The Inclusion Event

For nearly 30 years disAbility Connections has a hosted a disability awareness event in the fall.  Our event this year is October 30th and is called The Inclusion Event (TIE).  Our focus at these events has been on awareness of disabilities and disability issues and includes everyone with or without a disability living together successfully in our community.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• 17 percent of children between the ages of 3 and 17 have been diagnosed with one or more developmental disabilities

• 3 percent of children between the ages of 3 and 17 have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder

In our service area of Hillsdale, Jackson and Lenawee Counties that's approximately:

• 10,654 children have been diagnosed with a developmental delay

• 1,776 children have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder

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This year, we are thrilled to have Dr. Temple Grandin as our guest and keynote speaker. Dr. Grandin was diagnosed as Autistic at 2 ½ and didn’t speak until 3 ½.  Dr. Grandin became a prominent author and speaker on both autism and animal behavior.  Oliver Sacks wrote that her first book Emergence: Labeled Autistic was “unprecedented because there had never before been an inside narrative of autism.” Since then she has written 17 books on Autism with 2 due out in 2024 titled Autism and Adolescence: The Way I See It:  What Parents and Teachers Should Know and Developing Talents: Careers for Autistic Individuals.

Today, she is a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University.  She has appeared on television shows such as 20/20, 48 Hours, CNN Larry King Live, PrimeTime Live, 60 Minutes, the Today Show, and many shows in other countries. She has been featured in People Magazine, the New York Times, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, Time Magazine, the New York Times book review, and Discover magazine. In 2010, HBO released a movie on her life and Time Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people.  In 2020, she was named as one of the top 10 Best College Professors by CEO Magazine.

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On October 30, 2024, we will be hosting a social mixer featuring door prizes, silent auction, various raffles, keynote address by Dr. Grandin, with an opportunity for Q&A following.  Any additional money raised beyond event expenses will be used to support our local programs.

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The goal of this event is to provide options and opportunities for young adults with autism as they progress through adolescence and into productive, independent lives.