First Former Buddy Club President

                 [Image Description: "What Parents of Individuals in the Disability Community Wish More People in Society Understood" is in left-aligned black text in a white thought bubble with a dark red background. My First Former Buddy Club President logo is in the bottom left corner of the image with "FIRST FORMER BUDDY CLUB PRESIDENT" in center-aligned italicized black text overlapping an enlarged light blue heart with several small red hearts and a light blue background in the background of the enlarged heart. ] In the beginning of August, I reached out to individuals in the disability community for their perspectives about what disability pride means to them. This time I reached out to parents of individuals in the disability community for their perspectives about what they wish more people in society understood about people in the disability community because their perspectives matter too! While there are many kind, accepting, in...

                                        [Image Description: There is  a disability pride flag with straight diagonal stripes in the order of black, dark green, light blue, white, yellow, red, black with softened shades. My First Former Buddy Club President logo is in the bottom left corner of the image with "FIRST FORMER BUDDY CLUB PRESIDENT" in center-aligned italicized black text overlapping an enlarged light blue heart with several small red hearts and a light blue background in the background of the enlarged heart. ] UPDATE:   Originally, the cover photo of this blog post was the disability pride flag with zig zag stripes; however, Erin Castillo (also known as @AffirmationsAndAccessibility on Instagram was kind enough to tell me that one of her followers wanted her to let me know that the disability pride flag with zig zag stripes is the old flag and that there is a new flag...

[Image Description: Gerry (left) sitting in a chair and smiling and I (right) am standing bent forward and smiling. Gerry is wearing a short-sleeved white t-shirt, dark purple glasses, and her straight blonde hair is in a half-up half-down hairdo. There is also a rectangular orange tray with two rectangular card board red and white containers of chicken tenders with a black and white checkered napkin in each on a black table in front of Gerry. To the left of the tray, there is a large-sized white cup of soda with 2 pictures of red soda bottles on it that say "Coca-Cola" in white text. The cup has a clear lid with a clear straw poked through it. I am wearing a dark maroon sweater and dark violet headband with my long, curly, brown hair down. There is a clear glass salt shaker with a silver metal lid on it in front of the tray that is in front of Gerry. Part of a rectangular orange tray with part of a rectangular card board red and white container of French fries and white card...

[Image Description: Group picture of me, Phil, and Ben (left to right) smiling and standing on an orange, blue, and black trampoline at SkyZone's Levittown, Pennsylvania location. I am wearing a taupe sleeveless shirt with a silhouette of black palm trees and a green and white nametag sticker on it, black short shorts with white bordering on the bottom of them, and my long, curly, brown hair in a ponytail with a thin black headband. Phil is wearing a white and gray striped short sleeved t-shirt with a green and white nametag sticker on it, beige khaki shorts, and black glasses and has short brown hair. Ben is wearing a green button down t-shirt with a green and white nametag sticker on it, medium gray khaki shorts, and has short blonde hair. Our feet are not pictured in the photo and there is a blonde person and 2 small children playing on the trampoline in the background of us. ] It has been a while since I did an Inclusion Interview and after reconnecting with my friend Phil (he/...

[Image Description:  Picture of Krista (right) and I (left) at Autism Cares Foundation's 2017 Halloween Party. I am wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, black pants with orange jack-o-lanterns on them, an autism awareness ribbon, a red and white sticker name tag, and my curly brown hair is styled half-up half-down. Krista is wearing a pink long-sleeved shirt with a shiny silver awareness ribbon on it, gray pants, and her blonde hair is also styled half-up half-down with sparkly cat ears on. This picture was taken in darkness in a party room and there are some people dancing in the background of us. ] Originally uploaded on September 12, 2020 I decided to do my next inclusion interview with my friend, Krista (she/her/hers)! You probably recognize Krista from my posts where we are partying at Autism Cares Foundation events. Krista and I met at my first Autism Cares event, which was the 2017 Halloween Party.  Krista is such a great dancer, so sweet, and very kind. I hope you enjoy...