroller would be a great support to my family when we take my son out on longer excursions, it is sometimes hard for us to take longer trips in just his wheelchair. This would also allow me to walk the neighborhood with my son, he loves to go on walks, but his arms tire out after only a short distance.”

We are honored to support more comfort, joy, and independence for this amazing young man and his family. We cannot wait to see all of the adventures ahead!

Thank you again to all who participated. We are grateful for every member of our Toddlers To Grandparents family.

With appreciation,

Your TTG Team

11/27/2025

From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃🍁

We are grateful for every family that trusts us, every caregiver who keeps showing up, and every individual with disabilities who inspires us to build a more inclusive tomorrow.

We give thanks for the families who support loved ones through challenges that others cannot see. Your patience, empathy, and resilience create safe spaces filled with understanding and love.

We are thankful for the children who share their joy freely, the adults who conquer barriers each day, and the families who say, “We do this together.” You make the world richer, kinder, and more inclusive.

We are grateful for the ramps that create independence, the adaptive equipment that protects dignity, and the community members who advocate for more accessible spaces. Because when the world becomes more accessible, families become more connected.

Your stories remind us that family is not defined by perfection; it is defined by love and belonging.

Thank you for letting us be a small part of your journey.

Today and every day, we are thankful for YOU. 💛

Hashtags:

11/26/2025

In the spirit of the season, we are giving away a high-quality adult adaptive stroller valued between 3,000 and 5,000 dollars to one of the incredible families we serve!
This is our way to say thank you to the families who call Toddlers To Grandparents home. We are so grateful for the care, love, and strength you show every single day.

✨ How to Enter
- Families currently associated with Toddlers To Grandparents are welcome to enter by clicking on the link below!
- Only one entry per member with Toddlers.
- Submit your entry anytime now through November 26th, at 11:59 PM.

🏆 Winner Announcement
- We will contact the winner via email or phone on Thanksgiving Day!
- We will announce the lucky winner to everyone on Friday, November 28th at 12:00 PM on our page!

Good luck to all and thank you for being part of our TTG family! 🍂🦃

Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchYq9YAgkXTl19GJ1vaXZvKocBqGCyu-iTZkoC6J9uHatXtg/viewform?usp=header