March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (#DDAwareness2022). The theme this year is “Worlds Imagined.”
The Council imagines a world where people with developmental disabilities live the lives they want with the support they need. We create change to make this possible, by focusing on three goals:
- People with developmental disabilities are leaders and advocates.
- People with developmental disabilities and their families are empowered to live the lives they want.
- People with developmental disabilities and their families have access to their communities, and services and supports. They are treated with dignity and respect.
Each week during March, we will highlight a member of the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council for #CouncilMemberMonday. They share what makes them feel included in the community, and what Marylanders can do better, so people with and without disabilities can live, learn, work and play together.
March 28, 2022
#CouncilMemberMonday Post
Name: Brent Debnam
Years on the Council: 10 years
- Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am a person of many strengths. I feel that my biggest strength is using my voice to advocate based on my experience, and because I know that other people share my experience, I hope create change within my community and throughout the world. I believe strongly that all mankind deserves to be treated with fairness and equality, regardless of race, religion, ideals, or disabilities. My goal in life is to be a voice for the voiceless, and help those in need in any way possible.
- How do you feel that your time on the Council has helped people in the community come together?
My time on the Council has helped people come together by being able to share resources with those in need, being able to offer my input on a number of subjects that deal directly with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities within our community, and being able to be a voice for people within our community who otherwise may not be heard. And, doing my part to ensure that people with intellectual and DD get the proper respect and attention that we so deserve as part of mainstream society.
- What barriers do we need to remove to make our communities more inclusive? How can we do that?
Remove the stigmas of assumption – what I mean is that I feel sometimes people without disabilities sometimes instead of holding conversations with a person with a disability, often assume a person with intellectual and developmental disabilities cannot communicate, hold a conversation, or they act standoffish.
People assume many of us do not deal with the same situations as people without disabilities.
[We change that by] opening the door, or creating better lines of communication between people with and without disabilities and teaching younger and older people without disabilities better ways to communicate with someone with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The only way to truly know who a person is to hold a conversation and ask questions to and about that person.
People without disabilities should become more familiar with the obstacles we face. We encounter all the barriers that people face, and more – just being able to get around and navigate the world in general. If people without disabilities could understand that, we have to deal with everyday problems, like everyone else. And, we have to deal with problems like not being able to get into a building, or get some of the resources we need. If they had a deeper understanding of the world we face, it would give them a deeper understanding of a part of lives that often goes unseen beyond the people who know us best. Many of us have to rely on outside help, such as nurses, Direct Support Professionals, and family members – which can be a hassle. A lot of us struggle to be able to obtain the bare necessities of life that people without disabilities take for granted.
A good way to remove the barrier is to give people without disabilities a snapshot – find the way to allow people without disabilities to see what our lives are like on a daily basis. Create more friendships between one another to bridge the gap between people’s lives and give them a better understanding of our everyday struggles.
- What makes your community more accessible to you?
The thing that makes my community more accessible to me is that I have a team of friends and family that I can rely on to help me complete everyday tasks, which makes it a little more easy for me to organize and keep track of the most important things that I need to address on a daily basis.
I have also been able to learn about a number of resources that would allow me to better plan for my future, such as Maryland ABLE Program, the Affordable Housing Act, and learning that I can manage different assets that I have at my disposal.
- What is one thing you would like to see change so the community is more inclusive?
One thing that I would like to see change so that the community is more inclusive is a concrete acknowledgement of people with disabilities. Making sure that people with disabilities are no longer ignored in any way, shape, form, or fashion. Erasing the stigmas about people with disabilities because that is a big thing. I feel like for many years people with disabilities have been looked at as an invisible part of society. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are deeply interwoven into today’s society. We deserve to finally be acknowledged as a substantial part of what makes up the fabric of America.
Also a big thing is accessibility – finding a way to make sure every building across the country is wheelchair accessible, wheelchair friendly, and accessible to people with all forms of disability. Many places across the country are still not accessible for people with any form of disabilities even with the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act in place. I feel that many of our public and federal buildings, across this great country, are not accessible or user friendly to everyone across the disability spectrum.
March 21, 2022
#CouncilMemberMonday Post
Name: Amanda Lay
Years on the Council: 10 years
- Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am the oldest of 4 children. I live with my mom, and wonderful stepfather in Rockville. I love going to movies and thrift stores. In my spare time I love watching movies, and listening to music and books. I have 3 nieces, and 5 nephews, ranging in age from 12- 1.5. My siblings are a sister, 2 younger brothers, and a step-sister.
- How do you feel that your time on the Council has helped people in the community come together?
It led me to the work I am currently in, as a support broker, and I have helped people be able to recruit staff, and help people live the lives they choose. I hope that the work I do helps people with disabilities live independent lives and feel more equal and included.
I also testified on many bills, such as the changing facility bill and organ transplant bill, which helps the state to see that people with disabilities are equal to everybody else.
I am also doing advocacy training with People on the Go of Maryland because people with disabilities should be able to advocate for issues that matter to them.
- What barriers do we need to remove to make our communities more inclusive? How can we do that?
We have come far, but there is still a long way to go.
We can remove barriers by having a willingness to be creative and think outside the box. To be open-minded enough to learn from each other.
- What makes your community more accessible to you?
The willingness to accommodate for physical barriers and make spaces more accessible. We have to be flexible and creative to make sure that everyone can be included and that it is accessible to everyone. We have to be willing to broaden our perspective.
It is maybe one of the blessings of COVID. COVID caused the rest of the world to think about things in the same way as people with disabilities, their families, and support people always thought of them. If that makes a change, then that is a good thing.
- What is one thing you would like to see change so the community is more inclusive?
I think we need to be open to new ideas, perspectives, and ways of doing things that are different from our own. Just because they are different does not make it wrong or bad, just because somebody does it differently than you. It just means that you might be able to open your mind to doing it a different way.
March 14, 2022
#CouncilMemberMonday Post
Name: Damon Briggs
Time on the Council: 10+1 years (11 years total)
- Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am funny, witty, caring, and sincere. I am passionate and real – never phony. Being on the Council and advocating is my way of helping my community, people that can’t help themselves in the same way. It helps me fight the good fight of perseverance.
- How do you feel that your time on the Council has helped people in the community come together?
I was the chair of the employment work team. Our work on the Council has helped people get employed in the community and put money in their pockets, which helped them have meaningful days. We worked to end sheltered workshops, and allowed people with developmental disabilities to get meaningful employment for more than pennies on the dollar. It allowed us the chance to have real economic earning power. I also helped advocate for increasing the minimum wage in Maryland so our Direct Support Professionals and others could earn a living wage.
- What barriers do we need to remove to make our communities more inclusive? How can we do that?
We need more social gatherings between “people with challenges and able-bodied people”. Some of us have companions, friends, or girlfriends/boyfriends, but we need more opportunities to be around able-bodied people so we can learn about each other and from each other. This will help us be a part of society, and accepted. We are still not fully accepted. We want to be around able-bodied people. We crave that. We want to feel a part of the overall system of social acceptance.
In my “world imagined”, imagine this: social clubs, where people with and without disabilities can be social together. It needs to be accessible, and should not be like a hospital. We need to have conversations that a lot of people don’t want to have. We need to talk about companionship, loneliness, and accessibility.
- What makes your community more accessible to you?
Transportation – I have the ability to pay for my own cab. Not everyone does, and it is hard. Even though I can pay for my own transportation and go where I want to go, it is still hard. At least I don’t have someone telling me where I can go and where I can’t go. I have accessible cabs and I have enough advocacy skills to advocate for myself, and I have enough funds to go where I want.
- What is one thing you would like to see change so the community is more inclusive?
The more we can see the humanity in each other, the more our preconceived ideas come off.
The more we can see each other as people, not “subjects”, the more we can get rid of the ideas we believed that may not be true.
March 7, 2022
#CouncilMemberMonday Post
Name: Laura-Sun, “Sunny” Cefarratti
Time on the Council: 4 years
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am co-founder of the Musical Autist. I am an Autistic Advocate. I serve on the Council and the Self-Directed Advocacy Network of Maryland. I am a musician and I sing.
2. How do you feel that your time on the Council has helped people in the community come together?
My time has made a difference in the lives of people with developmental disabilities. I have educated people, I have advocated for disability rights, including accessibility and diversity.
3. What barriers do we need to remove to make our communities more inclusive? How can we do that?
One barrier, as a blind person, is that technology can be a barrier – especially if websites are not accessible and compatible with screen reader software. Another barrier is for an Autistic person – a lot of places are not sensory friendly – like movie theaters have lots of lots and sounds that can bother people.
For technology – website designers need to make their websites more accessible. Use alternative text (alt. text) and picture ID to tell what an image is.
Make quiet spaces available for when an Autistic person has sensory overload – turn down the lights, turn down the sound.
I think Autistic people need to be respected and not considered threats to society [just], because we spin and move our bodies. We can remove that barrier by treating Autistic people as humans, with respect, and not threats to society.
4. What makes your community more accessible to you?
The fact that I have access to technology. I have more independence in participating in virtual meetings. I am more independent sending messages to people if I need to, text, email, or phone.
5. What is one thing you would like to see change so the community is more inclusive?
There needs to be more knowledge about disabilities and less assumptions.
The stigma for developmental disabilities needs to be put aside, biased opinions need to be put aside.
People with disabilities need to have a support network that is patient and compassionate and willing to work with people with disabilities.