Video Participant Introductions
Rebekah
Rebekah is an advocate, author, and mother who has used a wheelchair since childhood following cancer treatment. She brings the perspective of someone whose disability experience has been shaped by accessibility, advocacy, and motherhood. Through her clips, she shares reflections on navigating the world as a wheelchair user and the importance of being seen as a whole person rather than being defined by disability alone.
She also emphasizes how health care interactions and societal attitudes can either empower or marginalize individuals with disabilities, highlighting the critical role of respectful, person-centered care.
Joni, Hanna, & Rachel
Joni is a mother who is Deaf, and Hanna and Rachel are her two daughters, who identify as Children of Deaf Adults (CODAs). Together, they offer a family-centered perspective on Deaf culture, communication, identity, and lived experience across generations. Their clips highlight the richness of Deaf family life while also illustrating the unique role CODAs may hold in navigating both Deaf and hearing worlds. Their voices help emphasize that deafness is not simply a medical diagnosis, but also a cultural and community identity.
Nicholle
Nicholle is a mother with dwarfism who also identifies as hard of hearing and is raising a child with dwarfism. She brings an important perspective shaped by both personal lived experience and parenting a child with a shared disability identity. Her clips offer insight into disability as a normal and meaningful part of life, while also highlighting the intersections of identity, family, and communication. Her perspective challenges assumptions often made in healthcare settings and helps center the voices of individuals who live this experience firsthand.
Sara
Sara is a mother of a child diagnosed with mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I). MPS 1 is a rare genetic condition in which the body cannot properly break down certain complex sugars, leading to their buildup in cells and causing progressive effects on multiple organs and systems. She brings the perspective of a caregiver navigating the realities of raising a child with a rare genetic condition, including the emotional, medical, and practical aspects of daily life. Her clips help illuminate the family experience behind a diagnosis and the challenges and strengths that can emerge along the way.