voiceability

Meet Alea:  She is an enthusiastic, determined spirit. She loves to dance, laugh, play dress up and the color purple. Her voice will change you. Here is her story: Hi, my name is Laura, and I have two beautiful daughters, Annabelle, age 9 and Alea, age 5. Alea was recently diagnosed with FoxP1 syndrome after completing a whole exome sequencing at Children's Hospital. People with FoxP1 syndrome often have intellectual disabilities, developmental delay and autism-like behaviors. Alea is a precious gift as is every child, but occasionally other people in society don't view her that way. One day while shopping in Target we passed a lady whom I estimated to be in her forties. Alea is extremely friendly and asked the lady what her name was. The lady nicely replied and then Alea asked what her name was again.   The lady repeated it but then Alea asked for her name once more. Instead of responding, the lady looked directly at me. “You know”, she...

Meet Corey: He trains and coordinates Junior Volunteers for Valley View Hospital, holds a degree in psychology and loves pushing the limits of his abilities.  His voice will change you. At age two, I was diagnosed with a degenerative muscular disease. I have been in a wheelchair since second grade.   I have limited use of my arms and hands. Yet, in my mind, I don’t see myself as I look. When I’m talking to someone, or in my dreams, I don’t see myself in my chair. I would describe myself as having the mindset of an athlete – confident, stubborn and a bit cocky. There was a time when I was self-conscious about my physical presence, but no more.  If people seem uncomfortable with that, I can pick up on that and I approach them.  I admit that I might push their comfort level purposely.  It might be kind of a jerk thing to do, but I find that opens up the gate to communicating. Those with disabilities have a responsibility to do our part...