DSL member Emily Lane and Carly sat down to talk to Polly Boehnlein, who has a child with multiple diagnoses in addition to Down syndrome. We learn how their family celebrates little victories, finding friends, and how to cope with the unknowns of life.

Trauma Warning: in this episode we speak about sexual assault and abuse in the disability community.

We had guests James (Joey) Wilkerson and Loren Pilcher on with us to discuss abuse and sexual assault in the intellectual and developmental disability community and the importance of education and prevention.

James Wilkerson is Chief Diversity Officer/Title IX Coordinator at Indiana University Southeast, he is also an author and sexual assault advocate. His organization Greek Law has educated hundreds of college students about consent and bystander intervention. We also had Loren Pilcher, who is the COO of Sweet Behavior Services. Loren is a passionate disability activist and researcher and has spent almost two decades working in the disability community and advocating for the disability community.

Carly mentions in the episode that she hadn't been formally trained on the signs and symptoms of abuse. Since recording the episode, she along with the few team members that hadn't previously had this training at DSL have completed it. DSL strives to educate ourselves, our staff, and our members on this very important issue and are taking steps each day to be better. We encourage our listeners to insist that all staff working with individuals with disabilities in every setting are trained on this topic.

We will continue this series and speak on the importance of consent and sex education for members of the intellectual disability community for the purpose of preventing exploitation and abuse.

If you have any questions or concerns, or would like to take action, don't hesitate to reach out: KindnessWarriorPod@dsoflou.org

Sources:

This episode is a recording of a Covid-19 Vaccine education webinar hosted by Special Olympics Kentucky on February 3, 2021. They had friend of the podcast Dr. Priya Chandan and Dr. Corrie Harris from Norton Children’s hospital. In this session these Louisville doctors talk all things vaccine. Self advocates from SOKY and DSL and parents submitted questions beforehand and they were able to answer most all of the questions posed. This will most likely be a regular webinar with updates as the medical and public health experts learn more.

To watch the Zoom webinar with the slideshow, click here

Topics Covered:

• Who is most at risk for getting sick from COVID?
• What is a vaccine?
• Why do people get vaccines?
• Myths vs. Facts
• How does the COVID vaccine work (including possible side effects)
• Where can I find information and updates about when I can get a COVID vaccine?

• Assistant Professor, UofL SOM Division of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation; UofL Health Physicians Restorative Neuroscience
• Global Clinical Adviser, Special Olympics MedFest
• Project Director, National Curriculum Initiative in Developmental Medicine Commonwealth Scholar, Commonwealth Institute of Kentucky
• Special Olympics Kentucky Board Member

• Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine; University of Louisville School of Medicine
• Associate Medical Director, The Home of the Innocents Pediatric Convalescent Center
• Special Olympics Kentucky Board Member