Hey guys!! I attended the 2019 Adult Summit and had an amazing time.

It was held at the Renaissance Center in Detroit.  I went to see the sculpture park in Windsor, Canada. Inside the hotel they had displays of new and old vehicles that I enjoyed looking at.  They also had some of the best elevators and escalators that I’ve ever ridden.  I loved the food they served and catered.  They had buffets for breakfast, lunch and one night for dinner. My parents and I went out to eat and discovered some great restaurants. One night we had Italian. We also explored around in Detroit. Always on the last night of the summit we get to have a dance and celebrate with all our friends. Next year we get to find out what Phoenix has to offer.

It was a great learning experience. I attended sessions that appealed to me.  There were also sessions for parents, caregivers, and professionals.

A few of the sessions that I attended were:

“The Tale Of 2 Friends”. The presenters, Doug Fry and Fionn Crombie Angus, are friends of mine.  It was extremely cool to hear about how to form a long-lasting friendship that we get to have for the rest of our lives.

“Speak Up: It’s Your Right!” Was presented by  Sarah Mueller and her sister,  Marlene Cummings, a speech pathologist.  We do have a voice, we do matter. It’s a human right to speak up for ourselves.  Their workshop reinforces the Civil Rights of all people with IDD.  We deserve the same respect as anyone else in our society. Their words motivated me to spread this message when I returned home from the conference.

My friend, John Cronin, and his Dad, Mark did a presentation about “John’s Crazy Socks”. We learned about the formation of their company, and it’s amazing growth to become what it is today, a million dollar company.

I remember one workshop that challenged self-advocates to use our imaginations to come up with crazy, wild inventions. It was a hands on assignment. My inventions were Lazer Eyes & Lightning Leggz. Our projects were hung on a common area wall for all attendees at the adult summit to see.

One great reason to come to the 2020 Adult Summit is to reconnect with old friends and to make new ones. The best reason we should attend the 2020 Adult Summit is to get fired up again to spread the word that we self advocates have the right and the responsibility to share our knowledge and talents back home with all around us.