AC Disability Awareness Week Convocation set for March 22
Posted Thursday, March 16, 2023
“Best Buddies and Stories of Inclusion,” will be the featured topic of Adrian College’s Disability Awareness Week Convocation, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22, in Jones 110.
Best Buddies International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
The IDD community that Best Buddies serves includes, but is not limited to, people with Down syndrome, autism, Fragile X, Williams syndrome, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and other undiagnosed disabilities.
John Rose (Consultant for Washtenaw Intermediate School District), will lead the panel of guest speakers, including Lydia Goff (Advisor for Best Buddies at University of Michigan), James Kleimola (Officer for the University of Michigan Best Buddies Chapter), and Anne Moler (Ambassador of Best Buddies). The group will have a panel discussion to talk about what inclusion looks like after high school. Personal journeys and involvement with post-school inclusion will be drawn upon by the speakers.
Rose is also a part time lecturer at Eastern Michigan University (EMU), Host Site Coordinator for the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University Chapters of Best Buddies, and the faculty advisor for the Eastern Michigan University Special Olympics Unified Sports Program.
Best Buddies International states the organization is dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with IDD, and notes its programs empower the special abilities of people with IDD by helping them form meaningful friendships with peers, secure successful jobs, live independently, improve public speaking, self-advocacy and communication skills, and feel valued by society.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Adrian College Accessibility Services Specialist Allison Hoag at allisonhoag@adrian.edu.
