Disability INC.

From Parent Advocate to a City-Wide Force for Good

Guest: Yvette Watts
Executive Director of The New York Association of Emerging and Multicultural Providers

Finding herself a parent of a child with autism in 1985, she soon realized that advocacy was a necessity, not a choice. Follow her transition from parent to advocate as she embarked on a personal mission, eventually becoming an advocate for people with developmental disabilities (DD) and the professionals who support them.

From Civic Awareness to Community Organizer

Guest: Sadye L. Campoamor
Chief Equity Officer, Office of the NYC Comptroller Brad Lander

How do people become advocates? Sadye’s evolution as an advocate and community organizer began as a young teacher in Harlem. Listen as she recounts her experiences and shares her belief that everyone has the ability to contribute in some way to the causes they care about. “We need you urgently, exactly as you are,” Sadye says. “Your obstacles are your path.” 

Never Alone. The Support That Heals.

In the final epsidoes of our series “Seize Joy, Building Community,” host Cheryelle Cruickshank speaks with Lucina Clarke. As a young Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapist providing home-based services to toddlers, Lucina Clarke instantly experienced a powerful jolt of connection with their parents and knew she could help. Now the Executive Director and Co-Founder of My Time Inc. an organization designed to uplift, enlighten, and support parents of a child with disabilities, she shares her recipe for seizing joy. Listen in and absorb a little piece of Lucina’s warmth to put in your pocket. 

Granting Yourself Grace

INCLUDEnyc’s Executive Director, Cheryelle Cruickshank, continues our new podcast series, “Seize Joy, Building Community" with Belinda Johnson. Belinda maintained a successful 40-year career in education while raising a child with a disability. Join us as she shares her experiences, knowledge, and perspective in the reassuring voice of a friend who has been there.

Leading By Example

Host Cheryelle Cruickshank kicks off the first episode of our new series, “Seize Joy, Building Community.” This week, she speaks with Jackie Ceonzo. When Jackie’s son, who is on the autism spectrum, was turned away from a program for young people with disabilities, the experience motivated her to never accept the status quo. Now the Executive Director and Founder of SNACK & Friends, serving individuals with Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Jackie encourages us to think big, reject hopeless thinking, and celebrate small wins that will become giant ones.

Superando más de una barrera

Para Alma, madre mexicana de dos niños con autismo, la primera barrera que tuvo que superar fue el diagnostico de su hijo mayor, luego la barrera idiomática, siguiendo por la falta de información que hay para padres inmigrantes y finalmente, el estigma que hay sobre el autismo. Hoy conversa sobre cómo aprendió a navegar el sistema de educación especial de NYC y cómo fue que INCLUDEnyc la ayudó a informarse para poder representar a sus hijos.

http://es.includenyc.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Alma-Gopar-Transcript.pdf

From Customer to Innovator: Why Disabled People Belong in the Technology Field

Beth Rosenberg is the Founder/Executive Director of Tech Kids Unlimited, not-for-profit educational organization that teaches 21st century computer science thinking and technology skills to neurodiverse youth ages 7 to 21. She is a multiple award-winning teacher, consultant, author, and frequent contributor to conferences, publications, and events.

To read the transcript for this episodes, please visit https://includenyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/From-Customer-to-Innovator.pdf

Nobody Knew What I Could Do: My Fight for Competence, Respect, and Equality

Nate Trainor is a passionate advocate for the acceptance of people with disabilities and, although non-verbal, is a powerful "voice" for inclusion. Nate has experienced firsthand what rejection, exclusion, and assumed incompetence feels like. He is an author and provides many presentations throughout the country, advocating for people with disabilities, and volunteers his time to help others understand that everyone has many abilities. He lives in Waverly, Iowa.

To read the podcast for this episode, visit https://includenyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Nobody-Knew-What-I-Could-Do-Transcript.pdf

Reframing Disability: Creating Cultural Change and Access Through the Lens of Beauty

Rick Guidotti, an award-winning photographer, has spent the past twenty-five years collaborating internationally with nonprofit organizations, hospitals, medical schools, educational institutions, museums, galleries, advocacy groups, and communities to enact a sea-change in societal attitudes towards individuals living with a genetic, physical, behavioral, or intellectual difference. His work has been published in newspapers, magazines, and journals.

Rick is the founder and director of Positive Exposure, a non-profit organization that promotes a more inclusive world through award-winning photography, film, and educational programs. Positive Exposure has significantly impacted the field of human rights, mental health, medicine, and education by providing new opportunities to see each individual as a human being and a valued member of our society.

You can find the transcript for this episode here: https://includenyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Reframing-Disability-transcript.pdf

A Brooklyn Story: How Lou Ferrigno Changed My Life

How a chance conversation between two NYPD cops on the beat in Brooklyn changed one man's professional and personal trajectory.

Donny Swanson is the principal of Pathways to Graduation in Staten Island, NY, where he utilizes a unique blend of beliefs, adaptations, and flexibility which he developed growing up in NYC with a disability. Pathways to Graduation supports at-risk students who have not been successful in traditional schools. Donny just completed his 18th year in education in February 2022, but his educational journey is not complete.

 

You can find the transcript for this episode here: https://includenyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/A-Brooklyn-Story-Transcript.pdf