Have you encountered an autistic student in your synagogue or religious school classroom? Have you wanted to interact with this student, but were unsure how to? These questions can be answered in many ways, but it requires collaboration between the students, parents, educators, and administration. Acceptance from classmates and the congregation as a whole is [click to continue...]
Aaron Wolf is an incredibly talented filmmaker, an award-winning actor, and an overall wonderful person! Aaron has created a multitude of films, ranging from The LD, which helped get him into film school, to the more well-known films Restoring Tomorrow and The Walk, to his recently released adventure-thriller TAR. These films are based on Aaron’s Jewish roots [click to continue...]
Lee and Nechama Chernotsky live in Los Angeles, California with their three kids. A homeschooling family for over 6 years now, Lee and Nechama worked hard for their kids to start their education at a Jewish Montessori, in which they are still active. Nechama, Lee’s wife and partner in purpose (soon to formally join the Speakers [click to continue...]
Erika Abbott is an intelligent woman and talented writer. Erika’s disability advocacy started in grade school, where she and some friends, eventually including fellow Speaking and Training Bureau member Aaron Seglin, formed the Disabled Posse. The idea, Erika explained, is “when you’re a kid, you are fearless,” and younger kids are more likely to ask [click to continue...]
Justin Borses is a 21-year-old “valley kid from California” who lives with Cerebral Palsy. Currently, he is a student at California State University at Northridge (CSUN), majoring in broadcasting and journalism, but he’s secretly a theatre kid at heart. Justin is a major extrovert and thrives on conversation and interaction with others, which makes his [click to continue...]
Shlomo Meyers was born in Manhasset, New York on December 6, 1985 with Down Syndrome. He is the middle child in a family of seven children. Meyers currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Danielle. He has been working at Maimonides Academy in Los Angeles since 2014. Meyers describes himself as a kind, respectful [click to continue...]
Alex Howard is a compassionate, funny guy, to whom it is incredibly easy to talk. Alex has MEPAN Syndrome – one of only 18 people in the world with the condition – and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. MEPAN Syndrome is a rare genetic neurological disorder that usually presents in early childhood, but Alex was not diagnosed until [click to continue...]
Emily Borses is a 21-year-old aspiring filmmaker based in Los Angeles who is also part of RespectAbility’s Speaking and Training Bureau. Emily’s family is very artsy, especially her dad. When she was growing up, he introduced her to 60’s-era punk rock music like Led Zeppelin, Heart, ZZ Top, and The Foo Fighters. She also developed an [click to continue...]
