what do I offer?

Talks with Kids

Joint conversations (usually up to 45 minutes, depending on age), where I share my childhood stories in a relatable way, and allowing the kids to ask me questions.
As I hold a B.Ed in special education, I feel that talking to kids is very natural for me and I am able to have these conversations in a very open way while still maintaining my professionalism.

Talks with Teenagers / young adults

These conversations can be a bit longer (usually 60-90 minutes, depending on setup and time constraints).
In this capacity, I can talk more about strengths and struggles.
Here too, the conversation will revolve around questions from the audience.

Safe space is a requirement for these sessions where the audience members will know that there will be no judgement and all questions are allowed.
It is also made clear in the beginning of these talks that I may decide not to answer some questions should I feel they're too personal or private.

As with the younger kids, I feel that my educational background can help stere the conversations to a positive and engaging outcome.

Talks with adults

I recommend these conversations to be between 60 and 90 minutes, depending on setup and time constraints.

In this capacity, I can talk specifically about items that interest my audience (Teachers, Parents, Office Team Members, etc.).
Example topics can be:

• How do I help include a new student with special needs into my classroom?

• Our new teammate self identifies as a person with a non-visible disability. How can I support them? What do I do? What do I say?

• My child came back from school and told me that they got a new kid in class and she's deaf. How can I help my child be more understanding and accepting?

• How can you make sure that you have the correct processes in your workplace to accommodate new hires with disabilities (visible AND invisible) starting from the interview process all the way to hiring and retention of your employees.

Here too, the conversation will revolve around questions from the audience.

Safe space is a requirement for these sessions, where the audience members will know that there will be no judgement and all questions are allowed.
It is also made clear in the beginning of these talks that I may decide not to answer some questions should I feel they're too personal or private.