Straight Talk - Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities

STRAIGHT TALK: Carving a Path to Success

By Amara Hazzard

My name is Amara Maria Hazzard, and I am a second year student at the EXCEL program at Georgia Tech. EXCEL is a certificate program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

I grew up in Georgia and attended a mostly segregated school, and I took most of my classes with students with disabilities. I began my education taking classes in a regular ed classroom around the time I was in kindergarten through fifth grade.

After that, I went to a lot of different schools and was in Special Ed classes in all of those schools. I took all of my classes with students who had disabilities. I felt like none of the schools helped me, and I felt lost. Then I went to South Gwinnett High School, and there I blossomed. I was still in the separate Special Ed classes, but I felt accepted and even joined the cheerleading team.

I came to Georgia Tech EXCEL, and I really blossomed. I got my first job by myself during my first semester of my first year here. I know how to get around campus by myself. I’m very, very determined. I want to tell everyone that they can do it, with or without a disability. You can get into college; you can get a job. You can have support if you need it. I met a lot of friends on campus. We go to the mall, plan holiday parties, attend sporting events, cook together and have a great time.

Some of my favorite things that I’m doing at college are going to my first frat house party. A lot of my friends were there. I volunteer a lot around campus. I’m an events coordinator for GIFTED (God’s Influence Flowing Through Every Disciple), a Christian club on campus. I was a member of the cast of “What’s Going On, Part 2” that performed the first week of December.

This play was about social justice in the world in the format of stories about a group of college students. I am a member of Caterpillar’s Promise, an organization that helps young kids find their way in the world through mentors and workshops. I have led student Open House tours for EXCEL as well as given MARTA transportation training for EXCEL students.

My classes have been great. Some of my favorite learning activities include making a fidget spinner in Collaborative Design class; learning about wheelchair (in-) accessibility around campus sidewalks, streets and classrooms; and learning how to budget my money in Financial Literacy.

One thing that I want to do before I leave college is to continue to maintain a steady job at least ten hours a week during classes. For my internship in Spring of 2018, I am hoping to be working at the front desk at Lutheran Towers, a senior adult apartment complex. This will give me an opportunity to show my love for people. After college, I would like to have my own apartment, have a job, and live life to the fullest!

I am proud of myself for being an advocate and sharing my story with other young people who are starting to carve their own path for success.

Amara Hazzard is 20 years old, from Loganville, GA. She likes to hang out with her boyfriend, Kenny. She has a large family that spends much time together at family reunions in Georgia, Louisiana, Texas and Pennsylvania. Her favorite color is purple. She cooks a delicious organic pasta sauce and misses her sister, Aria, and their three pets while she is away at college. She hopes to one day soon travel to Las Vegas, NV.

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Straight Talk: How I Use Assistive Technology

My name is Tracy Rackensperger. I am a public service faculty member at the University of Georgia, Institute of Human Development and Disability (IHDD). I have worked at UGA for over nine years now in the development of course content for the introductory course of our Disability Studies Certificate Program, and serve as instructor for this course.

I am also a PhD candidate majoring in social foundations of education. With so much under my belt, I heavily rely on assistive technologies for employment, education and recreation. I see assistive technology as any object(s) helping a person with a disability complete a task because without this item, the person would either have great difficulty with or be unable to complete the task. This way of thinking incorporates the high assistive technologies items I use, like my power wheelchair and augmentative communication device. Additionally, this way of thinking incorporates the low assistive technologies items I use, such as the sports bottles I drink out of and the modified forks I use to feed myself.

At work, I use a lot of assistive technology. I use powered adjustable tables that allow me to raise and lower my work surfaces and monitors throughout the day. They are sturdy and easy to use. Both at work and for my education, I use dual computer monitors and I also use Bluetooth to connect my communication device to computers as well as adapted keyboards to type. I use a communication device to communicate with people who have difficulty understanding my own natural speech. People who have known me for a while can understand my natural speech almost all the time, but strangers usually have no clue what I am saying unless I use augmentative communication. I use my device to interact with students, classmates, coworkers, strangers and friends. I prepare class lectures on my personal computer and then upload files to my communication device.

At home, I replaced my standard deadbolt with a keyless front door lock and I can unlock the door with the press of a button on a keypad via a code that has been programmed on the keypad. The keypad can even be lit in the dark to make entering in my code easier. Plus, I have support people who assist me with things like getting up. With their own personal codes, they can enter my home with just a few simple pushes of a button and lock it with just one. I get more control over who has access to my home. I just assign a code to whoever needs one and delete it when I see fit.

Assistive technology is not just for work. Outside of work, I am really into sports and recreation. I am a big snow skier, and I use what is called a bi-ski. A bi-ski is a ski with a bucket seat and two skis. I ski with the assistance of an instructor using stabilizing outriggers and tethers. I lean the direction I want to turn the bi-ski. The bi-ski has a lift mechanism for getting onto a chairlift. I participate in many other sports using assistive technology including power (wheelchair) soccer.

By Tracy Rackensperger
Public Service Faculty and Outreach and Community Education Coordinator at University of Georgia's Institute on Human Development and Disability

STRAIGHT TALK: Leading an Independent Life Because of the ADA

SukhwaGlick1Sukhwa Glick, 26, Atlanta, GA resident, part-time employee and aspiring photographer.

Do any of those labels indicate that I am a person with a disability? No? Well, I am. And I am glad that they do not imply that because my disability isn't who I am, but a part of me.

On August 11, 1988 in South Korea, I was born with a disability known as Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (a physical disability that affects all four of my extremities.) Six months later, I was adopted and living in the United States in a small town in Connecticut and I graduated from high school in Florida.

And today, I am in Atlanta working and leading the most independent life that was only imaginable years ago.

My current level of independence, and that which I have experienced in the past, would not be possible without the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protecting my rights as a person with a disability. I live alone in my own apartment, coordinate my own personal care attendant's schedule and have an active social life. Graduating high school with the standard diploma alongside my peers, who I had grown up with since the beginning of our educational careers, would not have been as equal of an opportunity without the
ADA and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Nor would graduating with a college degree [of my choosing] have felt like such an equal playing field amongst my peers without disabilities. However, my rights to the least restrictive educational environment are not the only ones included in the ADA. Being able to acquire and sustain reliable transportation, employment and housing – being self-sufficient and gainfully employed – are goals that almost everyone sets for himself or herself.

But it is "easier" to attain for some rather than others. Fortunately, I have been given the access and knowledge to the resources that I need, to personally overcome those obstacles. In conjunction with the ADA, I have been graced with the presence of a great network of support – family and friends. Knowing what the ADA protects and how to self-advocate is the key to this "ease." The ADA is a great foundation for eliminating discrimination against people with disabilities in prime aspects of life.

I speak from experience. But there are very few things that are "perfect" in this world. For the most part, there is room for improvement. The change that I would like to see and contribute to the disability community is to open more doors for equal opportunities. If every part of living in the community was more universally accessible, employment statistics would improve, inclusion would be second nature, and the quality of life for all would no longer be a concern to be resolved.

With the advances in technology and education systems, if we included the disability movement and history into curriculums, this task will not seem so difficult.Until then, for me, promoting the independent living philosophy and sharing the knowledge that I have to empower the emerging advocates, will continue to be my goal.

SUKHWA GLICK is the youth outreach and development specialist with disABILITY LINK and The Center for Independent Living that serves 12 counties in Metro Atlanta. She is also a part of the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living's (APRIL) Youth Steering Committee.

STRAIGHT TALK: Making Real Choices

RiadAkhrasI want to talk about real choices for people with developmental disabilities. Making my own choices about what I want to do or buy is important to me. My brother does not have a developmental disability, and he gets to decide what he wants to do. So, why can't I do that too?

I want to tell you something about me. First, I like to talk about the weather; and second, I like to buy shoes. I have my own checking account, and I get shoe catalogs like Eastbay in the mail. There are lots of shoes in that catalog. Nobody tells me which ones I should buy. I get to choose.

In January 2014, I moved to a group home. I lived there for 10 months. I was stuck in a day program, and had to do what they wanted me to do each day. You want to know what I did each day at the day program? I just sat most of the time. They gave me worksheets each day just like school. Other times, I was given coloring sheets or watched movies. One day a week, they would dance to loud music, but I don't like loud music. Sometimes they would take us on field trips, but I had no choice about where I would go.

Someone else decided that for me. If I said "no," the staff would say I was choosing not to participate. Sometimes they would try to convince me to go on the field trip, and that would make me uncomfortable. I don't like crowded places like festivals or fairs – they are too noisy and there are too many people there. They didn't like it if I said "no." It made me very sad.

Nowhere was my choice taken into consideration.

I live at home again now, and I am planning on getting a job. My mom and I talk about the things I want to do. I have friends in Athens, GA. I meet them at the mall and we hang out. I go bowling on Thursdays, and sometimes we go out to eat after. I go to karate twice a week with Mr. Ray where I am working to earn my black belt. I talk to my friends every day. I go with my mom to meetings about disability rights advocacy, and see what work is being done to make lives for people with disabilities better. I want to see if they are getting to choose what they want to do or decide what services are best for them.

Making real choices for people with disabilities shouldn't be a choice itself. Making decisions for myself not only lets others know that I am capable of doing things, but, it makes me feel good also.

Riad Akhras, from Eatonton, GA, is studying to be a black belt in karate.

Straight Talk: Twenty Agents for Change

At the Georgia Winter Institute (GWI) held in Columbus, GA earlier this year, I attended sessions on the concepts of community building, the inclusive church environment, and employment and services that really changed my mind and gave me some new ideas to take back to my community.

On the night of Warren Lee Hill’s execution, a group of us left from GWI and went to the local NAACP office to participate in a candlelight prayer vigil to remember his life. But, it made me wonder how the concepts of community building, inclusive churches and employment or services could have been used to prevent the tragic loss of Mr. Hill’s life.

We say that community building is about making connections with people in your local neighborhood. What if someone from Hill’s neighborhood had taken time to get to know him as a person and discover his gifts and talents? We were praying for and celebrating a life that was known to just a few rather than by a whole community. Will the community in which he lived ever know who Warren Hill was? On that night, I thought about what kind of person this man would be or what he would have gained if someone had taken the time to get to know him.

Maybe they could have encouraged him or seen the potential in his gifts. But because of lack of involvement from his community and society, he will be known to the world only as a person with an intellectual disability who committed a crime and was pushed away, rather than as a person with interests and hope. What if a church member had come and visited him at his house or in prison? Would he have died this way in vain? Still, the church is our beacon for prayers, peace and reconciliation in this time of mourning.

So, we must ask ourselves, what do community building, employment and inclusive church environments all have to do with how to help people like Warren Hill? During the Introduction to the Roving Listeners class, a lady told our guide, DeAmon Harges, the story of a young man who could make things without using instructions.

She went on to ask, “How do you take this young man and lift him up out of the mud when you have only one person to encourage him?” Harges said to surround that man by 20 positive people in order to help him discover his gifts. If the community had known how to assist Warren Hill by surrounding him with 20 resources, like 20 positive people, we would not be mourning. Instead, we would be celebrating his life full of potential, its greatness and his gifts.

These are the positive outcomes of building community. We should each become one of those 20 resources for an individual to discover their gifts for a more inclusive community

JESSICA MATHIS works at Living Independence for Everyone (LIFE), Inc. as a peer mentor and is starting an educational nonprofit. Mathis is also a community builder for GCDD’s Real Communities Initiative.

Straight Talk: Understanding Equal Opportunity for People with Disabilities

By Andrew Furey

Businesses, government, advocates and the entire community need to recognize that people with disabilities to have the right for an equal opportunity to go to college, get a job or just live independently. I have muscular dystrophy and I've had to fight my own battles to achieve these goals.

For someone with a disability, obtaining a post-secondary education can be quite difficult. The process can have many obstacles, many of them seemingly insurmountable. One of the biggest things that can get in their way is making use of Vocational Rehab and navigating the services that they provide. I have had many problems with this agency and continue to do so. Vocational Rehab is supposed to provide things like home health aides, help with obtaining room and board, and even help paying your tuition. Though, in my experience, it's very difficult to get them to provide all of these things.

Another major obstacle in the way of going to college is the school itself. The schools do not understand the daily challenges students with disabilities go through to even go there. They are required by law to provide reasonable accommodations, but it is up to the school determine what they consider to be reasonable. Some schools like Georgia Tech don't really provide that many accommodations, but others like the University of North Georgia go above and beyond to make sure every student has the same opportunity.
Schools and government agencies need to understand the obstacles to obtaining a higher education people with disabilities face in order to provide better services and accommodations.

Even though there are laws against discriminating against people with disabilities in the workplace, some employers may not realize the full potential of an employee with disabilities. Employers and businesses need to understand that with some accommodations, a person with disabilities is as able as an employee without disabilities. But, even with a job, people with disabilities have to remain below the poverty level in order to get government assistance with healthcare. They cannot get the same benefits from an insurance company or afford it and this forces dependence on the government for the rest their lives. In order to continue receiving help from the government, they are limited on how much money they can earn which keeps them living at or near the poverty level.

People with disabilities should be allowed to work as much as they are able without fearing the loss of adequate healthcare. Living independently can be difficult or just about impossible. If they are like myself and have a severe physical disability, then there are few options available. We have some degree of independence, but to live completely independent from family members and government assistance through programs like Independent Care Waiver Program is unlikely. The staggering cost of paying for one's personal assistants and healthcare means this goal is unrealistic. It is more likely that they will have partial independence combined with support from other sources.

There are many groups and organizations currently working to educate the entire community about equality for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and encourage them to support legislation that creates or maintains support systems that allow people with disabilities to live independently and have a chance at the same opportunities like everyone else.

It is my hope that one day people with disabilities will live more independently, have better access to higher education, and work in more accessible workplaces. What I really want is an equal opportunity to participate in and contribute to the community.