Celebrating Inclusion Figures
Tony DeBlois weighed less than 2 pounds, became blind within days and was later diagnosed with autism, but ignoring conventional wisdom, his mother’s love uncovered his musical genius. Tony now plays 20 instruments and knows more than 8,000 songs.
Celebrating Inclusion Figures
Sarah Gordy is a British actress, model and dancer – who happens to have Down Syndrome. Gordy made history in 2014 when she played a key role without a handicap in “Crocodiles” at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre.
Celebrating Inclusion Figures
Pranav Bakshi was two years old when he was diagnosed with autism. But his mother, Anupama Bakhshi, decided to not let it become a hurdle in the way of achieving his dreams and so, one day when Pranav expressed his interest in modelling, his mother knew she had to help her son explore fields of his interest.
Celebrating Inclusion Figures
Pablo Pineda is an actor and educator, known for being the first European with Down syndrome to obtain a university degree. He completed both a Diploma in Teaching and a BA in Educational Psychology.
Celebrating Inclusion Figures
Disability representation in front of the camera is more imperative than ever. But what about behind the scenes, diversifying the visionaries who make up our creative industries? This is the mission behind Trifle Studio, the UK’s first multidisciplinary design studio whose work is created by artists and designers with learning disabilities.
Celebrating Inclusion Figures
Reuben Selby is a fashion designer, a tech entrepreneur, a CEO, and a neurodiversity advocate. At 25 years old, Reuben Selby is a certified polymath or, in his words, the wearer of “many different hats.”
Celebrating Inclusion Figures
As the UK’s first blind and Black female barrister, the name Jessikah Inaba is inscribed in history. Last October, after five years of study and painstakingly transcribing all her own lecture notes into Braille, Inaba was called to the bar, smashing what she refers to as “the triple-glazed glass ceiling”.
Celebrating Inclusion Figures
When James Martin was born, doctors told his parents that he might never speak. However, he did not only learn to speak, but 31 years later, on his birthday, he walked on Hollywood’s biggest stage to collect his Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film, An Irish Goodbye.
Celebrating Inclusion Figures
When bestselling author John Elder Robison was a child, few had ever heard of Asperger’s syndrome. As a kid, Robison was often punished for “misbehaving” and “laziness.” It wasn’t until adulthood that a doctor suggested to him that he might have Asperger’s.
Celebrating Inclusion Figures
Meet Mayli Gibson, a tenacious girl born with a neuro tube defect called Spina Bifida, which left her paralyzed from the waist down. She uses a wheelchair but that has never slowed her down, actually it has propelled her into a life of exciting adaptive sports!