Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there! We’d especially like to wish a Happy Father’s Day to Nic Novicki – not only is Nic a brilliant actor/writer/stand-up comic, but he is also the founder/director of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge and an Easterseals Southern California board member. The Film Challenge, in particular, is a game-changing platform for artists with disabilities that is blowing the doors open for disability inclusion across the entertainment industry.

But wait, there’s more. Nic has taken on a brand-new role as a first-time father! I was excited to be able to sit down with Nic for a chat about all things fatherhood.

Nic, on behalf of the Easterseals family, I would like to congratulate you and your wife, Teale, on the birth of your beautiful baby daughter. How are you going to celebrate your first Father’s Day?

Thank you so much. I’m very excited to be a new dad. My wife and I are so happy. I am going to celebrate my first Father’s Day by enjoying the day hanging out with my wife and daughter. Maybe I’ll watch some basketball or one of my favorite movies. Either way I am going to hang out with my family … including our French Bulldog, Rosie, who is technically our first born!

What was your reaction when you found out that you were going to be a dad?

I was ecstatic! Learning I was going to be a dad was the most exciting news I have ever heard! I have always wanted to be a father. I am a proud uncle of two great nephews, and I have always loved coaching kids’ basketball teams at LPA (Little People of America) conventions. I take pride in being a role model and having fun with kids.

Did your daughter adopt your comedic gene? Do you see a future stand-up comedian in your midst?

Yes, she is definitely a funny child. Not to mention, a night owl, total party animal! Ha! She’s got her mom and me slightly sleep-deprived. Sometimes she’ll be really upset and cry a lot or refuse to take a bottle, and whenever you start to get frustrated — she’ll give us a side-eye, with a laugh or a smile. She already knows what she’s doing, with that great sense of comedic timing!

Any hilarious comedy gold moments about being a new dad that might make it into a standup routine?

Yes! The first night of Memorial Day weekend she spit up so much that it oozed all the way down my back, going right into my underwear two separate times in just an hour. Let’s just say, it was definitely an interesting start to a holiday weekend! I earned my new dad stripes with that encounter.

How would you like to see fathers with disabilities represented in the media? Do you think there is a lack of representation there?

I would like to see more dads with disabilities in roles where the disability is never directly addressed. It’s a dad who just so happens to have a disability. I would like to see storylines with dads with disabilities on the soccer field or doing late night runs to the grocery store. That disability representation is important. Because guess, what? We are out there! There will be more progress with disability inclusion in the world when we see it authentically represented in media.

What do you think the world should know about parents with disabilities?

We are just like every other parent. There is not really much of a difference. We are going through the same things most new parents are going through in terms of sleep schedule, feeding, learning how to care for our baby, etc. The only difference is we just may need to do some things in a different way.

Did you ever have any worries / concerns about parenting while having a disability?

No. I did not have any concerns about being a parent with a disability. I have multiple friends who are parents with disabilities and they served as great role models for me. People with disabilities are natural problem solvers, it’s how we naturally go about our days. I am a little person and I have been involved with the Little People of America (LPA) my whole life, so I have grown up seeing people with disabilities as parent role models. LPA has been a great support system for me, so has my involvement with Easterseals and the Film Challenge.

What would you say to someone with a disability who is thinking about becoming a parent?

Just do it! I know a lot of people say, “It’s never the right time [to have a baby|,” but it will work out. Trust yourself and just go for it. I feel like that was the case for us. We have figured out ways to make everything work. My wife is also a little person, so we buy things that are lower and smaller to the ground and find ways to let gravity help us.

Do you know other parents with disabilities? If so, did they give you any great parenting advice that you could share with us?

Yes! We are lucky that we have a lot of friends from the Little People and disability community who have kids, so we were able to get a lot of great adaptive parenting tips in terms of the best and easiest ways for us to hold the baby, and the lightest kinds of strollers.

Sofiya Cheyenne, who is an Easterseals Disability Film Challenge participant, and a great friend of ours, had a baby less than a year ago. Sofiya gave us some great tips of what she bought and how it helped her, like what bassinet worked best, in terms of their ease of use and overall safety.

In your experience, what are the best resources out there for new parents who also happen to have disabilities?

There are so many great blogs out there, but I think the best resource for new parents who have disabilities is word-of-mouth. There are a lot of cool parents with disabilities out there and we were able to connect through social media. We’ve seen such a warm welcome in the online space, with an abundance of people that want to give us tips and advice. Sometimes almost too much, haha!

What is the best adaptive baby equipment that you recommend?

For us, the best baby equipment is the lightest baby equipment. A lot of things for babies can be pretty heavy and that is difficult for me, so we always try to find the lightest products. Also, we try to find products that fit short arms so that we don’t have to lean fully into the crib or bassinet.

Best parenting hack?

I’m still researching that, haha! Check back in a couple months.

What is the FIRST thing you learned as a new dad?

This goes without saying — my child is the most important thing in the world. No matter what. You’re a dad 24/7 and I love every second of it.

What is something you wish someone would have told you about parenthood?

I don’t know. I mean, there are only so many things you can tell someone, but it really comes down to learning firsthand. You have to learn and make all the new adjustments through your firsthand experience. It’s a new adventure.

What is the best advice you’d give to a new dad?

Get ready to have fun, be on call and be as supportive and loving as you can be! Also, get ready to have an amazing experience with somebody that depends on you and loves you. Fatherhood is a beautiful thing. I feel so lucky to be her dad.

Dominick Evans, also known as Dom, is an incredible father – but as a disabled person who parents a disabled child, much of society doesn’t view him that way. Dom has Spinal Muscular Atrophy and is hard of hearing, while his son is autistic with other psychosocial disabilities. When Dom met his partner Ashtyn on an online forum 22 years ago, she was a single mother of an 8-year-old son and Dom was in college studying theater and acting. They lived five hours apart, with Ashtyn in Michigan and Dom in Ohio. After speaking every day for a few months and starting an online relationship, the couple finally met in person and have been inseparable ever since. Now, their son is 26 and the family is thriving. Sure, there are still challenges along the way – including people’s misconceptions about their relationship and parenting – but Ashtyn and Dom continue to provide the support their son needs as he goes through life.

“I love kids. I’ve always wanted children,” he said. “I knew that I could try to help [our son] navigate the world as a disabled person myself. I’ve never been able to formally adopt him, but he wanted me to be considered his dad and we’ve always had that kind of relationship. Sometimes he calls me dad, and sometimes he calls me Dom, but he definitely is my kid.”

Dom is the parent who provides emotional support, as well as guiding his son through education and teaching him social skills. Dom and Ashtyn’s co-parenting skills are what keep the family working. While it is difficult for Dom   to be unable to hold his son when he is upset or hurt, the emotional connection the two have more than makes up for it. They also love spending time together playing video games, and bond over that shared hobby. Dom said, “I remember the look on my son’s face when I helped him win Super Mario Sunshine. In that instant, I became his hero! That’s the thing parents aspire for… moments like this.”

Dom also knows it is important to have someone in your life who understands your own experiences. “I feel like, because I’m disabled, I gave my son a much different perspective,” he said. “He really got to witness the way I was mistreated, and I think he’s a better person because he’s more compassionate and caring. He was bullied a lot in school, and I was able to connect with him because I was also bullied. Having someone who really understands what you’re going through is important for disabled kids. I was glad that I got to be that for my son.” He also said that, in addition to his disability, his son gets to see Dom’s advocacy for LGBTQIA+ rights, and this makes him more empathetic and understanding of diversity and inclusion.

When teaching him life lessons, Dom says that he wants his son to know that it’s okay to fail – you have to just keep trying. He wants him to know that he will always have a shoulder to lean on and listen to without judgement. When the world tries to tell them that their very existence is wrong, they can lean on each other and their found family for strength and pride.

“All we have is each other and we are a very strong family unit. I wouldn’t change my family for the world!”

Photo of then-new Seeing Eye dog Luna’s first and last in-person school visits in early March, 2020, before you-know-what happened.

During presentations I give about disability awareness, one thing I like to get across to the school kids is that people with disabilities enjoy — and engage in — a lot of the same things they do. We just develop different skills (and sometimes use different “helping tools”) to achieve our goals.

This past May, Luna and I did what will likely be our last Zoom presentation for 3rd graders this school year. Our presentation was scheduled for late morning, and the weather was so beautiful in Chicago that a dear neighbor had invited me to come swim laps at his condominium’s outdoor pool around noon.

Could I make it to my friend’s pool on time? Well, yes. As long as I wore my swimsuit to the presentation. The 3rd graders would only see my head and shoulders on Zoom, right?

My Zoom talk that morning opened with a big announcement: this would mark the first time I’ve ever worn a swimsuit to a school presentation. The kids were all muted, and without being able to see them, I chose to believe they found that absolutely hilarious. “Right after this presentation is over, I’m going swimming outside!”

My mentioning swimsuits and swimming provided an instant connection between me and these very bright eight and nine-year-olds. Some of their questions:

• How long have you been swimming?
• What was your favorite activity when you could see, and what is your favorite activity now
• Where’d you learn to swim?
• How can you Zoom if you can’t see?
• How can you drive?
• How many Seeing Eye dogs have you had?
• Did any of your dog’s ever bite someone?
• Have any of your dog’s gotten sick?
• Did you ever use a stick?
• How many books have you wrote?
• Are you writing any books now?
• Did you write those books when you were blind, or did you write them all when you were like us and still in school and you could see?
• Did you have to learn a lot of new things after you were blind?
• How many years have you been blind?
• How many years have you been swimming?

Doing Zoom presentations from the comforts of home has its benefits: no need to arrange for rides to faraway suburban schools, don’t have to wake up early, it’s okay to dress casual, you don’t have to pack up your “helping tools” to bring along, Zooming takes less time, allowing the Zoomer to fit more things into their day…like swimming laps outside.

And yet.

I still prefer being in the room with the kids I’m visiting. I miss hearing their ‘ooh’s and ‘ah’s when my Seeing Eye dog leads me into their classroom, the murmur of questions they ask even before the presentation begins, hearing “me! Me! Me!” when they hold up their hands to ask questions afterwards, and, especially, the joy they express when I take Luna’s harness off afterwards and let them pet her. I’m holding out hope that at least some of the visits to schools next year will be in person, but who knows? Maybe the schools will decide sponsoring Zoom meetings for authors is easier for them. Like so many other issues during these pre-post-pandemic times, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Or wait and hear!

Alicia’s back from her trip to reunite with her boyfriend in Houston — here she is with a first-person account of what it’s like to find assistance at airports now that COVID-19 regulations are loosening up.

When reunion day finally arrived, I had no trouble getting up well before sunrise to catch an early flight at Chicago’s Midway Airport. I used VoiceOver on my iPhone to send a text to Juan, as I normally do when I wake up. My usual “Good morning’ text was then followed by, “We made it! The day is finally here!”

I arrived at Midway two hours before my flight was to depart, but the airport appeared to be understaffed and experiencing an unusually high request for assistance. Even under normal circumstances I am quite the anxious traveler, and that morning I was convinced I’d miss my flight. Using VoiceOver on my iPhone to navigate over to Juan’s name, I called him.

“No one has come to get me yet and help,” I said, getting straight to the point as soon as he answered.

“Yeah, now they typically wait until it’s closer to boarding time,” he replied calmly, not understanding the magnitude of the situation.

”No, you don’t understand. I haven’t even made it through security,” I said. “I’m pretty sure I’m going to miss this flight.”

”You’re not going to miss the flight,” he said. He didn’t sound dismissive, and he wasn’t brushing off my concerns. His calming and patient nature usually helps, but this morning I was not having it. I gave him the time of the next flight just in case. He told me to keep him updated and not to worry. “It will all be okay.”

Right as I hung up, an airline employee approached me to ask what time my flight was. I told her and added, “Pre-boarding is in 20 minutes!” She said the same thing Juan did — that everything would be okay and I was going to make this flight.

I can’t describe the feeling of relief that washed over me when I finally heard my name called. I sent a text to Juan using Siri this time, texting from my talking Apple Watch rather than my phone. “I’m on my way to security,” I said. “You’re right, I’m going to make the flight.”

Similar to my last flying experience from Midway, I was placed in a wheelchair, and they zoomed me right along to the security line. The TSA agent couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t walking through the metal detector and did not appear to know I was blind. I’m not sure if that’s because I was in a wheelchair, or if she was not previously informed.

I heard someone behind me say, “She needs help, she can’t see!” After that, the TSA agent gave me verbal directions, and off we went. After making the usual stops to the family style restroom and a place to refill my water bottle, I arrived at the gate with no time to spare.

It was time to board!

A flight attendant approached me at the gate and introduced herself. I introduced myself as well, smiled with relief, and had to add, “I’m so happy to be here, I thought I was going to miss this flight.”

”You’re here, and you have plenty of time to board,” she replied, her voice reassuring and not at all patronizing or dismissive. She led me onto the jetway, and I couldn’t stop smiling as she guided me to my seat. “Do you have a preference as to where you sit?” she asked as we stopped by a row of seats.

”Wherever gets me off the plane faster when it lands!” I said. She laughed and placed me in the second row.

“Would you like a Braille copy of the safety instructions?” she asked. I declined. They always announce the safety instructions out loud, and I find the announcements very helpful. I didn’t feel like I needed Braille instructions, but I loved that this was an option.

Upon landing, I used VoiceOver to type a text to Juan that I had landed. I was led off the jetway and placed in a wheelchair in the gate area. Once again, I became anxious, worried they’d forgotten I needed more assistance to get to baggage claim.

Houston’s Hobby Airport also appeared to be understaffed. It took roughly 10 minutes for someone to come assist me to baggage claim. But all the stress of travel was worth it when the skycap said, “I think they see you,” telling me Juan’s mom was waving us over. I practically leapt out of the wheelchair, grabbed my belongings, and got the first hug I’d received from someone outside of my family in seven months.

At Easterseals, we believe in the power of the disability community, the unlimited potential of some 61 million Americans with disabilities. It’s undeniable. And yet, far too many adults with disabilities remain under- or unemployed, with businesses and others in our communities still failing to tap this incredible pool of talent.

After more than a year of navigating life through the pandemic, this fact is now only magnified. As we noted in our recent study about the impact of COVID-19, working-age adults with disabilities report far greater levels of unemployment than in prior years, with more than one million losing their jobs within the first few months of the pandemic. These study findings also show we must act now to change the landscape for people with disabilities to assure greater equity and inclusion for them in the post-pandemic world.

This means advancing equity for all in our communities. To do so, we must increase employment opportunities by helping people with disabilities, older workers, and veterans find and hold meaningful jobs.

Fortunately, the pursuit of a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce has never been more top of mind than it is now. As a powerful advocate for people with disabilities and their families, Easterseals is working to ensure that disability is included within DE&I conversations happening with employers nationwide. No such conversations or considerations are even remotely complete without including people with disabilities.

As we’re beginning to recover from this past year, our country must now place far greater value on adults with disabilities in the workforce. Yes, it is the right thing to do. And yes, there is an undeniable business case to be made.

A recent study by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) indicates that working-age people with disabilities have approximately $21 billion in discretionary income. This money is waiting on the table, ready for the taking by the brands who get it right.

As consumers, we rarely see disability included in the advertisements, corporate storytelling, or brand messages across our screens or in stores. But for those companies who authentically include disability – in product offerings and design, hiring practices and advertising campaigns – consumers pay attention with their pocketbooks. Companies who embrace disability will be the first to say that these inclusive decisions make for smart business, increasing the bottom line and improving customer loyalty.

Are you curious about this topic? Want to explore it more? I certainly do!

Plan to join Easterseals and Marlee Matlin, Academy-Award Winning actor and disability advocate, alongside PRWeek for an incredible conversation on Tuesday, June 1 – The Marketing Power of Disability. Learn more here.

During this special virtual event, we will drill deeply into how the communications industry – and all the brands it counsels – can more effectively include this extensive population through content and campaigns, but also tap into this incredible pool of talent to bolster corporate DE&I efforts.

AGENDA

·  12:02pm ET-12:30pm ET: Fighting Fears, Suppressing Stigmas

·  12:32pm ET-12:58pm ET: A workplace that works for everyone

·  1pm ET-1:30pm ET: Featured chat with Marlee Matlin

·  1:32pm ET-1:58pm ET: The keys to inclusive content 

FEATURING

·  Marlee Matlin, Academy Award-winning actress and advocate

·  Angela F. Williams, president and CEO, Easterseals

·  More speakers to be announced…

REGISTER NOW