Jessica Smith, Disability Inclusion Consultant, joins Maria Botros on the Tell Me Why podcast to discuss the importance of having conversations about disability inclusion with children at a very young age and igniting the level of curiosity that kids have.
Jessica: I found an opportunity to talk about the complexities of diversity and inclusion, felt that disability wasn't being discussed enough
Jessica says parents of children with disabilities have to find support groups to help make the journey easier
The community in Dubai is very receptive, so it hasn't been difficult to have conversations about disability, says Jessica
Jessica speaks to people as young as 4 years old about the importance of disability inclusion
Jessica says that, as a child, she was more disabled by her environment than her actual disability
See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV
#UAEnews #podcast #disabilityinclusion
Jessica: I found an opportunity to talk about the complexities of diversity and inclusion, felt that disability wasn't being discussed enough
Jessica says parents of children with disabilities have to find support groups to help make the journey easier
The community in Dubai is very receptive, so it hasn't been difficult to have conversations about disability, says Jessica
Jessica speaks to people as young as 4 years old about the importance of disability inclusion
Jessica says that, as a child, she was more disabled by her environment than her actual disability
See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV
#UAEnews #podcast #disabilityinclusion
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NewsTranscript
00:00There were many times where I doubted myself and my own abilities because I didn't feel that anyone
00:06else around me trusted me enough to take a chance and so that held me back for a very very long time
00:13and I think there were so many situations where I felt that but thankfully sport gave me sort of
00:20another avenue to be able to express those you know thoughts and feelings and the energy that
00:24I had at the time but I think what I experienced most especially as a child and as a teenager was
00:30exclusion so it wasn't the way we talk about bullying now you know I wasn't exposed to social
00:36media when I was growing up thank goodness what I did feel was a lack of acceptance and a lack of
00:42people willing to say come and join our group or come and join this birthday party really simple
00:48things but it sends a very powerful and loud message that because you look a certain way
00:53you don't fit in.
01:00Welcome back this is Tell Me Why I'm Maria Botros and today we are going to talk about a topic that
01:08is very dear to my heart and that I enjoy quite a lot which is inclusion and with me in the studio
01:16is Jessica Smith who is a disability inclusion consultant. Jessica how are you? I'm very well.
01:21You're a very very busy woman. I am I am but I never like to say that in a complaining way I'm
01:27very fortunate to be this busy yes yes yes yes we we get that and we appreciate it and we appreciate
01:33the time that you're giving us so we're going to try to keep this as focused as possible while
01:38getting to know you so before we get started I just wanted to get to know you who is Jessica
01:43like what what was your childhood like and yeah just tell us about your journey. So I was born
01:49in Australia and I was born missing my left arm and to this day we still don't know why
01:54that actually occurred. We think maybe that it was when I say we my parents and I you know after
02:00speaking with them that amniotic bands of fluid form in the really really early stages of development
02:07in the womb and sometimes they can latch onto limbs and it just stops the growth so we think
02:12and assume that that's probably what happened but when I was born the doctors advised my parents to
02:18have me fitted with a prosthetic limb from as young as possible thinking that it would help
02:22aid my growth and development and I think unfortunately at that time a lot of the
02:28medical professionals looked at disability as broken and disformed and disfigured and they
02:34needed to fix me so of course you know not that that was sort of a negative intention
02:40but the idea was that you know I would be fitted with this fake arm from as young as possible
02:46and unfortunately what was supposed to help me failed me in probably the cruelest of ways so
02:52I'd just been fitted with my first fake arm and I was at home in the kitchen with my mum
02:57and noticed a plate of biscuits on the bench and being a curious toddler I reached up to
03:02grab a biscuit but because I couldn't feel or detect heat in the in the arm that I was wearing
03:06I didn't realize that I'd also knocked a kettle over and as I looked up I spilt boiling water
03:12onto myself and I sustained third degree burns to 15% of my body. I'm lucky it didn't splash onto
03:19my face but I do have prominent scarring on my neck and chest and I spent years in and out of
03:24hospital in Australia for recovery, skin grafting, all sorts of different things and I think at that
03:30time it was just a place of where we were as a society when it came to looking at disability
03:37and I certainly grew up with this notion that I was so different to everybody else and it was so
03:44obvious because I was missing my arm and I had such prominent scarring on my neck and chest.
03:49However my parents thankfully were able to push beyond a lot of that narrow thinking at the time
03:55and I grew up with the mindset because of my parents that if there was anything that seemed
04:00too hard I had to at least try. I have three younger brothers, we're all very close in age and so
04:06and we're a very sporting family and so I think from that idea of never wanting me to feel sorry
04:12for myself I was able to focus a lot of my time and energy on how I was going to prove to the world
04:18that I wouldn't be limited by my disability and the obvious way for me to do that was through
04:23movement and sport and exercise and I fell in love with all sorts of sports but in particular
04:29swimming. Amazing. And when I was 10 I competed at my first school event and I won and I beat
04:35all the girls and boys with two hands and for the first time in my life I felt as though I was
04:40being acknowledged for what I could do rather than the perceived deception from others or their
04:45assumptions about what they thought I couldn't do. Yes. And that was really a very pivotal moment in
04:51my life even at the age of 10 to sort of think well this makes me feel amazing and so I want
04:57to continue doing this and that's sort of how my swimming career started. But throughout that
05:02entire process was a constant battle of social discrimination and trying to figure out my own
05:08identity in a world that is so fixated on our appearance and beauty and how that is measured
05:15as a sign of success. Right. So really sort of struggling with that as I grew up. You know I was
05:21just going to ask that you know I know that the times have changed but in the past it was very
05:27difficult for people with certain disabilities. Do you prefer that term? Like I always ask my
05:33guests like do you prefer to say person of disability? I like people of determination. I
05:38like that it gives them the power. It is. It is a very empowering statement. I think you know after
05:43growing up in Australia and how I guess the world of the disabled community is positioned
05:49at the moment is we want to share that the word disability is not bad or wrong and so it's good
05:56to use that word but if there's you know other phrases that people feel more comfortable with
06:00you know then absolutely. But for me there's nothing wrong with the word disability. That's
06:04good to know because I think a lot of people kind of like tiptoe around the the word and they don't
06:09prefer using it because they don't want to make it seem like they're trying to say that you're
06:13limited or exactly there's a negative connotation with the word that I think you're trying to get
06:17rid of or from what you're saying. Exactly. You're trying to shift that you know that perception. Yes.
06:23So going back to the question is growing up with a disability how was that like
06:30besides the fact that you were saying there was a lot of discrimination you know as a child in a
06:35classroom or with peers how was that? It was challenging at times when I felt as though
06:43other people didn't think I could do something. So I think I was acutely aware of the fact that
06:48I was more disabled by my environment and the way people saw me than my actual disability and
06:54that puts a lot of pressure on a young person to feel limited and sort of trapped within a social
07:01understanding or definition of what you're supposed to be. So what that meant was that
07:06there were many times where I doubted myself and my own abilities because I didn't feel that anyone
07:12around me trusted me enough to take a chance and so that held me back for a very very long time
07:19and I think there were so many situations where I felt that but thankfully sport gave me sort of
07:26another avenue to be able to express those you know thoughts and feelings and the energy that
07:30I had at the time. But I think what I experienced most especially as a child and as a teenager was
07:36exclusion. So it wasn't the way we talk about bullying now you know I wasn't exposed to social
07:42media when I was growing up thank goodness. What I did feel was a lack of acceptance and a lack of
07:48people willing to say come and join our group or come and join this birthday party. Really simple
07:54things but it sends a very powerful and loud message that because you look a certain way
08:00you don't fit in with us and I think that's what I really struggled with the most. I have to say
08:05props to your parents for you know for pushing you to achieve whatever you wanted to achieve
08:11and for putting you in sports at such a young age to help you feel that self-achievement
08:17that sense of accomplishment. You were saying at 10 years old you won a race and that gave you
08:24such a boost and such confidence in believing in yourself and knowing that people were
08:29weren't just looking at you as you know oh the person you know who's missing an arm but rather
08:34a person who won a race and that gave you the confidence that you needed that helped you
08:39actually get into swimming professionally and that was my next question tell us about that. So
08:45how did that start? How did you get the thought? Like when did you decide okay this is what I want
08:49to do? I think at the time it went back to how I was feeling and I think that's something that
08:54my parents always allowed me to do was sit with those feelings and emotions. Sometimes I think
08:59perhaps they practice a tough love approach too too much but I understand that they were trying
09:04to prepare me for the world that I was about to live in which was a world that wasn't designed
09:09or created for somebody like me. They knew that I was going to have to push a little bit harder
09:13and work a little bit harder and so in those moments when I was swimming and you know at a
09:17young age winning races they said to me what does that feel like and when I said you know this is
09:23exhilarating this is amazing they said well let's keep doing that you know and I think I'm very
09:27grateful to have parents that allowed me to be in an environment where I was thriving you know we
09:32see a lot of parents focus on where their child is potentially struggling and put a little bit too
09:37much effort on that and what I'm grateful that my parents were able to do was say well this is
09:42something that you are excelling at so let's put the time and energy there so that you can continue
09:47to feel that wonderful positive emotion and because of that you know I never wanted to stop
09:52swimming so after that race you know I remember saying to my mum and dad I want to swim forever.
09:58I wasn't aware that there were races for athletes with a disability, I wasn't aware of the Paralympic
10:02Games, I just knew that that moment was something that I never wanted to lose and so you know I say
10:11unfortunately for my mum and dad it meant driving me to the pool every morning and every afternoon
10:16around school times for the next few years until I got my license and I grew up in a small town in
10:22Australia and it meant in order for me to compete in particular races that were dedicated to athletes
10:27with a disability we had to drive eight hours every other weekend and so it put pressure on
10:33you know my mum and having to stay with my three younger brothers but that level of support was
10:38there and I think that you know I'll be forever grateful for that because it propelled me into
10:42my international career. And I'm sure it was lovely for them to do that I'm sure they were
10:46more than glad to do that you know yes absolutely seeing how exhilarating it was for you. You
10:52mentioned your your siblings I just want to you know highlight that just a little bit and then
10:57we'll move on. How was it like growing up with them like how did your parents explain to them
11:02maybe like what what you were going through and and how did it resonate with them as as you know
11:08your younger brothers? It's a good question I'm not sure that there were ever any like major family
11:13discussions around it it wasn't as if it was something that was constantly brought to attention
11:18but I do know now that my brothers struggled as well more so from a place of wanting to protect
11:25me so what yeah I mean I didn't really have this sort of realisation until late into my 20s
11:32talking to my brothers but there were many times where I was used as a point of weakness
11:37for other people trying to sort of attack my brothers whether that was on the sporting field
11:42or in the school grounds and so there were times where they felt a lot of resentment towards me
11:47and I didn't understand that and I don't think they understood that at the time it was kind
11:51of like you know I just you know I hate my brother I hate my sister that sort of thing
11:54but I realised now that it was quite complex for them as well and they were also trying to
11:59figure out well what's their identity what's their role as a sibling and as a brother to
12:03protect their sister but to also want to have their own identity not feel as though that that
12:09is their responsibility so I think there were many times you know I mean we still
12:14fight all the time but we grew up on the morals and the values that you know we all love each
12:20other very very much and we have so much respect for each other and we're all very very different
12:26but I do appreciate that they were put into situations that they shouldn't have been because
12:31of me. That's very sweet that's very very sweet and I love the fact that it came from a place
12:36where they were just trying to protect you. Yes. I mean in the end it's all love. Of course yes.
12:41Okay moving on to the Paralympics how was that like how was that experience for you?
12:45So this is a tricky question or a tricky answer because often when people ask that question
12:51you're expecting it was the most amazing experience of my life and I went on to win a gold medal
12:55and that's the end of my Hollywood story. That's not how things went for me so throughout my
13:03career I mean I started representing Australia from the age of 13 and represented them consecutively
13:09for eight years. In that time I'm also an adolescent young female trying to figure out you
13:16know high school and being popular and all of these things while also representing my country at
13:22the most elite level and so there was a lot of pressure and I was struggling with body image
13:26issues. I was struggling with feeling as though not just that I had a disability but I'm also a
13:33teenage girl wanting to you know be seen and to be validated by my friends and you know by boys and
13:40all this sort of stuff at school. Yeah. And so that impacted my emotional and mental health while I
13:46was also swimming and competing to the point where I lived with anorexia and bulimia for a very long
13:52time throughout my entire swimming career and the reason that this is relevant is because when I did
13:58finally reach the Paralympic Games at the age of 19 it was the most amazing experience. I had worked
14:05so hard to get to that level but because of the struggles that I was going through behind closed
14:11doors it was as if it all came to a head at the same time. So here I am experiencing the most
14:17amazing and the highest point I could get to in my swimming career but also the lowest I could have
14:23been in terms of my mental and emotional health and so I was expected to medal in three events at
14:28the Paralympic Games in Athens but I was the only member of the Australian swimming team to not make
14:34a final and it actually took me a decade to even verbalize that out loud because of the shame and
14:41the guilt and the stigma associated with that and it was traumatic for me, for my family who
14:49had traveled all that way to come and watch me compete, for my coach, for everyone who had been
14:52part of that support team to get to that point and then realize that I wasn't able to deliver what
14:59was expected of me because my mental health was struggling so much. On the other side of that
15:05I was also coming through the world of Paralympic sport at a very different time to what we see now.
15:10There was no funding, there was no sponsorship, so I was funding all of my trips. I was working
15:15while also training and so I was starting to build resentment to society I guess because I
15:22didn't understand why my career in the pool wasn't being taken as seriously as the people I was
15:28training with. I never trained with anybody else with a disability, only ever other elite athletes
15:33and so for me to see that you know we were being treated so obviously different was also impacting
15:41my mental health at that point and when I arrived in Athens you know there were no crowds,
15:48there wasn't that level of support and so I really struggled to understand why was I still
15:54doing this, who was I doing it for and you know Athens was the pinnacle but also my rock
16:02bottom in many ways as well. And a moment of realization I feel and you were so young, I mean
16:07going through all of that at such a young age it's asking a lot of you I have to say. I mean
16:13when you think about your kids and thinking about one of your kids going through that at that age
16:18you think I mean that's too much for a child to handle. I mean it's only fair for you to reach
16:24that point. I want to just go back to the point that you made about your mental health and going
16:32through anorexia and bulimia. I feel like that's something that affects all girls at that age,
16:37that body image, that struggle of looking like a cover model and it just it really gets to girls
16:43and I just wanted you to like say one piece of advice that you would have for girls that might
16:48be going through that struggle. I think we have to realize that we're not alone and that every
16:53generation has experienced it to some degree but we also need to know that we have the power in
16:59this day and age of social media to switch off and we have the power to choose who we follow and who
17:05we don't follow and so I do a lot of work with with young women and young teenage girls to be
17:10able to give them the self-confidence to find the power within themselves to make those decisions
17:15but it's a very very challenging because like you said I think we've all experienced that to some
17:20degree and if you don't have that level of resilience and self-respect built in and a
17:26strong foundation of that it can be very very easy to to compare yourself and to judge and then to
17:32find yourself trapped in a world of trying to change who you are in order to please other people.
17:38Of course precisely. Okay so now moving on to the new phase of your life. Now you are married with
17:45children and you have a new life here in Dubai. What made you come to Dubai? What are you doing
17:50here? We just want to get to know like so we we know about your childhood now briefly. Obviously
17:55there's so much more that we can get into but we know you're very busy so we're going to keep it
17:59short. Tell us about now like what are you doing now and how is it with with kids in Dubai you know
18:07preaching what you've what you've lived through and and helping young people going through such
18:12a tough time? I am so grateful for all the opportunities that I've been afforded after
18:17moving to Dubai. We've been here for nearly five years and like many expats we came for my husband's
18:22job initially. At the time I had two children. I then had my third child while I was here in Dubai
18:29and I noticed that there was an opportunity to talk about the complexities of diversity
18:36and inclusion because I felt as though disability wasn't really being discussed in those conversations
18:42and so you know other people might see that as a problem as an issue but I choose to see it
18:47as a fantastic opportunity for myself and everybody here to learn more and what's so amazing
18:53about the community in Dubai is that everyone's receptive to that and so it hasn't been difficult
18:59to have these conversations which I'm very grateful for. I talk to children as young as
19:05four years old right through to c-suite executives and board members about the importance of
19:10disability inclusion whether that's in society or within an organisation and so you know it's been
19:17a wonderful journey and what's interesting is it's the exact same message for all of those audiences
19:22just told in a slightly different way and I think for me children are the most exciting audience
19:29because they're so innocent and they just want to say what they see. I was just going to say
19:35they're always curious and they're very honest and they're very like they they have no filter
19:41exactly and I was just going to ask you like what are some of the questions that you were getting
19:44and how do you communicate that? How do you educate them? I want everyone to embrace that. We need to
19:51continue to ignite that level of curiosity that our children have because when they see me they
19:56I do look different. I only have one arm and so for a lot of them the first question is you know
20:02what happened and when I tell them I was born missing my arm a lot of them are like oh that's
20:06such a boring story and then you know I explained that my three brothers told some very elaborate
20:12stories about what had happened to me growing up and you know they laugh and it's a way to connect
20:17but I think what's really lovely is that you know I have a series of children's books which I use as
20:24that you know opportunity to connect first here's a story a beautiful story about a character with
20:30one hand and then they're able to see their connection with me but almost instantaneously
20:36once they know and once they've seen and asked their one or two questions they'll then find
20:42things about me that they identify in themselves or a family member so you will often have children
20:48say my mom has blonde hair or my mom has green blue eyes and it is so beautiful because we as
20:55adults often project our own fears or not often always project our own fears and our preconceived
21:01ideas onto our children but if we allow them the opportunity to explore curiosity and explore
21:07what's different without any intervention I think is really important so to give you an example
21:16when I'm at the park with my children there will always be another child that says mom mom
21:20that lady only has one hand and the response will nine times out of ten be shh and they'll pull
21:26their child away and what you do in that moment is you take away such a beautiful opportunity to
21:32simply validate what your child has seen so I always say to parents or guardians anyone with
21:37a younger child just to say yeah she does you don't have to explain it you don't have to justify
21:42it but every time you create a scene where a child feels oh well we can't talk about that now you are
21:49letting them know that there's something wrong with this situation there's something wrong with
21:53that lady with only one hand and so through my storytelling you know to audiences of all
21:59different ages I'm able to say it's okay to simply say what we see of course it's about respect and
22:06it's about having the right terminology but as children we can't expect them to know that and
22:11we can't expect them to develop that if they haven't been given the chance to at least say
22:15what they first see of course thank you I mean you mentioned a point that I was actually gonna
22:21you know highlight as well because growing up I know um maybe not growing up let's mention it
22:27my nieces saw someone on a wheelchair before and my mom was with us their grandmother so she's from
22:33a very old generation and I remember them asking saying like why are they sitting down or why are
22:39they being pushed and she said we don't say that don't talk like that and I remember them just
22:45wanting to know like what's happening like why why do they get to you know be rolled around but
22:49I'm walking on my two feet like they just want to understand and it's so taboo I mean I mean I
22:56come from an Arab family and these things are not proper you don't talk about these things don't
23:00point out someone else's difference and it did create a barrier growing up and I didn't want that
23:05for my nieces as well and I know that schools now are doing so much more with awareness so
23:10I appreciate what you're doing and I believe that you're a big part of that um because as you said
23:16like if the kids don't know at a young age and if they don't understand it how do you expect them
23:21to grow up and accept you know other people and to deal with other people not based on their
23:27disability but based on their abilities I mean to look past the disability I just I find that
23:32fascinating children are the key to building that future of inclusivity and yeah and inclusion
23:39and that's what I see now is that some of the more challenging conversations I have with adults who
23:44have been conditioned to think a certain way right and so for them to feel comfortable even talking
23:50to me about this you know you can see they're like I don't know what to say I don't know how to say
23:54it I'm like it's okay but let's give our children the opportunity to have those discussions at a
23:59much younger age so that these awkward conversations aren't taking place when we're in our 20s 30s 40s
24:0550s 60s but I do understand of course it's generational you know even growing up in
24:09Australia you know it's like people never want to offend and I know that it comes from a place of
24:14good intent and so I always have to remind myself of that as well is that you know people are wanting
24:19to make sure they don't say the wrong thing and so I'm mindful of that as well and also you know
24:25moving here to to this region I had some learning to do because growing up with parents that were
24:32very much like just go out and try and you know see how it goes and to then understanding that
24:39a lot of people even with a disability have never had that opportunity because of the way in the
24:44culture and of how they were raised which is totally okay as well so you know it's been really
24:51interesting for me to also take a step back and to be mindful and sensitive around the way other
24:56people have been raised with this idea of disability but of course that won't stop me from
25:02trying to position myself in a place of saying there's nothing wrong or evil about disability
25:08but it's something that we all have to work on you know mainstream media I was never represented
25:14in mainstream media you only and even to this day typically see disability portrayed as the
25:20villain you know and so our whole understanding of disability is associated or synonymous with
25:26less than or someone who is not correct there's something wrong with that scenario and we have to
25:33change that narrative. I have to change that of course. How was it with your kids? So my children are
25:39eight, six and three so they're young however the conversations are still really important and for me
25:47I do what I do in terms of trying to speak to as many children as possible because I don't want my
25:54own children to ever feel as though they need to protect or defend me like my brothers had to and
25:59so how do I do that? I do that by making sure that children everywhere feel comfortable talking about
26:04this so that my kids aren't excluded or bullied because of the fact that their mum is different
26:10so obviously to them it's just normal you know they know obviously that their mum has one hand
26:16or a robotic and cool new robotic hand and other mums don't but I'm very grateful that it's never
26:23been an issue where they have felt uncomfortable about that. I know that that's to come obviously
26:29because this is just how the world works and you know we're meeting different people and and again
26:34being able to prepare them as best I can and be the best role model that I can knowing that they'll
26:39face these challenges in their own life where my difference is seen as a negative in in their
26:47experience so I have to try and lessen that but for the time being I think that you know the fact
26:52that I am out there and I do visit their schools and so other kids know me and are excited by the
26:59fact that I visit the schools and I've got this cool new robotic hand it's it's an opportunity
27:04for everyone to be part of the conversation so I have to continue doing that for my kids.
27:09I love that okay and talking about your robotic hand so how do you like did it take time to get
27:16used to it? Did you have to do like I mean I'm talking from like an injury perspective like if
27:22someone's injured they have to do physiotherapy to get that muscle you know trained how was it?
27:27It's taken yeah no it is has been challenging I mean I've haven't worn a prosthetic limb
27:33or robotic hand or anything since I was about eight years old so I did try them again after
27:38I had my accident but at the time the technology was nowhere near as advanced as it is today and
27:43it was more of a hindrance you know when I was better off without it so for 30 years I haven't
27:49worn anything but I've been watching you know the advancements in technology around robotics and
27:54around prosthetics and also more importantly the way in which society is now starting to
28:00understand disability so I mentioned at the beginning we were looking at disability through
28:04a medical lens whereas now there's so much more discussion around looking at disability through
28:09a social lens and realizing that it's us and it's the environment that creates more of a disabling
28:16experience for somebody and so I was contacted by the company to trial this hand and I actually
28:21said no about three times because I thought I'm so far in my life I'm too old I don't need it
28:28but then I thought what if through my storytelling and through my journey I can be showcasing this
28:34for somebody else who doesn't have a platform to share theirs who may have had an injury have may
28:40have you know had an accident or a child now who's born missing their limb and has access to this
28:44incredible technology and so for me it's about another opportunity in the conversation of
28:51education and awareness around disability and what is so amazing is that kids aren't scared
28:57of this I think 10 years ago they probably would have been I think so too and you know but society
29:01is changing and so now when I go into a school that that is the coolest thing we've ever seen
29:06and so I'm like I have to keep wearing this because this now is another component to that
29:12really important conversation where kids are like wow she's half human half robot which is what is
29:17students said to me here in Dubai it's like you're a superhero well exactly and so imagine now that
29:23children are growing up with this idea that perhaps someone with a disability isn't at such
29:30a disadvantage you know wouldn't it be amazing if our whole perspective and idea around disability
29:36started to change because of how technology is advancing so quickly I mean I've been into the
29:41museum of future so many times and everybody thinks I'm part of the experience but I think
29:47that's great I think that's really exciting because you know it's something that kids can now
29:53be like kind of intrigued about which then goes on to the same conversation around diversity
30:02inclusion respect so it's just something that I'm and I'm excited to learn you know I'm learning all
30:07the time but it does get a little bit tiring it does it has taken some training but it's okay
30:13okay I mean as you said it's something that you've gone you know most of your life without
30:18so it takes some time to adjust it as anything anything exactly I don't I don't need it I can
30:23do everything without it but this is a cool and exciting opportunity for me to at least try I mean
30:28I've spilled many glasses of water trying to drink but that's all part of it and I think it's a
30:32learning experience yeah why not okay so other than children do you work with other people like
30:37do you work with people of disabilities and do you help facilitate opportunities for them I mean
30:43I know that you're a consultant so I just wanted to know a bit more about that yes so I do a lot
30:47of mentoring for other people living with a disability but the majority of my work is actually
30:52going into corporate organizations to change people culture so if we're wanting to employ
30:57more people with a disability we can't just put them in a position to tick a box because
31:01it won't have the longevity that that person deserves and the organization deserves
31:06so my role is to go in and to explain what is disability what is inclusion what are those is
31:12the right terminology which is forever changing by the way to ensure that the people within an
31:19organization feel comfortable with a person of determination coming in so that everybody can feel
31:25supported because what we tapped on before was that sense of fear and that level of awkwardness
31:30which then creates even more of a barrier for the person with a disability wanting to simply
31:35be able to fulfill a role and I think that it's important that people realize that
31:42there are so many qualified educated people living with a disability who simply haven't
31:46been given the opportunity you know I mean the same argument can be said for you know the gender
31:51equality debate that we're still having it's the same and I think that that's why what I say is
31:57if you don't have a if you don't have disability at your table you don't have diversity or inclusion
32:02and we need to be able to see to see this there's also I think it's about eight trillion dollars
32:08U.S. dollars of untapped residual income every single year that people are not making the most
32:16of because they're not not are they not employing people with a disability but the services that
32:21they're providing aren't inclusive and if I as a person with a disability don't have a good
32:26experience my family are less likely to you know engage with that organization and the products and
32:31services so when you put a value on that there's certain people that respond better to that you
32:39know so for me I'm trying to explain that there's a business case there's also a humanity case as
32:44well. Yes it's funny that you mentioned gender equality as well and gender equity in the workplace
32:50we had a guest last week who was talking about insurance policies that actually catered to the
32:55different people and it's it's different from a man to a woman to a person of a person of
33:00determination to someone with a certain background a medical is a certain medical history and
33:07I think that's the next step I think getting companies to personalize these insurance
33:13policies because it's not a one-size-fits-all certain people have different needs and different
33:19medical needs and I think that's another conversation that needs to be you know addressed
33:25as well. Absolutely I think organizations need to see that there's a benefit of making those slight
33:29accommodations for people and not looking at that as a cost but as an investment in the people in
33:36the organization. Exactly you get loyalty in return you get appreciation you get more out
33:41of the person yeah I mean it's it's it just comes full circle like it all feeds into each other
33:46okay last two questions and I will let you go I know that you're in a rush what's your advice
33:52to parents who might have a child with a disability and then the next question is to people
33:59with disabilities or people of determination. So for parents of a child or children with
34:05disabilities you have to find support groups absolutely and they do exist here in the UAE
34:12and all around the world but it makes that journey so much easier when you know that there's
34:17other people who can understand and identify the same struggles that you're going with because
34:23there are many many struggles for parents and it is financially on their relationship there's so
34:29many things that people just don't understand that add to the complexities of having children
34:33with a disability so to find those support networks but to keep active within those support
34:38networks it can be very easy to sort of retract and distance yourself when things get tough
34:43but by doing that it's prioritizing their own mental and emotional well-being which is crucial
34:49so reaching out to those groups and then what was the last question for people of determination
34:55I think you know it's about being brave enough to feel confident sharing our stories because
35:02the more we can share our stories and more people learn and the more people are able and capable
35:08and willing enough to be that little bit more accepting and understanding because people don't
35:12know what they don't know and I'm not saying that everyone with a disability needs to be an advocate
35:17or needs to be an educator not at all because I think the responsibility on the rest of society
35:22is to also appreciate that that you know I know I was born to challenge the status quo I know I
35:28need to be in this position to to be a voice for many others but it's because they don't have a
35:32voice of their own so if we can you know support one another and that's why there is so much of my
35:38time that I do give back to the community especially here in the UAE of people of determination to make
35:43sure that they know that there are other people fighting for them and just to to never give up
35:49and again for them to reach out to support groups and to be around people who understand what they're
35:55going through it makes a huge difference when you feel as though you're not doing this battle alone
36:01of course but just to add on that not that it's a battle I think that's important
36:05but the battle of constantly having to to fight and I think for me it was I always had to prove
36:12that I was the best at everything in order to counteract the fact that I had a disability and
36:16that's a unfortunate pressure that a lot of people of determination people with a disability feel
36:22and for those people to realize that you don't have to carry that burden either it's okay to
36:27simply be whoever you are. Yeah I absolutely get what you meant by battle because like I mean we
36:33we speak about support groups for women who are going through postpartum depression and it is a
36:38battle like it's it doesn't necessarily have to be something negative it's just a matter of getting
36:43the support that you need so it doesn't have to be a negative you know journey or a difficult one.
36:49Jessica thank you so much thank you for joining us it was lovely and we'd love to have you back
36:54if there's any new initiative anything that you want to talk about
36:58we'd always love to have you back thank you so much. Thank you.