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When Byron Smith was in sixth grade, his mother got a call from his teacher. She said, "Byron is out there on the monkey bars and he's sitting on the top bar and he's not hanging on with his hands." “My mom said, ‘Let him alone. Yes, he may fall.…

"I don't know about you, Congressman, but it's important for me to know how to put my pants on every morning to keep my job here," was how John Dickerson paraphrased Congressman John Brademas in a memorable moment. The Congressman from South Bend,…

Kathy Christoff and Bill Gilkey talk about the changes they have seen in Indiana mental health services since the 1960s. They discuss the development of mental health centers, improvements in medications, and the success of employment programs.…

"We have been omitted for such a long time. It's as if we don't matter," observes Gary resident Tony Blair. Like other people of color with disabilities, he is a member of multiple minoritized communities. The concept of intersectionality was…

“I get the benefits of free movies. So it's a good all-around job,” explains Cori of her job at the movie theater. Cori works part-time taking tickets. When Cori was interviewed in 2013, she had been working at the movie theater for the past 13…

“It’s a relationship that’s based on what’s inside, not outside, and what’s in our minds and our heart.” When Danielle and Diane Pitmon were interviewed in 2018, they had been married as husband and wife for 18 years. They now share their life as…

“The history of why there's the University Center for Excellence…is somewhat unique,” states David Mank. David was director of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community when he was interviewed in 2015. He shares the story about President…

"I think it's extremely important that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities be a continued and increasingly strong voice in developmental disability issues of the day. And be in the rooms where decisions get made about funding,…

"We didn't want a nursing home saying, we are a Center for Independent Living, we're eligible for that money." David Nelson talks about the establishment of Centers for Independent Living (CILs) in Indiana. He describes a successful effort in Indiana…

"In every state and territory in the country there is what is called P & A, which is short for Protection and Advocacy System. So every state is required to have a designated agency that serves as the state's P&A, who is there to protect and…