April 28, 2025 • 22 mins
In this episode of Disability World with Norma Stanley, Norma shares great inspiration to those in the disability community that are caregivers and details on this year's Exceptional Parents Celebration
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, My name is Norma Stanley, and welcome to Disability World. Hello,
(00:36):
and welcome to another segment of Disability World where we
discuss various issues of impact and interest as it relates
to the disability community as a whole here in Georgia,
around the country, and around the world. I'm your host,
Normous Stanley, and on the Disability World, we love speaking
(00:56):
about and sharing with the community information about individuals, community leaders, parents, advocates,
business owners and resource providers who care about this vast
and vital community, this population of about seventy million people
around here in the US alone.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
And today.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
It's going to be me just sharing a little bit
of information about an event that I'm looking forward to
that I've been doing for the last ten years now.
It's called Exceptional Parents Celebration. And I'm really excited about
this event because I know that I am not just
(01:41):
the only person who has dealt with some of the
emotions that come with having a child with intellectual developmental
disabilities who does not understand the impact and significance of
Mother's Day or Father's Day. She you know, my daughter
(02:01):
is thirty six and since she was a little girl,
we you know, when her dad was alive. You know,
of course, her dad did lots of things to try
to make up for the fact that she doesn't understand
about that holiday, and you know, so you know, he.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Tried to do what he could to to fill that gap.
But you know, Mother's Days a time. I know, when
I was a.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Little girl, I was would always write poems to my mom.
And you know, I'm a writer and have been that
way since I was a little girl, and so I
was always writing things about what my mother meant to me,
and you know, of course making sure that I got
her a gift and things like that around this time.
And so my daughter, yes, my husband when he was alive,
(02:48):
made sure that she got me flowers and bought me
gifts and.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Things like that. But it's still that the same thing when.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
You don't hear it from the child itself because she
can't she doesn't know how, she's not verbal primarily, and
she doesn't know anything about Mother's Day, and so it
was very something that was very I was very sensitive
about for years.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
And you know, like I said, family.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Members and friends did what they could to fill the gap,
but it's still not the same thing. And so about
twenty fifteen, you know, I decided to you know, do
something for other mothers who may have been going through
the same challenges that I was going through this sensitive
time of year. Graduations is also a sensitive time of
(03:35):
year for parents with children like ours. You know, some
of the same some of the activities are not as inclusive.
You know, sometimes the schools forget to include our children
in some of the events that they're doing for the
you know, for the graduating class, like T shirts and.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Things like that.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
So it's a process that parents like myself I've had
to you know, do what we had to do to
make sure our kids did not miss out on the
celebrations and activities that all the other families were you know,
looking forward to doing around graduation time and.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
You know, all those things.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
So now we're approaching Mother's Day and I know again
that I was not the only one going through this,
and I started doing you know, little intimate gatherings with
other parents, especially single moms of children with intellectual and
physical disabilities.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
And found that they people really appreciated it, you know.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
So one of the things that I realized that that
wild Mother's Day is a time of flowers and cards.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
And heartfelt words for many.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
For parents and children with intellectual disabilities, it can be,
like I said, a deeply emotional time, especially when our
children aren't able to express their love and affection in
ways that that that we, you know, we're used to,
and that that other people and other families get to
to experience.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
And so, you know, this.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Event that I've been doing, Exceptional Paris Celebration, has had
different iterations, you know, Like I said, it's always a
small gathering of about anywhere from fifty two one hundred people.
For the most part, it's something that we have. We
have amazing speakers, we have entertainment, and we have a
(05:32):
little reception that I care to myself, uh, And so
it's it's a wonderful, uplifting event that, like I said,
people tend to look forward to in the community.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
We have this year.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Among our speakers will be some powerful women who in
their own way have dealt with disability. They have a
connection to the disability community. One of the speakers is
Missus Deborah Avery, who is the mother of our pastor,
(06:09):
and she is, uh, you know, she's gonna speak on
her experience as as someone who has become a caregiver
of of of her son who acquired a disability. Her
son our pastor Bishop did Aby, who will.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Have on the show.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
In in some segments to come, but he's going to
be on the show talking about what he's learned through
this process.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
But she's going to be one of the speakers.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
She's a nurse by trade, she's a she's also a
trainer and professional professional development and she's going to be
sharing some things about you know, caring and and and
things to watch out for from a medical standpoint. And
so we were looking forward to hearing from her and
then going to have another nurse. Actually her name is
(07:04):
Latasha Jefferson. She's a doctor. Her nurse a doctor of
nursing and so and actually our doctor, miss Avery was
also a doctor of nursing. And you know, we're also
going to you know, miss Jefferson.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Doctor Jefferson is going to.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Be sharing uh some information about again some of the
things that she has learned as a nurse practitioner. She
is the mother of a daughter with Down syndrome. And
she started a company called Body Sculpture Spa. And it's
(07:43):
all about self care and and having you know, women
who want to take good care of themselves, whether they
have children, disabilities or not. How they can you know,
go through her SPA and learn yoga and and and
learn how to you know, really embrace.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Self care. Then we are also going.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
To have miss Lorenza ron and Lorenza Owne is a caregiver.
She is an LPN and she also has her own
company called Anointed Mindsets where she does like coaching, and
she's going to be speaking on, you know, some spiritual
aspects of caregiving, and you know, how to choose caregivers,
(08:34):
the right type of caregivers, what type of things you
should expect your caregivers to provide in terms of help
for families like ours, who like mine, who need some
assistance with giving, you know, the caregiving of of our children.
Because as I age, you know, I've been doing this
for thirty six years now and I'm getting a little
(08:56):
older and it is getting a little bit more challenging
for you know, my daughter who needs full care, you know,
her hygiene, her getting her dressed every day, toileting. All
these different things are things that I face and deal
with and manage and work around every day. And you know,
(09:18):
like I said, my daughter, I'm one of those people
who I don't like for her to miss anything.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
So you know, she's she.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Goes with me on my business trips and you know,
my leisure trips and when she travels. She has been
very blessed to have a pretty full life and I'm
thankful that I've been able to do that.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
We have a lot of fun together.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
We you know, I'm a foodie and she hangs out
with me when I'm trying out new restaurants and we're
finding out some of the places that are you know,
accessible and and really ready to accommodate.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
People in wheelchairs, and some of the places that are not.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Some of the cities that are not, like Las Vegas
surprised me when I did that trip with her.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
On a number of occasion.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
So yeah, you know, my daughters is one of the
best ones to get around and do things, you know,
because she you know, because I want to make sure
she experiences life and have the best life possible. And
so and I know my daughter loves me, but she
can't tell me she loves me, and you know, so
those kind of things around mother's da and my husband
(10:24):
passed away, if he's sixteen years sixteen years ago, already
this coming August, and we.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Were married for twenty five years, and so he passed away.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Out to believes here was twenty when he passed away,
and it was he was still a young man.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
He was only fifty years old. And so.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
You know, those kinds of things are things that I know, again,
I am not the only one dealing with I especially
again now that I am also a single mom. I
want to be able to help some of the mothers
out there who also are single and who may not
have a network of supporting people to fill that gap.
(11:05):
You know, I'm blessed that I have some really good
friends and you know those who and I have sisters,
you know, I have a step son who's been you know,
very very helpful. But at the same time, it's not
my daughter, you know, doing what daughters do for their moms,
and so you know, it's a different thing. So to
(11:29):
get past my sensitivity and emotional feelings about that, as
they say, I was feeling some kind of way. I
started this event, and like I said, I keep it
intimate because it's just me. It's not we don't have
money is coming in that help with this. It's a
free event, so it's you know, it's something that I
(11:50):
chose to do, and I'm doing with my church this year.
We're holding it at at Salt and Light Tooth Center,
which is is a small community church, and so you know,
it only hosts, you know, maybe about one hundred and
fifty people, so it's very small, but that's where I
attend church. And that was the thing that this particular
(12:12):
church I found was very helpful in with me and
then and being very welcoming to me and my daughter attending,
because a lot of churches is not as welcoming as
you would expect, unfortunately.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
And so one of the things that we learned is
I sing.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
And I think some of you may know that who
watched the show, but I sing, and I sing sometimes
with the choir at the church. And my daughter loves
to hear me sing, and she knows my voice, and
so if I'm singing with the choir, one of the
things that she would do is get up from where
(12:55):
she's sitting and crawl and generally was sitting in the front,
but wherever she's sitting, she's going to crawl up the
steps to where I am and sit there and be close.
He likes to be close and so not at all
churches will understand that. So the first time she did
it in our church, she did it a couple of times,
and so now we have somebody sit next to her
(13:18):
when they know I'm going to be singing, so she
doesn't try to make her way to the you know,
to where I am. But again, you know, having a
church like this has helped me feel more welcome and
not ostracized because my daughter's doing something a little different
than you would see in some of the larger churches.
So but yes, so something like Truth Center is going
(13:41):
to you know, is helping him to host this event.
And of course, like I said, my pastor, Bishop dj
Gavery also acquired a disability where he is also a
wheelchair user, and so he has a definite you know,
this is you know, within the last few years, so
he has an understanding about what it is set our
families face. And you know, it happened to him at
(14:04):
a relatively young age too. He was in his late
forties when he acquired his disability. So yes, it could
definitely be a change of life and perspective of life.
And so you know, you have to kind of be
able to wrap your head around it, and your family
has to be able to hopefully want to help you
(14:25):
get to that point where you have accepted it and embraced
the changes in your life. So, you know, like I said,
I'm excited about what the Exceptional Parents Celebration is going
to be offering those who attend the event. And did
I get all the speakers? miRNA Clayton. Marna Clayton, who
(14:47):
is an international jazz singer. She's also the founder of
show Ability, which is an organization that it's a human
services organization that works to help performing artists with disabilities
be able to share their gifts and get paid to
do so whenever possible. And you know, we have a
slogan that says everybody deserves to stay. So Murna started
(15:11):
this organization about sixteen years ago. And you know, she
she curated the Inclusive Chorus, which is a chorus that
is comprised of people with disabilities and people without disabilities,
talented singers with and without disabilities. And I'm proud to
be one of the chorus members in the Alto section.
(15:36):
And so you know, we get to you know, sing
at various events, sporting events and you know, corporate events
and wherever it is that that people invite us to sing,
and we're actually looking forward to singing at the upcoming
Special Olympics coming up in mid May. So yeah, there's
(15:56):
there's so much, but we're excited about Murna sharing she's learned.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
She does not have you.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Know, a children with any children with disabilities, and she
you know, she learned about it from a different aspect
of life, and so she's going to be sharing some
of how she learned about it and why it became
an assignment of hers that she wanted to be able
to showcase and and give an opportunity for people with
(16:24):
disabilities who have performing arts talents or DAANNCE talent or
who want to be on stage and showcase their talent.
Why she felt compelled to to give them an.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Opportunity to do so.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
So she's going to be sharing some of that information
at the event too, and so you know, like I said,
it's going to be an uplifting event. I'm going to
be speaking also of course, and uh, you know, the entertainment,
the show Ability Inclusive course will be singing. We're going
to have a fashion show that's going to incorporate parents
with children disabilities along with their children modeling with one
(16:56):
of our community designers fashion designers. Her name is Sharon
Gary Dill who here in Metrolanta was one of the
first designers to incorporate people with disabilities on you know,
in her showcase on fashion showcases. And my daughter has
been one of her models for at.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Least fifteen years. So that's a blessing.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
And so, you know, the whole thing is is going
to be a fun, fun event, and we're going to
have some giveaways, we're going to you know, our co
hosts is going to be someone who those of you
who watched PGN on a regular you know, you may
know one of the co hosts, Twanda Black of Good
News is going to be one of the co hosts.
(17:42):
And then Don Anderson, who is the host of I'm Sorry.
She is the publisher of something called Celebrity Boss Media.
She's going to be the co host of the event.
Like I said in early May, just the weekend of
Mother's Day. I tried to do it on Mother's Day
because because I don't want to interfere with whatever plans
(18:04):
people may have for their families, so we tend to
do it the day before.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
So we're looking forward to doing.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
That on May tenth, starting around noon, and ex is
gonna be ready a lot of fun. We're you know,
we're getting close to it being even though it's a
free event, you know that we've gotten a lot of
people who want to be a part. So I'm you know,
encouraging anyone who wants to be a part to go
ahead in RSVP, because it will be closing off and
(18:33):
then that's probably no more than two weeks from now,
we won't have any seats left. So we want to
make sure that anybody who's interested, we'll go ahead and
get that get signed up and you know, registered, and
you can go to event right Atlanta and just put
in Exceptional Parents Celebration and you know, you can sign
up and get the link to sign up there.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
That's really all I want to share with you in
this segment of you.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Know, talk a little bit about Mother's Day and what's
happening in my world in that space, and what's happening
in a lot of moms like myself in their world
when they have children with intellectual developmental disabilities and they
just don't understand and fathers is the same thing for
the fathers, and so I think it would.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Be helpful for friends and family members.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
And the network that are part of those people's lives
to kind of remember that and do what they can
to try to fill the gap. It doesn't totally fill
the gap, but it does help that, you know, you
get a gift or something from someone that came from
your daughter, came from your child on the behalf of
(19:45):
your child to you to say something about how much
they care and.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Appreciate you know that they do. You know they do,
they just don't know how to express it.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
So that's something that is It's part of what God
told me to do with regards to some of the
families that may be dealing with this.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
And there's some other things.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
That that I'm looking forward to being able to share
with with the audience of Disability World TV as we
move forward. But but I'm excited about this particular event.
Like I said, I've been doing it for about this
will be the tenth year, and we did a couple
we had to do a couple of them virtually during
the pandemic and uh, but but it's been a blessing
(20:29):
and I'm very thankful to be able to uplift and
encourage moms.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Who are.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Who are part of this, and I don't think i've
mentioned deeply Chocolate. We have a spoken word artist, a
powerful spoken word artist who will be a part of
our event also who I think you guys will enjoy
hearing when you know those who attend she is. She's
very powerful. That's one thing I love about. You know
this community, and you know she has her own disabilities.
(21:00):
You know some of us who have seen and unseen disabilities,
and so that's one thing I love about is sharing
some of the various talents that are out here with
people with disabilities that you know that we have as
part of show ability that that that you know, to
help give them some exposure and help to show that
(21:21):
everybody deserves a stage. And so that's basically what I
wanted to share with you guys today.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Please again, go to the.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Event right Atlanta if you're in the Atlanta area and
look up Exceptional Parents Celebration.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
My name Norma Stanley.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
I'm the host and the producer of that event, and
I look forward to seeing all who have already rs
vp'd at that event and having a great time for
a couple of hours that afternoon that Saturday, afternoon, So
thank you for being a part of Disability World today
and we will see you again on another segment very soon,
(22:02):
and you'll be blessed until the next time.
Hi, My name is Norma Stanley, and welcome to Disability World. Hello,
(00:36):
and welcome to another segment of Disability World where we
discuss various issues of impact and interest as it relates
to the disability community as a whole here in Georgia,
around the country, and around the world. I'm your host,
Normous Stanley, and on the Disability World, we love speaking
(00:56):
about and sharing with the community information about individuals, community leaders, parents, advocates,
business owners and resource providers who care about this vast
and vital community, this population of about seventy million people
around here in the US alone.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
And today.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
It's going to be me just sharing a little bit
of information about an event that I'm looking forward to
that I've been doing for the last ten years now.
It's called Exceptional Parents Celebration. And I'm really excited about
this event because I know that I am not just
(01:41):
the only person who has dealt with some of the
emotions that come with having a child with intellectual developmental
disabilities who does not understand the impact and significance of
Mother's Day or Father's Day. She you know, my daughter
(02:01):
is thirty six and since she was a little girl,
we you know, when her dad was alive. You know,
of course, her dad did lots of things to try
to make up for the fact that she doesn't understand
about that holiday, and you know, so you know, he.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Tried to do what he could to to fill that gap.
But you know, Mother's Days a time. I know, when
I was a.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Little girl, I was would always write poems to my mom.
And you know, I'm a writer and have been that
way since I was a little girl, and so I
was always writing things about what my mother meant to me,
and you know, of course making sure that I got
her a gift and things like that around this time.
And so my daughter, yes, my husband when he was alive,
(02:48):
made sure that she got me flowers and bought me
gifts and.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Things like that. But it's still that the same thing when.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
You don't hear it from the child itself because she
can't she doesn't know how, she's not verbal primarily, and
she doesn't know anything about Mother's Day, and so it
was very something that was very I was very sensitive
about for years.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
And you know, like I said, family.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Members and friends did what they could to fill the gap,
but it's still not the same thing. And so about
twenty fifteen, you know, I decided to you know, do
something for other mothers who may have been going through
the same challenges that I was going through this sensitive
time of year. Graduations is also a sensitive time of
(03:35):
year for parents with children like ours. You know, some
of the same some of the activities are not as inclusive.
You know, sometimes the schools forget to include our children
in some of the events that they're doing for the
you know, for the graduating class, like T shirts and.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Things like that.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
So it's a process that parents like myself I've had
to you know, do what we had to do to
make sure our kids did not miss out on the
celebrations and activities that all the other families were you know,
looking forward to doing around graduation time and.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
You know, all those things.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
So now we're approaching Mother's Day and I know again
that I was not the only one going through this,
and I started doing you know, little intimate gatherings with
other parents, especially single moms of children with intellectual and
physical disabilities.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
And found that they people really appreciated it, you know.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
So one of the things that I realized that that
wild Mother's Day is a time of flowers and cards.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
And heartfelt words for many.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
For parents and children with intellectual disabilities, it can be,
like I said, a deeply emotional time, especially when our
children aren't able to express their love and affection in
ways that that that we, you know, we're used to,
and that that other people and other families get to
to experience.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
And so, you know, this.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Event that I've been doing, Exceptional Paris Celebration, has had
different iterations, you know, Like I said, it's always a
small gathering of about anywhere from fifty two one hundred people.
For the most part, it's something that we have. We
have amazing speakers, we have entertainment, and we have a
(05:32):
little reception that I care to myself, uh, And so
it's it's a wonderful, uplifting event that, like I said,
people tend to look forward to in the community.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
We have this year.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Among our speakers will be some powerful women who in
their own way have dealt with disability. They have a
connection to the disability community. One of the speakers is
Missus Deborah Avery, who is the mother of our pastor,
(06:09):
and she is, uh, you know, she's gonna speak on
her experience as as someone who has become a caregiver
of of of her son who acquired a disability. Her
son our pastor Bishop did Aby, who will.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Have on the show.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
In in some segments to come, but he's going to
be on the show talking about what he's learned through
this process.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
But she's going to be one of the speakers.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
She's a nurse by trade, she's a she's also a
trainer and professional professional development and she's going to be
sharing some things about you know, caring and and and
things to watch out for from a medical standpoint. And
so we were looking forward to hearing from her and
then going to have another nurse. Actually her name is
(07:04):
Latasha Jefferson. She's a doctor. Her nurse a doctor of
nursing and so and actually our doctor, miss Avery was
also a doctor of nursing. And you know, we're also
going to you know, miss Jefferson.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Doctor Jefferson is going to.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Be sharing uh some information about again some of the
things that she has learned as a nurse practitioner. She
is the mother of a daughter with Down syndrome. And
she started a company called Body Sculpture Spa. And it's
(07:43):
all about self care and and having you know, women
who want to take good care of themselves, whether they
have children, disabilities or not. How they can you know,
go through her SPA and learn yoga and and and
learn how to you know, really embrace.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Self care. Then we are also going.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
To have miss Lorenza ron and Lorenza Owne is a caregiver.
She is an LPN and she also has her own
company called Anointed Mindsets where she does like coaching, and
she's going to be speaking on, you know, some spiritual
aspects of caregiving, and you know, how to choose caregivers,
(08:34):
the right type of caregivers, what type of things you
should expect your caregivers to provide in terms of help
for families like ours, who like mine, who need some
assistance with giving, you know, the caregiving of of our children.
Because as I age, you know, I've been doing this
for thirty six years now and I'm getting a little
(08:56):
older and it is getting a little bit more challenging
for you know, my daughter who needs full care, you know,
her hygiene, her getting her dressed every day, toileting. All
these different things are things that I face and deal
with and manage and work around every day. And you know,
(09:18):
like I said, my daughter, I'm one of those people
who I don't like for her to miss anything.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
So you know, she's she.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Goes with me on my business trips and you know,
my leisure trips and when she travels. She has been
very blessed to have a pretty full life and I'm
thankful that I've been able to do that.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
We have a lot of fun together.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
We you know, I'm a foodie and she hangs out
with me when I'm trying out new restaurants and we're
finding out some of the places that are you know,
accessible and and really ready to accommodate.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
People in wheelchairs, and some of the places that are not.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Some of the cities that are not, like Las Vegas
surprised me when I did that trip with her.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
On a number of occasion.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
So yeah, you know, my daughters is one of the
best ones to get around and do things, you know,
because she you know, because I want to make sure
she experiences life and have the best life possible. And
so and I know my daughter loves me, but she
can't tell me she loves me, and you know, so
those kind of things around mother's da and my husband
(10:24):
passed away, if he's sixteen years sixteen years ago, already
this coming August, and we.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Were married for twenty five years, and so he passed away.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Out to believes here was twenty when he passed away,
and it was he was still a young man.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
He was only fifty years old. And so.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
You know, those kinds of things are things that I know, again,
I am not the only one dealing with I especially
again now that I am also a single mom. I
want to be able to help some of the mothers
out there who also are single and who may not
have a network of supporting people to fill that gap.
(11:05):
You know, I'm blessed that I have some really good
friends and you know those who and I have sisters,
you know, I have a step son who's been you know,
very very helpful. But at the same time, it's not
my daughter, you know, doing what daughters do for their moms,
and so you know, it's a different thing. So to
(11:29):
get past my sensitivity and emotional feelings about that, as
they say, I was feeling some kind of way. I
started this event, and like I said, I keep it
intimate because it's just me. It's not we don't have
money is coming in that help with this. It's a
free event, so it's you know, it's something that I
(11:50):
chose to do, and I'm doing with my church this year.
We're holding it at at Salt and Light Tooth Center,
which is is a small community church, and so you know,
it only hosts, you know, maybe about one hundred and
fifty people, so it's very small, but that's where I
attend church. And that was the thing that this particular
(12:12):
church I found was very helpful in with me and
then and being very welcoming to me and my daughter attending,
because a lot of churches is not as welcoming as
you would expect, unfortunately.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
And so one of the things that we learned is
I sing.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
And I think some of you may know that who
watched the show, but I sing, and I sing sometimes
with the choir at the church. And my daughter loves
to hear me sing, and she knows my voice, and
so if I'm singing with the choir, one of the
things that she would do is get up from where
(12:55):
she's sitting and crawl and generally was sitting in the front,
but wherever she's sitting, she's going to crawl up the
steps to where I am and sit there and be close.
He likes to be close and so not at all
churches will understand that. So the first time she did
it in our church, she did it a couple of times,
and so now we have somebody sit next to her
(13:18):
when they know I'm going to be singing, so she
doesn't try to make her way to the you know,
to where I am. But again, you know, having a
church like this has helped me feel more welcome and
not ostracized because my daughter's doing something a little different
than you would see in some of the larger churches.
So but yes, so something like Truth Center is going
(13:41):
to you know, is helping him to host this event.
And of course, like I said, my pastor, Bishop dj
Gavery also acquired a disability where he is also a
wheelchair user, and so he has a definite you know,
this is you know, within the last few years, so
he has an understanding about what it is set our
families face. And you know, it happened to him at
(14:04):
a relatively young age too. He was in his late
forties when he acquired his disability. So yes, it could
definitely be a change of life and perspective of life.
And so you know, you have to kind of be
able to wrap your head around it, and your family
has to be able to hopefully want to help you
(14:25):
get to that point where you have accepted it and embraced
the changes in your life. So, you know, like I said,
I'm excited about what the Exceptional Parents Celebration is going
to be offering those who attend the event. And did
I get all the speakers? miRNA Clayton. Marna Clayton, who
(14:47):
is an international jazz singer. She's also the founder of
show Ability, which is an organization that it's a human
services organization that works to help performing artists with disabilities
be able to share their gifts and get paid to
do so whenever possible. And you know, we have a
slogan that says everybody deserves to stay. So Murna started
(15:11):
this organization about sixteen years ago. And you know, she
she curated the Inclusive Chorus, which is a chorus that
is comprised of people with disabilities and people without disabilities,
talented singers with and without disabilities. And I'm proud to
be one of the chorus members in the Alto section.
(15:36):
And so you know, we get to you know, sing
at various events, sporting events and you know, corporate events
and wherever it is that that people invite us to sing,
and we're actually looking forward to singing at the upcoming
Special Olympics coming up in mid May. So yeah, there's
(15:56):
there's so much, but we're excited about Murna sharing she's learned.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
She does not have you.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Know, a children with any children with disabilities, and she
you know, she learned about it from a different aspect
of life, and so she's going to be sharing some
of how she learned about it and why it became
an assignment of hers that she wanted to be able
to showcase and and give an opportunity for people with
(16:24):
disabilities who have performing arts talents or DAANNCE talent or
who want to be on stage and showcase their talent.
Why she felt compelled to to give them an.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Opportunity to do so.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
So she's going to be sharing some of that information
at the event too, and so you know, like I said,
it's going to be an uplifting event. I'm going to
be speaking also of course, and uh, you know, the entertainment,
the show Ability Inclusive course will be singing. We're going
to have a fashion show that's going to incorporate parents
with children disabilities along with their children modeling with one
(16:56):
of our community designers fashion designers. Her name is Sharon
Gary Dill who here in Metrolanta was one of the
first designers to incorporate people with disabilities on you know,
in her showcase on fashion showcases. And my daughter has
been one of her models for at.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Least fifteen years. So that's a blessing.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
And so, you know, the whole thing is is going
to be a fun, fun event, and we're going to
have some giveaways, we're going to you know, our co
hosts is going to be someone who those of you
who watched PGN on a regular you know, you may
know one of the co hosts, Twanda Black of Good
News is going to be one of the co hosts.
(17:42):
And then Don Anderson, who is the host of I'm Sorry.
She is the publisher of something called Celebrity Boss Media.
She's going to be the co host of the event.
Like I said in early May, just the weekend of
Mother's Day. I tried to do it on Mother's Day
because because I don't want to interfere with whatever plans
(18:04):
people may have for their families, so we tend to
do it the day before.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
So we're looking forward to doing.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
That on May tenth, starting around noon, and ex is
gonna be ready a lot of fun. We're you know,
we're getting close to it being even though it's a
free event, you know that we've gotten a lot of
people who want to be a part. So I'm you know,
encouraging anyone who wants to be a part to go
ahead in RSVP, because it will be closing off and
(18:33):
then that's probably no more than two weeks from now,
we won't have any seats left. So we want to
make sure that anybody who's interested, we'll go ahead and
get that get signed up and you know, registered, and
you can go to event right Atlanta and just put
in Exceptional Parents Celebration and you know, you can sign
up and get the link to sign up there.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
That's really all I want to share with you in
this segment of you.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Know, talk a little bit about Mother's Day and what's
happening in my world in that space, and what's happening
in a lot of moms like myself in their world
when they have children with intellectual developmental disabilities and they
just don't understand and fathers is the same thing for
the fathers, and so I think it would.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Be helpful for friends and family members.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
And the network that are part of those people's lives
to kind of remember that and do what they can
to try to fill the gap. It doesn't totally fill
the gap, but it does help that, you know, you
get a gift or something from someone that came from
your daughter, came from your child on the behalf of
(19:45):
your child to you to say something about how much
they care and.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Appreciate you know that they do. You know they do,
they just don't know how to express it.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
So that's something that is It's part of what God
told me to do with regards to some of the
families that may be dealing with this.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
And there's some other things.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
That that I'm looking forward to being able to share
with with the audience of Disability World TV as we
move forward. But but I'm excited about this particular event.
Like I said, I've been doing it for about this
will be the tenth year, and we did a couple
we had to do a couple of them virtually during
the pandemic and uh, but but it's been a blessing
(20:29):
and I'm very thankful to be able to uplift and
encourage moms.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Who are.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Who are part of this, and I don't think i've
mentioned deeply Chocolate. We have a spoken word artist, a
powerful spoken word artist who will be a part of
our event also who I think you guys will enjoy
hearing when you know those who attend she is. She's
very powerful. That's one thing I love about. You know
this community, and you know she has her own disabilities.
(21:00):
You know some of us who have seen and unseen disabilities,
and so that's one thing I love about is sharing
some of the various talents that are out here with
people with disabilities that you know that we have as
part of show ability that that that you know, to
help give them some exposure and help to show that
(21:21):
everybody deserves a stage. And so that's basically what I
wanted to share with you guys today.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Please again, go to the.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Event right Atlanta if you're in the Atlanta area and
look up Exceptional Parents Celebration.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
My name Norma Stanley.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
I'm the host and the producer of that event, and
I look forward to seeing all who have already rs
vp'd at that event and having a great time for
a couple of hours that afternoon that Saturday, afternoon, So
thank you for being a part of Disability World today
and we will see you again on another segment very soon,
(22:02):
and you'll be blessed until the next time.
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