Celebrating Inclusion Figures
Esther Vergeer was born in Woerden, Netherlands, on July 18, 1981. When she was eight years old, she had surgery on her spine. The surgery left her unable to move her legs. As she adapted to her injury, Vergeer learned to play basketball and tennis in a wheelchair.
Celebrating Inclusion Figures
After being born with cerebral palsy, Abbey Curran grew up in a world of “no”. She was told what she could and couldn’t do and after 7 straight years of loss, Abbey decided to take hold of her future and make her life something she’d always dreamed of!
Celebrating Inclusion Figures
Madeline Stuart is a worldwide phenomenon. Madeline is an Australian model described as the world’s first professional model with Down syndrome, becoming a powerful advocate for inclusiveness and diversity in modeling. This incredibly courageous, beautiful, and talented young woman has had astonishing success in the short time she has been modeling and has captured media attention in Australia and internationally.
Celebrating Inclusion Figures
Kerry Magro was two years old when he was diagnosed with autism. He felt isolated and found it difficult to be around others. Magro grew up being told what he could not do, what he could not achieve, and how his life would be. It was also a time when there was not widespread information on autism, which made it harder to navigate life. He found the world very confusing.
Celebrating Inclusion Figures
Collette Divitto was born in 1990 with Down syndrome. She grew up in Ridgefield, Connecticut, where she developed a passion for baking after taking classes in high school. After testing out several cookie recipes, she came up with an original cinnamon chocolate chip cookie that people really enjoyed. Because all of her friends and family raved, “This cookie is amazing,” Collette decided to call her recipe “The Amazing Cookie.”
Celebrating Inclusion Figures
Susanna van Tonder is a Luxembourg disability rights activist, patient advocate and blogger. Van Tonder’s first obvious symptoms of multiple sclerosis caused her to suffer a Grand Mal seizure in 2015. In 2016, exactly a year later, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This experience of being diagnosed with an incurable disease in her early adult years led van Tonder to work on inclusion and wider understanding of the needs for people with disabilities and patients affected by chronic conditions.