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Born This Way #BTWChat: September 27

Join our ninth Twitter chat on September 27 at 9/8c!

Hosted by Lauren Appelbaum and Cara Liebowitz of RespectAbility, this Twitter chat will take a look at ideas explored in Born This Way by the young adults with Down syndrome and their parents. Following this chat, join us in live tweeting each episode of the second season, airing on A&E at 10/9c.

In the season two finale, Megan learns the hard way that taking care of a baby is not anything like she imagined it would be, Rachel finds romance on the road to fitness and Steven finally faces up to his feelings about Megan.

Text: #BornThisWay Twitter Chat: #BTWchat, Tuesdays 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET. Then join us for livetweeting each episode of the second season immediately following the chat.

Born This Way provides an intimate look at a diverse group of young men and women with Down syndrome as they pursue their passions and lifelong dreams, explore friendships, romantic relationships and work, all while defying society’s expectations. The series also gives voice to the parents, allowing them to talk about the joy their son or daughter brings to their family, and the challenges they face in helping them live as independently as possible.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016, 9:00-10:00 pm ET

Don’t have cable? You can livestream the show on A&E’s app. You can find the questions for this chat in this post.

How to Participate

Introductory Tweets for September 27 #BTWchat

  • #BornThisWay airs tonight on @AETV. Don’t miss these incredible stories at 10/9c. https://youtu.be/W1QRQCd_BAU
  • Welcome to our Twitter chat. Please remember to use the #BTWchat and #BornThisWay hashtags when you tweet.
  • If you respond to a question such as Q1, your tweet should follow this format: “A1 [your message] #BTWchat”
  • When we say PwDs or disability, we’re talking about all types of disability. Feel free to speak about specific communities #BTWchat
  • For each domain, we’ll ask for your views, stories, potential solutions, recommendations #BTWchat
  • During tonight’s #BTWchat, we take a look at achieving dreams!

Questions for 9/27/16 #BTWchat

Today’s #BTWchat takes a look ahead at the excitement for season 3 and the hype around #BornThisWay!

  • Q1 How does seeing people on TV with disabilities like #BornThisWay make you feel about your own disability? #BTWchat
  • Q2 Do you think any stigma or perceptions about disabilities & mastering life skills have changed as a result of #BornThisWay? #BTWchat
  • Q3 Do you think seeing people with disabilities on TV in everyday life situations like #BornThisWay will become more common? #BTWchat
  • Q4 How does seeing #BornThisWay cast members succeed in their life goals help you work toward doing the same? #BTWchat
  • Q5 What advice would you give to a future parent expecting a child with Down syndrome? #BornThisWay #BTWchat
  • Q6 What types of shows, besides reality shows like #BornThisWay, do you want to see people with disabilities represented in? #BTWchat
  • Q7 Many cultures are represented in #BornThisWay. Do you think disability is viewed differently across different cultures? #BTWchat
  • Q8 #BornThisWay shows diversity of people w/ Down syndrome. How important is it that POC with disabilities are portrayed in media? #BTWchat
  • Q9 What do you want to see more of in Season 3? Focus on independent living? Romance? Employment? #BornThisWay #BTWchat

Closing Tweets for September 27 #BTWchat

  • This ends our #BTWchat chat. Many thanks to everyone who participated. Now let’s watch #BornThisWay!
  • Please feel free to continue the convo and answer more #BTWchat questions as the next episode of #BornThisWay begins.
  • Liked #BTWchat? Don’t forget to livetweet the episode using #BornThisWay – starting now!
  • Let us know what you think is most surprising moment of the episode! What was the most powerful moment? #BTWchat

Meet the Author

Lauren Appelbaum

Lauren Appelbaum is the VP, Communications and Entertainment & News Media, of RespectAbility, a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so all people with disabilities can fully participate in every aspect of community. As an individual with an acquired nonvisible disability – Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy – she works at the intersection of disability, employment, Hollywood and politics. She regularly conducts trainings on the why and how to be more inclusive and accessible for entertainment executives throughout the industry. Appelbaum partners with studios, production companies and writers’ rooms to create equitable and accessible opportunities to increase the number of people with lived disability experience throughout the overall story-telling process. These initiatives increase diverse and authentic representation of disabled people on screen, leading to systemic change in how society views and values people with disabilities. She has consulted on more than 100 TV episodes and films with A&E, Bunim-Murray Productions, NBCUniversal, Netflix, ViacomCBS, and The Walt Disney Company, among others. She represents RespectAbility on the CAA Full Story Initiative Advisory Council, Disney+ Content Advisory Council, MTV Entertainment Group Culture Code and Sundance Institute’s Allied Organization Initiative. She is the author of The Hollywood Disability Inclusion Toolkit and the creator of an innovative Lab Program for entertainment professionals with disabilities working in development, production and post-production. She is a recipient of the 2020 Roddenberry Foundation Impact Award for this Lab. To reach her, email LaurenA@RespectAbility.org.

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