Learn how to support people with disabilities by focusing on their individual gifts, talents and interests in order to connect with the wider community.
“A Sage Sits In My Kitchen” is a memoir about how to provide direct support through a person-centered focus.
Meet Robin
Robin Carlson - author, speaker, trainer and direct support provider - has over 40 years experience in the field of disabilities. She started her career in 1984 as a Direct Support Professional at a group home serving the first five people who were deinstitutionalized from Laconia State School in New Hampshire. When given the opportunity to go to intensive workshops on Normalization, Person Centered Planning, Positive Behavioral Support and Community Integration from the great leaders in the field, Robin focused on providing high quality direct support to people in her care.
Robin has a BA in psychology from the University of New Hampshire, taught a Direct Support Certificate Program at NH Community Colleges, written articles in disability related publications, keynote speaker and workshop presenter at various conferences, and published a memoir entitled A Sage Sits In My Kitchen - Thirty Years of Caregiving for a Man the World Overlooked
What People Are Saying
“This book is a luminous portrait of what truly matters…Seen through the eyes of Robin Carlson’s heart, Frank’s life unfolds from survival at the margins to the wisdom of a true Sage. This story reminds us of who we are at our best…strengthening the life-giving bonds that make a just and caring world possible.”
—-Beth Mount, PhD, Founder and Director, Graphic Futures
“A Sage Sits In My Kitchen is an honest testimony that highlights the challenges of caregiving. It shows how two people sharing the same journey can transcend the limits of disability with trust and love.”
—Kathy Bates, Disability Rights Activist, Writer, Speaker
“This book is a love story. It’s a story of resilience, of reciprocity, of survival, of doing the right thing - being a human - no matter what. It is also a story of one way to change the world…”
—-Peter Leidy, Trainer, Consultant, Speaker
“This book portrays the interactive process of teacher and learner, clarifying that the heart of education lies in connection and not content.”
—Donald G. Trites, PhD