Save the Date: May 23, 2023
Mark your calendars for our 2023 Convention! Close to 300 Marylanders with intellectual and developmental disabilities, family members, professionals, volunteer leaders, and partners from affiliate organizations and government agencies will join us for the big day!
The 2023 Statewide Convention and Awards Banquet will feature breakout presentations in exciting areas, the chance to network with other advocates around the state, and a celebration of our community leaders in improving the lives of adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
This year’s Convention theme is BElong. What is the value of inclusion if it is not meaningful? It is not enough for a person to be in an environment that is physically inclusive but emotionally exclusive. True belonging is the ultimate outcome of meaningful inclusion. When people belong, they can “BE” themselves without fear of judgment. They are welcomed by others. They are valued. They are meaningfully a part of something and when they are absent, they are missed!
Sponsor, Exhibitor, and Advertiser Opportunities Are Now Available
You can support the event and advertise your organization at the event in a number of ways to close to 300 attendees, including individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their family members, and DD Provider organizations. Click the button below to find out how to get involved!
Meet Our Plenary Speaker: Russell Lehmann
Russell Lehmann is an award-winning and internationally recognized thought leader, public speaker, poet, and advocate who happens to have autism. His words have been featured in the USA Today, LA Times, NPR, Yahoo! News, Autism Speaks, Success Magazine, and archived in the Library of Congress.
Russell showed signs of autism as a newborn, however, he was not formally diagnosed until the age of 12 after suffering through 5 weeks in a lockdown psychiatric facility. In 2011 Russell wrote a book titled “Inside Out: Stories and Poems from an Autistic Mind” which was featured in the LA Times, earned an Honorable Mention at the 2012 NY Book Festival, and won the award for Literary Excellency at the 2013 International Autistic People’s Awards in Vancouver, Canada.
Named the 2022 Advocate of the Year by the Autism Society of America, Russell currently travels the world spreading hope, awareness, and compassion in a raw and dynamic fashion, while also setting his sights on erasing the stigma and stereotypes that come with having a disability. Russell’s passion is to be a voice for the unheard, for he knows how difficult and frustrating it is to go unnoticed.
You can read more about Russell here on his website.
Thank You to Our Event Sponsors!
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