Creating a More Inclusive World
What does it take to create a more inclusive world for people with disabilities? What is its significance to everyone? In this episode of the Superpower Mommas, host Tatiana Berindei and guest Genia Stephen talk about creating an equitable and accessible world for people with disabilities. Genia is a disability advocate and the host of the Good Things in Life For Kids with Disabilities Podcast. She believes that marginalizing the person with disabilities can take our world nowhere. Tune in and discover how you can contribute to uplifting the lives of persons with disabilities and creating an impact and difference in the world.Â
Tatiana Berindei:
Hello everyone and welcome to the Superpower Mommas Podcast Show. I am your host Tatiana Berindei and today my guest is Genia Stephen and we are going to be talking about creating a more inclusive world. I am very excited about this conversation because this is my jam. I’m all about it. I think we have a lot of work to do and I think we have a lot of work to do together, and I think it’s good to work and fun work and we’re up for the task, and so I’m really looking forward to talking about this today with Genia. Let me tell you a little bit about her before we dive in.
Genia Stephen helps kids with intellectual disabilities build inclusive lives at home, at school, and in the community. She’s the founder and host of the Good Things in Life For Kids with Disabilities Podcast, and manages a community of parents of children with disabilities. Having a younger sister and son with disabilities and medical complexities led her to a lifetime of training in the disability field under premiere thought leaders and mentors. With more than 20,000 downloads, her podcast now gives other parents access to her world-class disability parenting education complete with courses and membership. She’s a practicing midwife and medical advocate currently completing her MSC in Evidence-Based Healthcare at the University of Oxford. Welcome to the show Genia. I’m really excited to have you with us today.
Genia Stephen:
Thank you so much for the opportunity, Tatiana. I am also really looking forward to this conversation and am grateful for the opportunity.Â
Tatiana Berindei:
Before we get into this conversation, will you tell our listeners what your superpowers are in this field of parents with children with disabilities?
Genia Stephen:
Sure. I think my superpower is in creating connections between people and then developing relationships with people. I think that when we’re thinking about inclusive lives and inclusive communities for all of us, it’s really our connections and our ability to weave a web in between individual people and to hear each other’s stories and develop relationships with each other that really makes all of the difference.
Tatiana Berindei:
Yeah, and it’s a skill. It is a superpower for sure to be able to make those connections. One of the things we were talking about briefly before we got on to the recording, was just why inclusivity matters. One of the things I was saying to you is my children don’t have disabilities and I don’t currently have people in my life who have disabilities, and yet I feel like it’s really important to stop thinking that it should only be people who do have people in their lives with disabilities who need to step up and be a part of creating a more inclusive world because I think if we leave it at that it’s never going to happen. This really is something that takes all of us and I also know that I have something to gain from having people with disabilities more visible and in more places than I am. I would just love to hear your understanding of that from your perspective and the life that you’ve walked and everything that you carry forward from that lens.
Genia Stephen:
I think you’ve covered it, so far every one of us has a purpose in our lives. Every one of us has gifts to give and contributions to make. When we exist in societies and communities in which some people aren’t supported or encouraged or welcomed to give their gifts then we all miss out. I think, really, the point of inclusive communities is making sure that we are all benefiting from each other’s gifts and contributions.
Tatiana Berindei:
Yeah, I definitely could not agree more, which is why I’m really excited to have you here. We’re going to have a great conversation today. If you’re listening to this, Genia, will you tell our listeners where they can go to find your podcast, find out more about you and the work that you do?
Genia Stephen:
Absolutely. All of the links to all of the places can be found on our website at goodthingsinlife.org.Â
Tatiana Berindei:
All right, so you can find here atgoodthingsinlife.org We’re talking with Genia Stephen about creating a more inclusive world. For those of you who have not yet come to play with us over Superpower Experts, please, please, please go over to superpowerexperts.com and check out the SPU community. We’ve got a lot of really cool stuff going on in there, too. I’m super excited for this conversation with Genia and we will be back in just a moment, so don’t go anywhere, please. This is very important and very dear to my heart. All right, we’ll be right back.
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