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Today’s guest is Diana Pastora Carson, a self-described sibling advocate and a big fan of her brother, Joaquin, who spent 15 years of his life in an institution. Joaquin’s family fought for three years to bring him home, and he fully supports and endorses the way Diana shares their family story. 

Diana has been an elementary educator for over 30 years in both general and special education. A lecturer for a Disability and Society course through San Diego State University, Diana also teaches other disability and inclusion courses through SDSU and a local community college. She’s a public speaker, inclusion visionary, and community activist who has also done a TEDtalk. With two terms on the board of Disability Rights California, she currently serves on the board of directors for Disability Voices United. Last year, she helped produce a series for Ability magazine in which she interviewed 50 experts and activists in the field of disability. Diana is the author of Beyond Awareness: Bringing Disability Into Diversity Work in K-12 Schools & Communities and the children’s book, Ed Roberts: CHAMPION of Disability Rights. 

In addition to starting her own podcast soon, Diana’s upcoming endeavors include launching an online course about disability awareness through a social justice lens.

Join us for a closer look at disability awareness and how inclusion in the classroom can benefit every student.

Show Highlights:

• How inclusivity in education has changed--and what it means today
• A specific example of how Diana used a Marc Anthony song to help a non-speaking student engage with his classmates and the curriculum in her classroom
• Why a general education setting is best for most children with disabilities, even if their work output is very different
• How life quality is impacted by the early years of social and emotional opportunities
• Diana’s advice about the best way for teachers, administrators, and parents to establish more inclusion in schools
• What it takes to change people’s hearts and minds about inclusion and disability awareness
• Steps to bring disability awareness and justice

Connect with Diana!

Visit her website

Download Diana’s FREE ebook: The Five Keys to Going Beyond Awareness 

Links/Resources:

Thank you for listening!

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