Shine Your Light
Posted Dec 30, 2020 by Jacquie Robison
Last November, I wrote this blog post highlighting Menlo-Atherton High School teen, Stella Kaval, and the work she was doing to shift perception of disability and promote a better understanding about the importance of inclusion.
Stella, a life-long Girl Scout, began by challenging her own perception of physical difference as an area of focus to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award. She partnered with WAWOS and other Bay Area NGOs and services to better understand the community, its needs and the challenges that exist around accessibility for all.
Her goal? Create a program to address the gaps by engaging both the neurotypical population as well as those with developmental delays. The result was a couple of different terrific resources:
Ability All - a mobile app Stella designed and coded, with the primary purpose of empowering children with differences such as Cerebral Palsy, to reach their full potential. The app placed in the top 3 of the 2019 Congressional App Challenge in California and is available for free in the App Store and on Google Play
Activity book - Great for classroom breakout groups, a series of 9 hands-on activities will guide discussions to identify problems that stem from lack of awareness around disability, discover the importance of inclusion and spark ideas around the steps to take to make a difference in your community
As we head into 2021, let’s resolve to use our voices and talents to make a difference in our communities. No gesture of thoughtfulness or act of kindness is too small.
Here’s to a year of joy, happiness and inclusion.
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