Hello everybody, It’s Tucker Conley, Your Speaking Up For Us Board President.
Recently, as part of my schooling that I started the past year, I was able to participate in the LEND program. In April, as part of my school project, I even got to visit Washington DC which was pretty cool. While I was in DC, I was able to go to the Disability Seminar Conference that took place in DC from April 7th-April 10th 2019. While I was there, I spoke up with my classmates in legislative offices, such as the offices of Angus King, about the pressing needs of the disability community when it came to the topic of seclusion and restraint. Do you know of anybody who has been affected but seclusion/restraints in schools?
One of the big takeaways that I learned about what the conference was the AUTISM Care Act, which officially expires on September 30th. Without it. we could lose important research and funding which is important to the future well-being of people with autism.
A workshop that I attended as part of the conference was spent on some of the history and the importance of improving the quality of life with ABLE Accounts. In fact, I was able to attend my classes and fly to the Washington DC Disability Seminar with the help of able. One of the proposed solutions to help people with disabilities is to someday expand the ages if people who qualify for Able Accounts, so that lives can be improved for people with disabilities nation-wide. This would be a great issue to talk to our legislatures and law-makers someday!
All in All, my Trip to DC was a great experience. If you ever get the opportunity to go to the Washington Disability Seminar, take it! It’s a great way not only to network, but advocate as well for issues in your state that relate to disabilities.
Till next time,
Tucker.
