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People from across the country had the opportunity to catch up and spend some good time together on the Wet Deck of the W, which overlooks the entire Dallas skyline and is breathtaking!
This morning, we were fortunate enough to have Judy Woodruff, Broadcast Journalist of the PBS Newshour to deliver our opening keynote to the participants of the conference. Mrs. Woodruff spoke about her own experiences of being a parent of a child with a significant disability. Mrs. Woodruff touched on so many important aspects of disability advocacy and to highlight one piece of what she discussed, she said that "everyone has the ability to give" and that "we have to continue to be advocates and do all that we can to ensure that people with disabilities have every opportunity to achieve their God given talents."
Our morning keynote was followed by Dr.Daniel Baker, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Transition, Supported Employment, and Positive Behavioral Supports from the Elizabeth Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities to discuss Employment and Wellness.
Dr. Colleen Wieck, Executive Director of the Minnesota Council on Developmental Disabilities conducted a breakout session on Investigating Employment Outcomes for Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum.
We were also very fortunate to have Samuel Bagenstos, Principle Deputy Assistant Attorney General discuss the Department of Justice's efforts in enforcing the Olmstead lawsuits across the country and the status of each state that continues to operate institutions to warehouse people with disabilities.
Our closing session was comprised of Lon and Jackie Pinkowitz of FuturAge along with Lisa Smith of Community Options to discuss our implementation of the Precision Care Software across the country.
Great day! So much information and knowledge shared. Looking forward to tomorrow. Laura Shumaker, Author of a Regular Guy: Growing up with Autism!
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