I’m a 25-year-old who was born with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and an intellectual delay. I’m an advocate for people with disabilities and think that inclusion is really important. I’m getting ready to attend the Dignity Leadership Summit that takes place here in Utah this month, and I wanted to interview some of the people in my life about what inclusion means to them. Everyone that I talked to in Utah either has an intellectual or developmental delay (IDD) or has a relationship with someone who does.
I asked about the meaning of inclusion to athletes, coaches, parents, employers, political figures and celebrities. You can read all 15 responses on my website.
Athlete and Special Olympics global ambassador Kyle “Pickles” Karren said, “It’s not just having everyone getting a chance to play but to get leadership roles, opportunities to speak at events, or talk to our states representatives and senators to show that we want to be involved.”
Judy Hut, head of delegation of the Salt Lake Stars, said, “It’s about friendship and unity no matter your abilities or backgrounds. It’s what unifies communities and builds bridges.”
Utah First Lady Abby Cox said, “Inclusion means that every person feels seen, loved, and knows they belong. It means making space for everyone no matter their ability. It means finding ways to open our hearts and circles to someone who may think, look, and learn differently than I do.”
On her ShowUp Utah initiative, she says, “You can pretend to care, but you can’t pretend to ShowUp!”
Special Olympics parent Cindy Garrett said, “Inclusion is important. Everyone wants acceptance and to be included. It builds love and trust. It brings opportunities for diversity and growth.”
Special Olympics athlete Trey Garrett said of autism, “It makes it hard for me to make decisions. It makes it hard for me to think of things. Sometimes it takes me more time to process. Plus it’s like I have to make sure what I’m hearing is right.”
He added, “Inclusion means everything to me. It makes me feel like I’m part of the community. It’s very important for people with disabilities to share their voice so people won’t want others to feel left out.“
Utah Rep. Blake Moore said, “Our son has participated in a few activities and we need to get him more involved. He recently joined a swim team and we didn’t even notice how badly he wanted to be on an actual team — after watching his older brothers, he said to us, ‘Mom, I’m finally on a team of my own, just like the brothers.’ It both broke our hearts and melted them.”
Special education teacher Amanda Mair said, “Inclusion means that students are interacting with one another, regardless of ability level. It’s inviting, accepting, helping, smiling, and genuine friendship. It’s knowing names of the students, things they like and don’t like, sitting with kids at lunch, and talking to them in the halls. It’s teachers seeing people, not disabilities and labels. I absolutely think that it is important for those with disabilities to share their voice.”
Professional soccer player Paige Monaghan said, “Growing up, my mom worked in a classroom at my school with students with disabilities. I learned firsthand the importance of valuing every human exactly how they are. She taught me how to love, care and learn about everyone equally.”
Monaghan also said, “Inclusion means loving everyone and treating everyone equally. Everyone’s voice matters and it’s important to help amplify those voices for all.”
From the responses I can see that helping others is important, and knowing someone with an IDD shapes people’s lives positively.
Inclusion is more than just giving someone a seat at the table. It’s about conversations. It’s about leaning in and getting to know someone. Sports open doors. Teamwork builds respect and friendship. We all grow. We all learn something when we build community, and can allow each other to do what we love.
It’s not just our voice; we need to listen to people around us.
Being a leader means seeing something in yourself and knowing that you can share by showing up, through courage and kindness. And last, there is still work to do.