Lori Boll speaks with Joel Llaban, the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice of the International Schools Services (ISS). Joel and Lori discuss the important work ISS and other organizations are doing to ensure schools are inclusive in all areas from their hiring practices, to their mission statement, to their curriculum and how they should be living the words, “We’re not complete without you.
Lana Abon is a special education teacher in the rural area of Sabah, a Malaysian island state. She teaches students with hearing impairments and students with learning disorders. She has successfully trained three special needs students to qualify for Asian English Olympics, the most prestigious English language competition in Asia, in the storytelling category. The three students became the first special needs learners to ever compete in the event in 2021. This unprecedented achievement has broken another barrier for special needs learners in the region which proved that such learners can compete in events that are often reserved for non-disabled learners. The news on these students’ participation in that renowned competition became viral on the local social media pages which inspired many educators. She regularly organizes field trips for her students to travel around Sabah which she managed to finance via fundraising activities that she initiated for this specific purpose.
Congratulations to Lana Abon as the SENIA World Change Award winner for October!
Her students’ storytelling videos: https://youtu.be/9QqLsH2Hfks
. Aidan and LIsa first met Lori on a playground in Shanghai, China when they had just been told that Aidan could no longer attend the international school he was attending due to his Intellectual Developmental Disability (IDD).
Cheri is an international speaker, author, and consultant who trains adults to shift their mindsets about struggling writers to strengthen the social-emotional well-being of people with dysgraphia so they can fully engage in life activities and unleash their potential to change their future and other generations through the written word.
Alexius Ignatius was the first Malaysian to win a gold medal at an international art festival with his animated tale. The monthly art festivals hosted by Festival Bridges headquartered in Europe was the one of the most competitive art contests in the world and Malaysia only managed to clinch bronze or silver medals in the past. Hence, his gold medal was considered a breakthrough feat and what made it more astounding was that it was achieved by a special needs learner. Alexius was a regular volunteer that took an active role in assisting his school teams in many competitions and activities. He offered to be on the prop crew for the school theater which eventually won the district contest and managed the softball team that placed second in the district tournament. He led the special needs learners’ fundraising food kiosk to finance their field trips.
Congratulations to Alexius Ignatius as September’s SENIA World Changer Award Winner!
Listen to Alexius’ animated tale here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O66kqOfKlpA
Avyasvina Istiniza Anak Unong is a special educational needs educator who has played a major role in training the special needs learners at her school to partake in various art competitions through alternative means. This has resulted in unprecedented achievements from the student body and drew national interest. She trained the students with hearing loss to perform monologue and poetry in sign language and helped students with specific learning disorders to be voice actors for animated storytelling. These students earned various medals and prizes in online and remote art and literary festivals. They have been invited to perform at several events including a national convention focusing on inclusion of the special needs community. The impact of her work went beyond her school as the students’ performance videos were shared widely and one performance video was shared by one of the country’s education leaders as well as the ministry of education on social media.
Congratulations to Avyasvina Istiniza Anak Unong as August’s SENIA World Changer Award recipient.
Here is one of her student’s performances: https://youtu.be/wCpXe-Mx-Q4
Samuel Young the founder of Scholars Academy, a strength-based, talent-focused virtual enrichment center that supports twice-exceptional students and their families.
Nicole Demos, a SENIA Europe Board Member and a proud disabled Third Culture Kid, and host Lori Boll chat more about Nicole and how she now accepts her disability as part of her identity.
Daniel Wickner (he/him/his) is the founder of Identity-Centered Learning (www.identity centered.com), a framework for supporting students’ identity development in schools.
Dr. Jack Naglieri. Some of you may recognize that last name. Yes, he is the creator of the Naglieri Non-Verbal Ability Test.