Whether it’s getting your foot in the door for a company you want to work at, getting an important question answered, gathering information for a critical decision one has to make, getting in touch with the right person about something important, or getting something that you really need approved by the state, most people have benefited from having connections at some point in their lives. Connections can come from all different facets of one’s life. When people are fortunate enough to happen upon the right people in various aspects of their life, it often turns out to help them in ways they didn’t foresee. Having connections helps everyone find their way through life. People with disabilities are no different. In fact, for many different reasons such as preconceptions, isolation, and the lack of resources, we likely rely on connections more than most people. For people with disabilities, the power of networking and finding connections is crucial in our lives.

In previous entries, I’ve explained that, ironically, my mom was a special education teacher before I was even born. She was teaching for several years before I was even born. Some call it fate...I don’t think it’s coincidence that I came along and had some challenges. Obviously, I was too young to realize it for quite some time, but it was a huge blessing to our family. Not that mom had all of the answers, but she had some knowledge of disability and knew of the resources available to help us navigate through the system to get what I needed to be successful. She was aware of our rights and she knew what to advocate for. She knew the process of IEP meetings and what services I needed. Albeit, it got a little awkward when she became a Program Support Teacher (where she reviewed IEP paperwork and attended meetings for students in different programs) and then had to switch roles and be the parent during some of my meetings that got heated (I feel like every kid with significant needs has at least one or two intense meetings during their school years). The team did a good job of understanding she needed to be a parent in those situations, though. 

I don’t even remember how this happened, but my sophomore year of high school, we began looking at UW-Whitewater. I believe that I got a brochure in the mail about a camp they put on for people who use augmentative alternative communication devices. For various reasons, I never ended up going to the camp, but, through one of my groups on the Internet, I connected with the organizer of the camp. He was a student at Whitewater and had very similar needs. I talked with him via email, and his hometown was only 20 minutes away from where we lived. My mom and I ended up going to his house to meet with him. I was amazed to learn that someone like me could go away to college and succeed. The summer before my junior year, my mom and I went to see the campus of UW-Whitewater. for the first time. Obviously, it was way too early to do a formal visit, but I wanted to see if it was something I’d be interested in. We met with my friend again—this time at his apartment. After that visit, I knew that was where I wanted to go. It was because of a by chance connection on the Internet that I found an amazing opportunity that ultimately shaped the rest of my life.

When I moved to Whitewater, I literally knew two people . One was the organizer of the camp and the other was a girl I met during my pre-enrollment day (Whitewater has students with disabilities come to campus a few months before to meet with people at the Center for Students with Disabilities). The girl I met also had very similar needs. She graciously gave me her contact info and we began talking. In the months prior to moving down there, I asked her all sorts of questions about college. Looking back, there’s no doubt that I bugged her with pretty silly questions, but she was good about answering them. As luck would have it, that summer we learned that we’d be neighbors in the dorm for my freshman year . She took me under her wing that year and showed me the ropes. As I met more people, I obviously made a lot more connections. Like everyone else, having connections helped me navigate college life.

About my third year of college, my mom forwarded me and email she received from her work about an online mentoring opportunity for students with disabilities.  It was through Midwest Alliance which was associated with UW-Madison. I ended up mentoring high school students with disabilities for about five years, but that isn’t the point I want to make. The manager of the program really connected with me and ended up asking me to be on a panel for a session at the Transition Conference. Being able to attend that conference literally changed my life because I was introduced to the world of disability advocacy. At the conference, I was able to attend sessions about employment for people with disabilities which happened to be perfect timing because at the time I was struggling with DVR to find employment. I ended up connecting with the presenters of one of the sessions, and, although in a very roundabout way, that connection led me to becoming self-employed and working with the organizations I do. It’s really incredible to think about all of the connections it took for me to be where I am today. It’s simply amazing!

I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be able to make even more connections that have personally benefited me through the advocacy work I’m involved in. Knowing the people to contact when I have a question or need something has been so helpful. I’ll just share one recent example.  Our wheelchair accessible van was totaled in mid-February. It was literally my only means of transportation. Right away, I posted on Facebook asking if anyone knew of any funding resources for van modifications. Much to my surprise, I learned that I could ask for a one-time expense through IRIS. My awesome consultant had never done one before, so she and her supervisor worked together to get the process started literally right away. They found out that I needed to have an accessibility evaluation done. They contacted my Independent Living Center to set it up. The Independent Living Center knows me as I’ve done some work with them over the years. They understood the urgency of the matter and they were able to squeeze me very quickly and do the assessment. They were amazing and we had the report early the next morning. It was submitted to the state. I waited a few days and then I reached out to someone who works in DHS and has presented many times to a state council that I’m on. He was able to connect me with the person who does one-time expenses, and later that day we received word that it was approved! The multiple connections that made it happen so quickly is remarkable.

As a person who has a significant physical disability that affects my speech, to say I’m proud of all the connections I’ve made would be a huge understatement. I realize that it takes some extra time and effort to communicate with me and get to know me. I’ve been beyond lucky to have so many incredible people who have done just that. Without all those connections, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. The connections have led to opportunities I never dreamed of. Everyone has different connections that influence their path in life. I’m incredibly fortunate to have so many connections that have led me to where I am today!

***The views expressed here are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of InControl Wisconsin, the Network or any of our sponsors.