Mommy Won: Elana Meyers Taylor on Sign Language, Worth, and Inclusion

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When Elana Meyers Taylor won gold in women’s monobob at the Milan Cortina Winter Games, the first thing she did was find her sons and sign “Mommy won.” Both of her boys are deaf, and her older son, Nico, has Down syndrome. Sign language is the main language in their house.

Elana talks with Tim about why her family learned ASL when doctors said not to bother, what an IEP evaluator missed because she didn’t know a single sign, and why a six-time Olympic medalist wants everyone to know they are not defined by what they achieve. She is honest about school, too: what inclusion looked like for Nico, what didn’t work, and why her family homeschools for now.

Her starting point is the same as ours: ask what inclusion looks like for this kid first, then build from there. Plus, Elana plays Awake Among the Stars, our micro role-playing game, and discovers “grass fruit” on a world of floating mountains.

Read the expanded show notes: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/mommy-won-elana-meyers-taylor-on-sign-language-worth-and-inclusion-1405/

Sponsors

IXL, the all-in-one K-12 platform that adapts to each student: ixl.com/inclusiveBehavior 360 from Inclusive Schooling, professional learning that treats behavior as something to understand, not just manage: inclusiveschooling.com/mcie-behavior