To kick off the first podcast episode of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, Annette is joined by Elizabeth Wright, the Editor of Disability Review Magazine and the Founder and Editor of the "Conscious Being: For Disabled Women by Disabled Women" blog, to discuss timely topics like ableism, how nondisabled individuals can partner with the disability community, "inspiration porn," and more.

Elizabeth starts the podcast by sharing her personal story of being born limb different. Encouraged and inspired by her parents' passion for disability advocacy, she learned from a young age not to take "no" for an answer when it came to what she could or couldn't do.

She used this go-getter spirit to start training for the Paralympic Games when she was 13, eventually swimming in the 1996 games in Atlanta. By the time she reached her young 20s, Elizabeth was attending university to study fine art. She focused her studies on learning about the visual representation of disabled women and how she and others really saw her body and the ways she interacts with the world.

Elizabeth eventually moved to the UK and started speaking publicly about the Paralympic Games and participating in sports with disabilities. Now, she consults companies and schools on disability activism, as well as the ways nondisabled people can be better disability allies and work to dismantle ableism.

"Nondisabled parents and siblings may not understand the lived experience of what we go through, but they are the next closest people to understanding what life is like for us," Elizabeth says. "I think we have the opportunity to work together to make the world more inclusive and more equitable."

To hear Elizabeth and Annette dive into these hot topics in the disability community, listen to the full podcast episode here.

Annette Hines has been practicing in the areas of Special Needs, Elder Law, and Estate Planning for more than 20 years. Ms. Hines brings personal experience with special needs to her practice and podcasts as the mother of two daughters, one of whom passed away from Mitochondrial disease in November 2013. This deep, personal understanding of special needs fuels her passion for quality special needs planning and drives her dedication to help others within the special needs community.