For Disability Pride Month, Kaye Love chats to Tanya Winters and Kamand Alaghehband about their stories “Pediacrisis” and “Kamand’s View: No More Prejudice”. Stories about how they navigate the predictable and unexpected barriers they meet daily. We hope your day is enriched by listening to “Independence”. Full transcript available.
World Health Organization on Disability

Guest: Tanya Winters - A Chicago native, Tanya fell in love with Austin after a weekend trip. She loves creating and enjoys pushing the boundaries of arts and disability! Tanya's career as an artist began in theatre in 2005 and shifted to dance in 2007 thanks to a wooden chair and the desire to tell her story. As a student of Austin Community College, she gained an extensive background in improvisation and choreography. She has learned from some of the dance world’s top artists like Alito Alessi Nina Martin, Heidi Latsky, Sandra Paola Lopez, and Stephan Koplowitz.  Tanya started making work of her own and became a certified DanceAbility instructor in 2011. Currently, she is a member of the Body Shift Collective, where she loves dancing, teaching, creating and collaborating with other dancers with and without disabilities. Tanya is the co-choreographer of Together and Apart an ongoing duet that explores the relationship between movement, environment, and the art of human interaction. She hopes that her work will motivate other dancers to think outside the box and erase the line between ability and disability.  Tanya also has a solid background in Social Work, grant reporting, and case management. She possesses excellent communication and organizational skills which help her deal with the complex regulations governing social services. Walk & Roll: https://youtu.be/1IQ6W2NybfA
Constable Pct. 5's Disabled Parking Awareness Video: https://youtu.be/LR0XoXb_w-g
Together & Apart: https://vimeo.com/183923919 And You See Me: https://youtu.be/RSB_WFRbEEI

 Guest: Kamand Alaghehband - My name is Kamand Alaghehband. I was born in Austin Texas, and I have autism. In 2020 the CDC reported approximately 1 in 54 children in U.S. diagnosed with autism is more than all cancer patients combined. But what about us? what happens to our future? What kind of jobs and lifestyle is available to support us. All my life I tried to support not only me but all generations with disabilities.  I am me, I am Kamand. I love Special Olympics. My favorite sports are swimming, basketball, and Track. I am a member of the executive committee of special Olympics athletes leadership in Texas. I created podcasts, TikTok, video games and a variety of health activities during a pandemic to keep the athlete's minds occupied in a healthy way.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to maintain some of those activities cause was costing me money.  My mission with my population is to bring peace for today and create a vision for tomorrow for disabled population.  I feel grateful for what I have. I choose to be thankful. I choose to be happy. Gratitude turns what I have into enough and more. My Instagram info is ka.special . My TikTok account is KAspecialglobal.

Host: Kaye Love - Kaye has over eight years of experience working with individuals with developmental and learning disabilities, including Intellectual Disability and Autism Spectrum Disorder, in Special Education

Click here to listen with the full transcript.

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