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April 20, 2022
2021-22 Wise Webinar Series
The Connection of Mental Health, Autism & Developmental Disabilities
This presentation is part of the WISE series of trainings titled learning from our best teachers, individuals with disabilities. The training will explore the stigma that individuals with autism and developmental disabilities who also have mental health issues, encounter daily. The panel of three experts will explore the different support strategies of varying effectiveness. They will also tackle the sensitive topic of dealing with bullying and discrimination in the community.
Learning Objectives:
From individuals with lived experience...
- Understand the differences and connection of developmental disabilities and mental illness
- Give participants the opportunity to experience what individuals with disabilities go through from early in life onward in learning to deal with mental health issues
- Give participants information to help individuals and support staff overcome misinformation and stereotypes concerning disabilities and Mental Illness.
- learn how to use empathy to better understand the individual and to provide better person-centered support.
- Develop strategies to encourage a more inclusive community and help individuals in becoming contributing members of the community
Jesus Chuy Campuzano
Jesus Chuy Campuzano was born and raised in Chicago Illinois where he still resides. Growing up in Chicago he went through the special education system. After graduating he never received services from the Illinois Council of Developmental Disabilities as he was unaware and uninterested in long term services. Chuy was ashamed and felt isolated with his disability. Fortunately, he joined, Access Living, a Disability Rights Organization in 2008 where he met Curtis Harris. He began to learn about individuals with all types of disabilities and to accept them. This led to Chuy becoming a leader in the advocacy community.
Chuy is a member of the Going Home Coalition and chairs the leadership committee. As a member of the WOW team Chuy plans and co-hosts the meetings and created the WOW Facebook Group. Chuy is a regular presenter at the Speak Up Speak Out Summit. His project “Dis Life …An historical perspective of Lives that matter” has allowed him to conduct numerous interviews with individual in the disability community. Chuy believes that getting to know individuals and their strengths will lead to better outcomes in life. Everyone should be treated with respect and dignity!
Michael Beasley
I am a two-time published author and creator of the EJFS (Elite Justice Force Squad) Series. I have published my first book via BookLocker.com LLC toward the tail end of 2020 and near the last month of 2021.
Despite my disability, I overcame underwhelmingly low expectations from “experts” in the medical field. I have now reached my potential and living a fruitful lifestyle.
I also work as a Database Technician/Training Consultant for a local non-profit in WA. I was a keynote speaker at a virtual conference for the Community Employment Alliance.
I was born in Renton, WA; I lived in Des Moines, WA, during my early childhood before settling into the Federal Way area.
Nowadays, I live in an enjoyable Adult Family Home setting in Auburn, WA.
I graduated from a private school known as New Horizon School in Renton, WA.
Curtis Harris
As a 44-year-old black man with autism, Curtis serves as a self-advocate and champion for advancing issues related to the disability community. At the age of 4, Curtis was diagnosed with autism and predictions from ”experts” for his life were grim. His family and he ignored these predictions and he became the first student with autism to enroll in the Chicago Public Schools system in January of 1984 . After graduating from Chicago Public Schools system in 1996, he attended college for a span of 10 years.
Curtis currently serves on the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities, is a member of Access Living's Racial Justice Advanced Your Leadership Power (AYLP) and other advocacy organizations at Access Living that focus on Housing and Home Services Attendant. Curtis is a Board Member of the Chicagoland Autism Connection (CAC) and Vice President of a self-advocacy organization called CAC Trailblazers. Curtis is passionate about teaching us to treat individuals with respect and dignity, to get past the misunderstanding and stereotypes that many have about disability and to develop supports based on each individual.