“I know none of you. I know none of you,” Caroline chants under her breath before she realizes she’s already on a “hot mic.” It’s an endearing moment belying the slightest amount of the jitters, inwardly suppressed, while outwardly portraying loads of charisma, or “rizz” as her generation likes to call it. Caroline is preparing to be a celebrity for the next hour, maybe for the rest of her life. Caroline O’Brien is an 18-year-old woman in Savannah, Georgia, who has arthrogryposis caused by a tear in her mother’s uterus, which led to leakage of amniotic fluid while she was develop...

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD), along with the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, the University of Georgia’s Institute on Human Development and Disability (IHDD), and the Georgia Disability History Alliance (GDHA), sponsored and hosted the seventh annual Georgia Disability History Symposium, entitled “Home Grown, World Class: Georgia’s Contributions to the Movement. Held October 1, 2024, at the University of Georgia (UGA), the symposium honored Georgia’s role in advancing disability rights and explored its ongoing global impact in disab...

Self-advocate Catherine Brenneman recounts the time she went on a camping trip with her family and how she really enjoyed herself. She also talks about the community program that allowed her to have this lived experience. Here is her story. Catherine BrennemanI went on a camping trip with my family to Hard Labor Creek State Park in Northeast Georgia. We did a lot of fun things there, but what was most fun about my family’s camping trip was that I rode on an all-terrain vehicle (ATV). This was not a typical ATV, but one for people like me. It had a power wheelchair with big wheels almost li...

The state of Georgia's 2023 November elections has significant importance as they will determine the direction and leadership of communities across the state. While they are not as high-profile as statewide or national elections, these municipal races have a profound impact on the lives of Georgians with disabilities and their families. There are roughly 650,000 people with disabilities of voting age in Georgia and it is critical that their voices are heard at the voting polls. This year’s elections will decide a wide range of positions including mayors, city council members, school board ...

A Transformative Conversation Around Equity, Disability and Support  Presented by Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD), Equitable Dinners, L’Arche Atlanta and Out of Hand Theatre on February 6 and 27, 2024, the two gatherings will bring together dinner and discussion about the value of Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) in the lives of Georgians with developmental disabilities (DD) and their families and is the latest iteration of the GCDD Storytelling Project.  Guests will be able to take part in this event in-person at the Georgia Public Broadcasting...