What are is your passion? What activities do you like to do?
Nine members of Speaking Up For Us (SUFU)—a self-advocacy organization run by and for adults living with developmental disabilities—video-recorded their answers to these questions at their 2022 annual conference in Caribou, Maine. They are Rose Belanger, Regina Bowie, Reegan Boynton, Josie Easler, Joshua Lezotte, Eric McVay, Tabitha Shaw, MaryAnn Swank, and Rena Young.
They chose to record their thoughts as part of a session called “Chasing Your Dreams,” presented by Anna McDougal and her colleagues at Community Connect Maine. At the workshop, Anna presented a video describing her dreams and how she accomplished them. She then invited conference participants to share their dreams and successes and the barriers they’ve faced, which led to a rich discussion.
Along with Anna McDougal, the workshop was created by Lisa Wesel and Kim Humphrey from Community Connect Maine, with financial support from Maine Developmental Disabilities Council.