Puberty Changes the School Experience Too
Puberty does not only change a child’s body. It can change what they need from school, how support feels and how important privacy, dignity and choice become.
Welcome to The Acceptance Journal, a space dedicated to sharing real stories, reflections, and resources that support students, parents, and teachers through the high-school transition.
Real stories. Practical tools. True stories.
Here, you’ll find personal reflections and lived experiences exploring the challenges that can sit beneath inclusion, support and belonging for children and young people with disability.
These reflections are written for parents, educators, young people and anyone wanting to understand not only whether inclusion is happening, but how it can actually feel.
Shining A Light On What’s Often Unseen

Expect a warm, honest and reflective space.
Through my own lived experience, I explore the parts of disability, school and inclusion that can be difficult to see from the outside — from friendship and support to independence, expectations, dignity and belonging.
Coming soon: I also hope to make this a space where other people with disability can share their own experiences, reflections and perspectives.
Because inclusion starts with understanding.
Because inclusion starts with understanding.
Every experience of disability and inclusion is different — and those experiences deserve space to be heard.
If you are a person with disability and would like to share a reflection about school, friendship, support, independence, belonging or another experience that shaped you, I would love to hear from you.
In time, I hope this space can bring together different lived experiences and perspectives — helping us understand the things that can be missed when we only look at whether someone appears to be included.
Email your story to:candice@challenges-behind-acceptance.com
Because inclusion isn’t just something we talk about — it’s something we live, share, and grow through together.
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Explore the newest lived-experience reflections on disability, school, inclusion, support and belonging.
Lived experience. Shared with purpose.
30 Aug 2026 18:41
Puberty does not only change a child’s body. It can change what they need from school, how support feels and how important privacy, dignity and choice become.
23 Aug 2026 18:26
Children need adults who believe in their potential. But belief becomes pressure when there is no room for capacity, help, mistakes or changing needs.
16 Aug 2026 18:28
Inclusion is shaped by more than the support we provide. It is also shaped by what we believe about disability, capability and belonging.
9 Aug 2026 18:49
Friendship naturally includes helping one another. But helping should never become the reason a friendship exists.
31 Jul 2026 16:30
Awareness can help people understand disability. But every child  deserves the opportunity to grow into the author of their own story.
26 Jul 2026 11:48
Growing independence is not always about needing less support. Sometimes it is about having more responsibility, more choices and a greater voice in your own life.
19 Jul 2026 11:08
When friendship changes without anyone doing anything wrong.
12 Jul 2026 11:47
How honest encouragement helped me build confidence without ignoring my limits.
5 Jul 2026 11:31
Because transition is about more than finding your classroom.
28 Jun 2026 11:20
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21 Jun 2026 13:33
Good intentions do not always feel encouraging to the child receiving them.
14 Jun 2026 14:59
Inclusion is not something children experience  on paper. They experience it in everyday life.