Hey y’all! Being that it was Central’s homecoming, I know y’all were celebrating your Eagle Pride and was overbooked. So while you are resting, reminiscing, and regretting, I thought, let me give my peeps an update on EPiC’s Disability History and Awareness Month event that happened on October 26th called Autism Advocacy: The Power of Storytelling Amplified by Black Families. 

So, let’s get started, what had happened was, author and activist Tiffany Hammond, (some of you may know her as the author of the children’s book, A Day with No Words, or her blog Fidgets and Fries, where she shares her personal experiences of being an autistic mother raising autistic children) was the keynote speaker.  

She sat with us (I never had a keynote speaker sit with me, like y’all for real, for real), it was more like a chat than a presentation. She shared her experiences of maneuvering the Texas school system as a Black mom with Black children with disabilities; and talked about the differences in treatment of Black students with disabilities compared to their white counterparts.  

So let me tell you some comments, one parent said “I really appreciate hearing your perspective; as a mother of a non-verbal autistic child, I often struggle to understand what he may be experiencing.  This discussion has helped me gain a deeper understanding of what he may be thinking and feeling at times.” Another parent said, “I didn’t know that Fidgets and Fries was a blog about autism.  Most blogs about autism have autism in the title, and you don’t.  Your title normalizes autism.”

Parents, caregivers, and community members left equipped with strategies to effectively share their personal experiences and their children’s needs with their schools. In short, they, left equipped to become the parent leaders and storytellers in their lives, their children’s lives, and in the community.

To continue this conversation and further support parents, EPiC offers a Special Education Collective. The Special Education Collective is a resolute group for parents and caregivers whose advocacy is dedicated to special education.  They are storytellers who dismantle, disrupt, and collaborate in closing the opportunity gap and building a unified voice for educational advocacy. Their first meeting of the school year will be on Thursday, November 21.

Welp, that’s all from me. I hope to see you next time at EPiC’s Interest Meeting (where you learn more about EPiC and how you can join forces with other parent leaders and become a part of or start a collective) on November 7, 2024. Until then, be well and be excellent.