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!
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.
