Hear our Stories

Jeiri Flores is a 30-year-old woman living in Western New York. She lives with Cerebral Palsy and Spastic Quadriplegia and serves her community as an advocate for herself and others. As a child, she was categorized into an outdated historical grouping of people previously referred to as Mongoloids. This is a completely offensive and inaccurate diagnosis, and it puts into perspective just how much we have changed as a society in the last two decades in terms of tolerance to people with disabilities. But, like many individuals with disabilities and the organizations that support them, Jeiri knows there is still much work to be done to reach true acceptance of all people in our communities. Jeiri has conquered many obstacles in life, taken trips to amazing places with incredible friends, and is inspired by the work of historical civil rights activists.

In this episode, Lizette talks about how misconceptions and stigma postponed her son receiving a diagnosis. She describes not feeling validated by her family, friends, and doctor and the guilt she felt as a mom. She offers recommendations to other families, such as valuing self-care, and how she thinks providers can provide better service. Lizette now works to fight stigma and get more information out to other Latino families.

En este episodio, Lizette habla de cómo conceptos erróneos y estigma pospusieron que su hijo reciba un diagnóstico. Ella describe no sentirse validada o aprobada por su familia, amigos y médico y la culpa que sentía como madre. Ofrece recomendaciones a otras familias, como valorar el cuidado personal (autocuidado) y cómo los proveedores pueden brindar un mejor servicio. Lizette actualmente trabaja para combatir el estigma y hacer llegar más información a otras familias latinas.

Destiny is a 27 year old woman from Post Falls Idaho. During her adolescence, health and wellness professionals struggled to find explanations for different behaviors that Destiny would project. Because of this, she received multiple misdiagnoses, and was placed on anti-psychotic medications that did not serve her actual needs. As a result, Destiny lives with an uncommon condition called Tardive Dyskinesia, a condition that can affect the nervous system; and Dystonia, a disorder that has similar effects. She now uses a wheelchair for mobility, but is more independent than ever. She advocates for other people with disabilities in her community, and contributes to legislation for walkways and streetlights in her town. She also collaborates on multiple national projects with well-known professionals in the network of accessibility for those with unique living experiences.

In this episode, Andy talks about his experience with non-visible disabilities and his school experiences in Colombia and the United States. He also talks about how different each side of his family is and how this led to different responses to his behavior. Andy recommends that providers look at the whole picture and consider many aspects before recommending prescription drugs.

En este episodio, Andy cuenta su experiencia con discapacidades invisibles y sus experiencias escolares en Colombia y Estados Unidos. También habla de lo diferente que es cada lado de su familia (tanto de su padre como de su madre) y cómo esto llevó a diferentes respuestas a su comportamiento. Andy recomienda que los proveedores de salud analicen el panorama completo y consideren muchos aspectos antes de recomendar medicamentos recetados.