Division for Early Childhood 2024 Conference

Hello, my name is Emily Hope Parker, and I’m thrilled to be part of the DEC conference. I've had the honor of working with children and their families for years as an accessibility educator, inclusion specialist, and advocate. My passion for inclusion extends far beyond my professional life—I also oversee Inclusive Compass, a northern California-based nonprofit. We provide accommodations, modifications, and education to support community inclusion at events, including our signature Inclusion Festival, which I founded in May 2018. With a particular interest in neurodiversity inclusion, I believe sensory supports should be part of the new standard for the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and Universal Design (UD).My favorite aspect of inclusion is that the work is never done. There is always more knowledge to gain, intersectionalities to consider, fresh perspectives to hear, new solutions to formulate, barriers to dismantle, and ongoing advocacy for equality, equity, and justice.I hope you will join me and my co-presenters for our session on Autism, titled "Autism & Inclusion: The Power of Words, Representation & Visuals," on Thursday, September 19, starting at 2:15 PM.