This week's podcast features an enlightening discussion with Leo Zuno from Options for All, a prominent organization dedicated to supporting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The core focus of our conversation revolves around the essential services provided by Options for All, which empower individuals to lead enriched, independent lives. We delve into the various programs available, including community engagement and supported employment, which facilitate social skills development and professional opportunities for participants. Leo shares poignant anecdotes that illustrate the transformative impact of these services, underscoring the importance of tailored support in fostering individual potential. Join us as we explore the significant contributions of Options for All in enhancing the lives of those in the disability community.

Takeaways:

• In this episode, we delve into the origins and mission of Options for All, which supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Leo Zuno shares stories of individuals who have successfully found employment through Options for All's supported employment program.
• The podcast highlights the importance of patience and understanding when working with individuals with disabilities, emphasizing tailored communication strategies.
• Listeners learn about the various programs offered by Options for All, including community engagement and tailored day services for individuals seeking independence.
• Leo Zuno illustrates the profound impact of supportive employment on individuals' lives, showcasing their journey towards meaningful social connections.
• We discuss the unique challenges faced by underrepresented communities in accessing resources and the critical role of advocacy in bridging these gaps.

Links referenced in this episode:

• optionsforall.org

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• San Bernardino County
• Options for All
• Disability In
• Abilities Expo
• Mercy Hospital
• SoCal Adaptive Sports
• Blue Bunny
• AGUIAR Professional Training
• National Orange Show
• Dawn Rao
• Supervisor Rao
• Rolling Start
• Northeastern
• Sona Par
• Kalispell
• Scott and Bo
• Scott and Tommy
• Trillion Dollar Industry
• Pro Image
• Netflix

The following is a productions original series.

Hello and welcome to Walk and Roll Live.

I'm Doug Vincent along with Addie Rich.

Our podcast is dedicated to amplifying the voices of the disability community.

I am a polio survivor and Addie.

Test cp Still,.

There's always our first pause of the.

Of the day.

And then we have another guest today that was coming by to kind of.

We do check out the studio today as an old radio colleague, Scott Ward.

How you doing?

Hello.

I am doing quite well.

Thank you so much for the invitation to be on the podcast.

So just in the outside chance that anybody that is listening that knows of your, you know, antics on.

On a local radio station, do we,.

Do we say the name?

Do we sidestep it?

You know, only out of, you know, I don't want it in my mouth, but.

Oh, but that's all right.

No, I had a wonderful, you know, 24 years.

And what did you end up with?

I was at 24.

2.

That must be the magic number.

That's when you get the golden ticket.

That's the magic marker when you get.

Kicked out of the airplane.

Yes, we both worked.

I got to know Doug when we worked together at K Frog Radio and.

In the Inland Empire and so kind of catch us.

Oh, well, first of all, he was part of the morning show, Scott and Bo and then Scott and Tommy.

And so catch us up.

What have you been doing since you don't get up early in the morning?

And after that, not.

Not too long after that, I had what I felt was a really good and unique opportunity to go to work for San Bernardino county.

And that was in a position with one of the elected officials I work for, specifically the Board of Supervisors, third district supervisor and board chair Dawn Rao.

And I have a number of roles.

I'm kind of a utility player.

I am communications director.

I do some field representation.

When she can't be at an event, I will go, cool.

Yeah, I, I will show up and speak or present a certificate or whatever the occasion needs.

I'm, I'm really.

I've gotten really good at smiling in pictures and eating lunch, so I do that.

And all those years in radio kind of helped you with that.

Right?

I.

And I also do some constituent services.

So when residents.

Yeah, when residents call our office and they're trying to find a solution for some sort of issue, we will try to get them an answer and connect them with the right resources.

So.

Very nice.

So, you know, all kidding aside, do you feel like your radio career kind of helped prepare you for a lot of those things.

Definitely.

That's one of the reasons why I felt it was kind of a unique opportunity for me because it allowed me.

This job allows me to use my existing skill set in a different way.

It's kind of apply it, especially with the appearances, the speaking, that sort of thing, and some other things that we learned along the way.

We were kind of shoved into social media early on when it was.

When people were still saying, what's a Facebook?

It was required for us to learn and learn how to post.

So some of those skills have.

Have come in handy for me.

And I've learned a lot about the government side of life then, since then.

So, yeah, so just adding to your knowledge base.

So, yeah, I like it, I think.

So I'm tagging in since I don't have a voice like either of you, but I worked for city of Atlanta for a number of years.

Oh, nice.

So I. I worked for the city council.

Okay.

So I was the front desk.

I was the person that, you know, had the panic button and had to, like, keep people out of the package.

But I learned a lot of that stuff.

I learned a lot of similar stuff to you because they talk to me first.

You don't get to a constituent service person or the council member without talking to me first.

So.

Yep.

I feel like we have kindred spirits.

Probably do.

And yes, sometimes you do have to kind of assess the need rather than just sending them straight to the boss, you know, and it's right.

Sometimes it's something that we can handle and you don't have to go straight to the top.

Exactly, exactly.

And I imagine poster childism helped me with that.

You kind of have to bet the validity of the.

The issue as well.

You want to hear people?

Yeah, definitely.

Yeah, you definitely want to listen.

And yeah, sometimes the need could be handled by another desk or another office.

But yeah, we do our best to listen to everyone, to not just dismiss and say, you know, and try to find you the resources.

And despite the reputation of government workers around the world, we really do want to try to help.

I can promise you I can speak for my office and the other people that I see across San Bernardino county offices.

They really do want to try to help people and help them figure it out.

Sometimes there isn't a solution, but you want to take a look and try to help people understand and walk them through the process.

Was there anything you missed from your days in radio?

And does this help?

Kind of scratch that itch if there is.

Well, I'm still.

I'll pull the curtain back a little more.

Yeah.

My creative itch is still getting scratched in a couple of ways.

I mix podcasts, I do a little bit of commercial voiceover production, although that's getting harder to come by.

That.

And I still, I recorded record a radio show for a radio station in Kalispell, Montana.

Okay.

So.

Oh, cool.

Yeah.

So I still get to, you know, I get to.

I keep my toes in the water, but my government job job with San Bernardino county affords me the opportunity to be a little creative too.

I do Supervisor Rao's newsletter every couple of weeks that comes out.

I keep social media and our website updated so, you know, I can have a little creative time doing that stuff.

Stand sharp.

Yeah, trying to.

Trying to.

I really do want to keep my skill set tuned up.

You know, I get to see Scott at least once a year because I go to a veteran celebration dinner.

Yes.

And.

And he's the emcee.

Does a great job at emceeing.

Thank you.

And now is that for.

And I know you're a supporter of veterans, but you know what, what brings you there?

You're.

Do I get paid?

Is that you want.

No, no, no, not yet.

I'm just.

What brings you there?

Is it your position with the county or is it your relationship with our good friend Leslie who's in marketing?

All of the above.

Yeah.

There's multiple reasons that particular event.

I was first asked by our friend Leslie, who is kind of organizing.

She's one of the organizers of that.

That really nice veterans event every year.

The.

The military appreciation dinner happens every April at the National Orange show in San Bernardino County.

If you're a veteran, please keep your eyes and ears open for that.

It would be an honor to have you in the room.

But yes, Leslie first asked me I.

Through working through for Supervisor Rao and the chair of the board.

That brings me a little bit of credibility since I'm no longer big time radio personality.

So yeah, that role with Supervisor Rao, and she is a military wife and so she is a big supporter of all things having to do with military and the veterans.

So she approached approves and, and yeah, I myself, I do want to find a way to say thanks to our vet.

So that.

Yeah, it's multiple reasons.

Yeah.

And if you are a vet.

Yeah.

Put that on your calendar.

Come on by.

No charge.

Yes.

Great dinner.

And we love on you like crazy.

So yeah, come on by.

Doug might even give you a bro hug.

That's right.

You got it right there.

And I guess time to turn to what we normally get together for the show.

Yeah, the show.

But great talking to you and.

And great catching up and all of that.

But usually we kind of catch up on our own little current events.

And I know you had a big week last week, Addie, so maybe kind of give us a little bit of an idea of what you went through or what you got.

I know.

I was like, that sounds like I got tortured.

I had the really lucky, amazing experience.

My parent company sent me to Disability Inn in Dallas, Texas, which is super cool.

It's a conference where, like, we went to Abilities Expo.

And that's much more like vendors with, like, little, you know, shows and different demonstrations and things.

This is much more like corporations coming together to talk about accessibility and representation in the corporate world and how it can be done better.

What's going well?

Like, it was just amazing.

Like, so many.

So many huge corporations having people talk about what's being done, having, you know, forums on what should be done, what is missing, all those kind of things.

Really, really, really cool.

I went to one called the Trillion Dollar Industry, and it was all about, like, basically how we talked, you know, a year ago or so about, like, how much disposable income the disabled community has.

And yet brands and businesses miss the mark in representing us and then wonder why we don't shop with them.

Super cool, super interesting.

Got a little hint at things that brands are catching onto and trying to do.

Met amazing people, made some really good friends, had some good laughs.

It was, I didn't want to come home.

I wanted to come home from my bed, but I didn't want to come home to get out of the group.

Right.

Yes.

So will you see them again at other events?

This is kind of an ongoing thing, right?

I mean, they do it once a year, but some of the connections that I've made, like, they definitely know about other events and things that were then, like, oh, you should fly to here and come to this with us, or whatever.

And Becky, who was on last week, Becky and I got to hang out, and Becky introduced me to another person that became a really good friend throughout.

So Becky and the new friend, Marissa, who works at Mercy Hospital, is their disability, like, coordinator and inclusion.

We're talking about a girls trip, so we're gonna make it happen.

Very nice.

And I know this was your first time sitting on a panel.

How did that go?

It was great.

It was great.

It was honestly, like, you know, when you have that moment where, like, the reason you went Is this moment I did my little blurb and talked with my cohort, Amy, who also works for Sona Par.

She works for Northeastern out of Boston.

And so I was like the California cohort, and she was the Boston.

But we each talked about caregiving and the importance of caregivers and stuff.

And I took my story side of it from everything that, like, you and my parents and people around me did so that they see the person that was sitting and speaking to them.

And afterwards, I had a line of about five people that wanted to talk, but in particular was this young dad who came up.

I was using my wheels.

He bent down next to me, which startled me, because most people don't do that to be like, even with you.

And he was like, I just really wanted to talk to you for a second.

I was like, okay.

And he immediately starts to cry.

And then I'm like, oh, why are you crying?

Don't cry.

It wasn't like that.

Amazing, you know?

And he was like, my daughter's two and a half.

She got.

She just got diagnosed with cp, and you made me realize she could have a life.

And I was like, can I touch you?

Can I hug you?

So I hugged him, and he just continued to, like, cry and talk about his wife and, like, how they were scared and all these things.

And I'm like, don't go to.

Don't be scared.

It's going to be fine.

But it's fine to be scared.

But you guys are good people, and the universe doesn't, you know, pick the wrong people to raise good people.

And we probably talked for 10 minutes, and then he had to go because he was gonna get kicked out of the hotel because he hadn't checked out yet.

But we exchanged.

We exchanged information and things, and that moment was literally like.

The room went quiet and was like, this is exactly why you're here.

Yes.

All the professional connects are fine and good, and I look forward to talking to all them.

But to make that dad feel like it's of kind to be okay, that is my life mission, and that is the mission of the podcast.

Right.

So, of course, later in my room, I cried, but I didn't cry.

There now.

Wow.

That's awesome.

That is awesome.

Yeah.

Well, keep us up to date on him, and I'm sure this sounds like it's going to turn into a lifelong kind of thing, and you'll be a mentor for his daughter at some point.

That would be awesome.

I hope so.

I mean, I. I did exchange.

Exchange information and say, like, you and your Wife are welcome to call me.

Like, we can do a zoom with your kid.

Like, I.

You know me, I'm pretty open.

And I was like, hey, yeah, let's.

Let's mentor her into being another me, because there won't be me always, you know.

Yeah.

And then she can pay it forward and show.

Exactly.

Now.

Oh, it's done.

Yeah.

Well, I don't know how to follow all that.

My goodness.

You know, I guess, Mike, in the last week.

Yeah, it was all right.

You know, we had a nice event out at the Veterans Village.

We got.

I wish I knew the name, but there was an organization that came out, and they're very fluent in many different services that they help the veterans community.

So they came out and set up a table, and then through Blue Bunny, we got ice cream.

So we were giving all the residents ice cream along with their milk and eggs and everything else that we give away.

Yeah.

So it was a nice day.

Yeah.

And then I want to say thank you to SoCal Adaptive Sports.

Mike and everybody over there.

They put together a thing with the Angels and got, like, 100 tickets that they gave away to anybody that wanted them that is affiliated with SoCal Adaptive Sports.

And we all went to the game yesterday, took a group picture, and actually saw an Angels win.

You know, I saw a unicorn.

It's pretty rare.

And against one of the best teams in baseball, the Brewers.

Yeah.

Yeah, we shot him out, so.

Okay.

Yeah.

Good.

Good day.

Good day.

When it was quite a bit cooler there in.

In Anaheim than it was, you know, where we.

A little bit.

So that was nice.

That was nice.

All righty.

Well, thank you, guys.

Thanks, Scott, for stopping by and turn the corner here.

We'll hear a word from Agar Professional Training, and then we got options for all with Leo Zunu coming up next.

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From the AGYAR Professional Training Studio, you're listening to Walk and Roll Live.

They put me on a pedestal.

I'm not here to Inspire I've got my flaws My highs, my lows My own heart's fire I laugh, I cry, I break I'm men just like anyone I'm not your symbol of courage I'm just me done I've got dreams that soar Fears that bind Moments of grace sometimes I'm blind I'm not your hero or your saint I'm real, I'm raw no restraint I'm more than a story more than your view I'm flawed and I'm brilliant I'm kind and I'm cruel I'll lift you up or let you down I'm a fighter, a lover A.

Face in the cold crowd all right, let's get to our interview today on Walk and Roll Live today we have Leo.

Let's let him introduce himself.

Yeah, sure.

So my name is Leo.

Well, my actual name is Leonel, but a lot of people know me from Leo because it's easier.

Okay.

And I work for a company named Options for All that is the main office is located in San Bernardino and we have Riverside and San Bernardino county, we cover all those counties.

And also in Norco, all in the Silicon Valley, San Jose, that area.

We also have an office there.

And we just celebrated a 40 year anniversary.

Next question.

How long has this been around and what brought it to be?

Yes, we just celebrated our 40 year anniversary and all started with a group of families in some in San Diego where there were, you know, fed up with not having the resources, not having anything for the kids after 80 years old.

So they started to create their own day program kind of thing.

And from that kind of idea then that's kind of options for was formed.

That's how a number of organizations like yours have, have, you know, rolling Start who I volunteer for and Thesis was all parent driven, you know, at the beginning because there were no services.

Yeah, well, it makes sense, right, because there's a lot of support when you are in school and like all the things that are kind of provided up until that point.

But it's not like the disability evaporates for a lot of people once you're 18.

It's not like, cool, well, you're cured.

Yeah, no, but it, but it is a lot of like, okay, you're not going to be able to do this exactly like other people do it.

So how do we help you do it in the way you can, right?

Yeah, exactly.

And so what is exactly the population that you serve?

It's any adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities with different diagnosis.

It could be autism.

It could be cerebral palsy, it could be down syndrome, just to name a few.

But they have to be 18 or over, and they have to be registered at the regional center because that's where we get a funding source.

Okay, cool.

So you work in conjunction with the regional center?

Yeah, we're vendors from the regional center.

Yes.

Makes sense.

So.

So we were talking a little bit before we started to record about the.

The families that you go out and visit, you know, and get connected with them through schools and that kind of thing.

In.

In.

You know, they're getting to that age where they're about to age out, and they didn't know even that the regional center exists.

So how do you get that far through the educational system without that coming up?

That's what I'm kind of wondering.

That's a good question.

And oftentimes.

Oftentimes I find out that it's the unserved communities, minorities, they really don't get that information because of the language barrier, because of transportation issues, because of many different things.

And it's kind of quite interesting because when I'm talking to them and I say, yeah, I have the, you know, the best program for you, the right program for your son.

And they're like, but how much is it?

And I'm like, no, no, you know, the regional center will pay for everything.

Like, what is the regional center?

And, you know, I paused because I'm like, wow, let's go back.

Let's go back and let's.

Let's see how we can help you.

And we have helped.

I don't know the exact number, but we have helped a lot of individuals.

Just recently, one, we helped a very smart individual that is diagnosed as autistic.

We help him apply, and we kind of, you know, walk him through all the process.

We never do anything for them because they have to enter their own applications and all that.

But I'm right there saying, this is what they coaching, right?

You want them to be as independent as they can be.

That's a.

That's awesome.

So he just got accepted about three months ago.

So I meet with him, and I was very excited because he has so much potential.

You know, when you see somebody and you see their.

Their f. They're wanting to, you know, eat the world, they wanted to do a lot of stuff.

And it was so sad to hear from this individual that I met, you know, about probably two years ago that he said, no, you know, every time I go to work, I get fired because I get anxious and I have this problem that Sometimes I steam and they don't like that.

And so they fire me.

And I'm like, my God, what about getting a coach?

And then that's when we find out he didn't have those services and all that.

I talked to the mom and all that.

So we just helping to get all the information, the type of information, because that's another thing, you know, get the information that's going to help you because if you don't provide the right information, you're going to get denied.

Yeah, waiting.

Yeah, that's for some reason the regional.

That's what they're waiting, you know, to maybe, you know, find something to deny.

So we try to eliminate the chances for that to happen.

So we just help him.

And he got his, his, he got accepted and, and now he belongs to one of our programs, supported employment.

He got a job in Walmart.

He got the job on his own but was struggling.

So we went and supported.

And we're in the process right now of like, getting everything situated because it's, it probably, it's about two, two months or so that he got the approval.

So other people must see his potential, too.

He seems like he doesn't have any problem, you know, finding and attaining the job.

It's just making sure that he gets over those barriers so he can continue.

Yes.

Sorry, Daddy.

Like, you know, he, he portrays himself very smart in the conversations, very articulate, and he will easily get hired.

But when there's these observations here and there.

And then he was working for, for a company where the, the same customers made a complaint about something they didn't get.

Yeah.

In time.

And, and so that kind of got him fired from that.

But hopefully now that he works at this, at this job, with the support, he's able to kind of, you know, cope with those challenges that he.

Yes.

Yeah.

Well, and especially with autism, like, there is some disconnect in like reading social cues and different things like that.

Right.

So even if we say just do it, you're not going to just do it.

Like, the social cue is missing.

So you need the coach to be like, hey, if somebody's face looks like that.

Yeah.

It's actually signaling that they need X.

Right.

Because it's not read the same way.

But a lot of people don't have patience for autism because they're just like, well, they're just being ignorant or they're just, they're not being patient or they don't.

If.

And it's not.

We shouldn't have to tell people, like, we'll just Tell them you're autistic.

Well, you shouldn't have to do that.

We should give them tools just like we give me a wheelchair or a walker to do the things.

This is a different kind of support.

But if you've never heard of it, how do you know that you're missing it?

But then when you get it, it's like the missing link.

That's why we need to get more people in the workplace with, you know, those kinds of disabilities.

So it's more commonplace than people.

Because I'm imagining that those same people would probably have a little more grace if, if they knew, you know, but they shouldn't, they shouldn't have to be told.

We would like to get them to the place where, you know, it's just an option that you think about, you know.

Well, sometimes, sometimes in my position also help a little bit with the hiring process.

And you have to walk in when you're hiring a person with the mentality that not everybody communicates the same, not everybody learns the same, not everybody has all these abilities that you wanted to see.

But if you, you know, present information in different ways, if you see that there's not a respondent presented in a different way, maybe, maybe the, the learning style is different from what you're saying.

Maybe it's visual, maybe is auditory, maybe is different.

You know, yeah, it will be.

We will have a better, a better chances to help these individuals if we all have that mentality.

But that's what we come in in support.

We work with the, with the supervisors to kind of teach them how to work with them.

And then at the same time, they're learning for the future people that come and are able to apply on themselves, but they don't have that type of support.

Maybe they don't, they don't qualify for the support regional center, but they already had the experience working with this individual and learning from the coach that there's other ways they can work with it and it will be efficient and it will be meeting their standards.

So that's what I love about this job.

Not only with individuals that you work, but also with a community at large.

Sometimes you walk in this type of field that you're going to help these individuals to become better.

But when you walked out or when you see it in a different perspective, they're teaching you something patience like you don't know.

I was the most impatient person and I, I'm still, I'm still am with my family and they always complain, right.

But I.

They have taught me how to Be patient.

When I go in the.

In the community and I see somebody struggling with something, my mind goes immediately, something's going on that it's not.

It's not.

This person is not able to cope.

Maybe what's going on with the noise, with the lighting, whatever.

Yeah.

So I just approach and say something.

Okay, do you need any help?

Sometimes the response is positive, sometimes it's not.

But at least you kind of put it out there.

There's people that can help.

The helpers.

Yeah.

How long have you been doing the job, Leo?

I've been doing this, working in this type of field for more than 25 years now, I was gonna say.

And you strike me as this is a life work.

So I was like,.

It's my passion, to be honest with you.

And it all comes with, like, a personal experience.

My.

My brother has, we believe, is autism.

He has never been diagnosed, but all the traits of his behaviors and.

And his personality, from the experience that I'm.

From my conversations with neurologists, he has that.

And the way we help him and the way I help him, because I'm involved in this, it's different now, and it's a different way to support him.

Sometimes I'm not, you know, the best brother for him because I'm the one pushing in different ways for him to be as independent as possible.

But it started there when I was a kid, and I saw my mom going through all these problems because he was kicked out of the classrooms because he was very, very anxious.

He had, like, attention deficit disorder, and he was very hyperactive.

And it was.

It was really different from the other kids.

So, you know, I saw my mom going to school and fighting with school directors to keep him in school and all that.

And when we were growing up, we see the difference when we try to use common sense with certain things.

He's very smart with certain things.

But then we didn't understand why this simple thing of, like, you know, sweeping the floor, it was so hard for him.

But then if you get one of those model cars and put it apart, he's able to put it back together.

You're like, how does that happen?

But it.

That's the way their brain kind of functions.

So that's.

That's how I, you know, kind of got my first connection with the field.

And I decided when I have the opportunity, I saw kind of the joy that brought me of working with these individuals.

And, you know what?

Whatever little thing you do with them, for them is it's a big change on their own personal Life.

So that's why 25 years of starting with this.

And if you ask me, I still love it.

Yeah.

Which is amazing.

I can, I can see that in you talking about it.

And you know, like you say with minority populations, I mean, no matter the population, disability is a difficult topic for many, but bring it to like the, to, you know, minority populations and it's even more different.

I, My ex husband was from Argentina, so.

I understand.

Like, you just don't talk about that.

Yeah.

As well.

Right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's like a family, some families feel embarrassed or like, you know, we don't want the, the rest of the, the family of the rest of the world to see my kid because he doesn't behave like anybody else.

But they didn't have the knowledge that they were ABA therapies or some kind of therapies that will help and kind of able to cope with those challenges that they had and.

Right.

And that's when we kind of come in through, through the ground with DDS that we, we go and help the people find those missing pieces of connection, of support so that they can help their kids.

And, and you know, I wonder.

Leon wanted to circle back a little bit just to clarify some things.

There are services up until your age 22, is that right?

No, no, no, it could be.

Somebody can be like 70 and still be in our programs.

That's what they wish.

We actually have a couple of people that are, are, that are seniors, but they still want to be active.

And you know, later on, if you let me, I'm going to share with you a couple of, of very amazing stories of people that, you know, they're ready to retire.

Like, you don't need to come to program anymore.

Maybe, you know, because of their age and the limitations you have is, you know, safer for you to stay home.

And they will be like, no,.

I know there's, you know, there's kids that even if they're 18, that they can continue high school until, you know, with the special ed program.

Until 22.

Right.

Yeah, yeah, 22.

But as long as they've got their, their benefits through IRC before 18.

Exactly.

Right.

Then it continues.

Okay.

Yeah.

So Then all that I just wanted to clarify.

Good, good.

Yeah.

And do you have day programs?

Say that again.

Do you have day programs?

Yes, we have four.

Four day programs now that we offer.

We have the regular or I would say the most popular program after they graduate from high school, whether it's 18 or 22, is the community engagement program.

And this program is good because you know, coming out of a very protected environment on school, sometimes their social skills are not up there in dealing with that community.

So they start out maybe not being great and then they never get a chance to practice them.

So they don't really advance.

Right.

Yeah, right, right.

It's.

And, and usually they go in large numbers of, of, of, of students out in school.

So it's, it kind of limits the, the staff to really work with them.

Yeah, right.

For if you're one teacher and one aide and you got, you know, 16 kids, good luck with.

Yes, yes.

Within this program, we have three individuals with one coach.

And it's, it is.

We pair them with a balance of support so that there is not all of them need the same type of support because it will be overwhelming for the coach.

We want to make sure that experience going now and learning whatever is social skills, safety skills or regular life skills, that it will be very efficient with the coach, coach and the other, the three individuals.

So it's three.

We provide transportation and it's Monday to Friday, but we do a day.

And the individuals have the chance to practice very different life skills.

How to make a purchase, how to count money if they don't have the skills.

And it's kind of like a preparation for whatever other goals they have.

Some individuals already have those skills, so they're referred to another program that could be maybe one on one for very specific goals.

Like I want to go to college, for example.

We do have a program that helps with that.

Some individuals come from high school saying, hey, I want to be an actor, I want to be a singer, I want to be a magician.

I want to be all this kind of career choices that in the past, people will pause and will say, how is that going to happen?

Right.

If you, yeah.

Get a job doing that, how are you going to live?

Yeah, I know.

Yes.

You have problems interacting with other people.

How are you going to do a magic show for everybody?

Right?

And that's when we come in because our program is, is established so that we help people to make those dreams come true.

It may not be that they're going to do a show in Vegas with being magicians, but we find in a way for them to fulfill that, whether it's different ways and, and the same is for their employment.

Sometimes we get requests when we say, well, why you want to work?

What type of field?

And they will say, well, I want to be an astronaut.

And then we take a deep breath and I said, okay, let's dig into that, because maybe for them as being an astronaut means working on a place where they talk about the solar system, where they have books related to.

To all the planets and all that.

Maybe that's what they're saying.

Oh well, they have.

Where they can work some type of uniform similar to that.

It's.

It's so different.

So we have to really dig in to investigate the reason why you're like,.

Tell me what it is you like about that.

And then you find an attainable job for them.

Exactly.

And we expose them to different environments so that we can see their reaction and see what exactly they mean when they say, I want to be an astronaut.

And then that's when we start.

And somebody's dream may not match the reality.

You know, something they wanted to do.

I want to be a vet or something.

And.

And you take them to the shelter and they're like, this is not for me.

You know, can go that way.

Yeah, that has happened to us too.

Yeah.

So, yeah, so that's the community engagement program.

It's very useful for those individuals that I kind of wanted to get their fit into what the real community life is.

And we started to promote relationships with, you know, the donut shop near their house or the.

The grocery store or you know, the liquor store, whatever.

Whatever stores, whatever business around their.

Their house.

We started to make those connections even just to stop to the store and buy a bottle of water or whatever.

Right.

We encourage the individuals to go and say, hey, my name is.

So you know, I live around here and I like to start whatever.

Right.

To make that connection.

And also, you know, we started.

We also promote ways for them to move around.

If they capable to do public transportation, we might do that also.

But we provide transportation regardless.

But if somebody wants to do that, then we kind of connect with either other program or an agency that provides that very specific.

In the bus companies, I think they offer that training for people with disabilities to navigate that.

Yeah.

Yes, I believe access do that.

And there's another one that I don't remember the name, but we have had people that wanted to do that.

And even though the family say no because safety is always a big concern for all of us.

Right.

Yep.

When we're right.

When we write public transportation.

But have you heard of butterfly?

No, no, that's a.

That's a new one that's coming on.

I'll share it with you after we.

Yeah, more.

You know, it's.

It's almost like a Uber model where it's, you know, A to B instead of a group ride.

Yeah, yeah.

So I'll share that with you.

That will be, that will be good for those who have a job because part of the regional center requirement for those in our program for supported employment, they have to provide their own transportation.

Gotcha.

Yeah.

Right.

And it looks, it looks different ways.

Maybe the parents are providing transportation or maybe they using Uber Lyft or Access or some of them public transportation also.

Yeah.

So what are some other programs?

The other program is the one that I was mentioning, Tailor day services.

And this, this is, this is like alternative program for those who don't want to be in a group setting is more one on one.

It's individual and it's only part time.

And it gives the participant or the client the flexibility to still do their life but then have these hours of support in the areas that they want.

It is very person centered plan that is developed with the help of the family, the regional center and the program to find out exactly what the participant wants to do.

And that's what this, the areas that we, you know, that we provide the support for.

It does, promotes greater independence because they're one on one.

But the coach will prompt them to do, oh, go ahead and ask for an application.

Right.

But the coach will stay behind and he has to do or she has to do the whole task on their own, asking for an application or asking direction or how to apply for the job.

Because we do that too.

We do employment training and all the programs.

And.

They can get help if they want to continue with post education like going to college or going, you know, eventually to university, whatever, we can provide support for them.

It looks a little different because now most of the college let the coach go in for, you know, privacy issues or confidentiality.

So we had to stay outside.

But we still communicate with the, with the instructor if needed in terms of, you know, to help individual complete whatever assignments they got.

And it's always with guidance.

We never do anything for them.

They have the option to volunteer also if that's what they want.

If they wanted to get a job in the future, they have the option to volunteer and whatever field, whatever industry they want so they can gain that experience.

And it's like I say, very flexible sketch scheduling and it, there's a lot of social skills development on this one because they go out in the community most of the time so they're able to interact with their own community and know what's around.

Maybe they didn't even know if they want to be an actor.

They didn't know there was an acting class within miles you know, with the, you know, walking distance, maybe from their house.

So it's kind of that, that job of connecting them, whatever resources they have in their community.

And for those who want this specific support, then that's when we provide, you know, getting acting classes, getting singing classes or going to college.

And that's kind of this program.

It's very specific to the unique needs and goals of the individual and is one on one.

Go ahead.

It reminds me a lot of like Big Sisters, Big Brothers, but for people with disabilities, right, like that you kind of have a mentorship and you know, a place to bounce things off of and someone to kind of go, you got it, you got it.

You know, I mean, in some ways that's what Big Brothers, Big Sisters kind of does.

For people that don't have those mentors.

And support, then do you have space where they come into for some of the programs, you know, in your office or is it all out?

They're all community based, but we do have an office.

They usually only come whenever they need to see like a, a safety video of some sort of.

They need to have their meetings or some of them say, hey, I want to go see, you know, that director or, or the other managers because, you know, everybody kind of knows everybody and we do that as more of a social activity.

But all the programs are, except for the filming media that I'm going to talk about that.

But they're all community based.

They go out most of the days out in the community and when they are inside is because they're doing some type of volunteer work work or they are at a library or simply having lunch somewhere.

But it's mainly out in the community doing different activities.

So any services for participants that are, you know, getting, you know, to the, the fall and winter of their lives, so to speak, in their 60s, 70s and don't want to go out into the community, but they might want to get, you know, some socialization.

Yes, yes, we do have.

Actually we have individuals, we have an individual.

And I was going to share that on the kind of success stories, but I'm going to share with you right now.

We have an individual that because of his age, he recently, he fall, he felt in his home.

And so everybody in his circle, support said, you know, maybe, maybe you should kind of tone it down in the community involvement.

Just stay home because you're, you're, you know, you're getting older and it's going to be a lot of safety concerns.

And he's like, no way, no way.

I still want to do something.

So, you know, it took some time to really find out what that would look like, because obviously going out too much into the community, walking and all of that was not possible.

So we were able to find him a volunteer position at a library where he will help with, like, history books and all kinds of different books that they have, but mainly the history section.

And you see him happy now.

And.

And he's like, I can't believe I didn't know that I would like this type of job.

I'm sitting down, but I'm.

I'm putting stuff away.

I'm organizing this and all that for other people to help me to put that away.

And, you know, so he found another purpose after that, but took for some of us to really see.

Maybe I didn't say some of us because I. I didn't have much to do with it, but, you know, my colleagues, it took for.

For them to see.

To see the whole picture, see things in a different way.

Not just see the barriers, because that's kind of.

Sometimes, you know, we're human.

Sometimes we see that first.

Yeah, but see the possibilities.

Right.

And we have.

We have a model here in our programs that we change the challenges into possibilities.

And that was one of the examples of.

Yep.

So that's.

That's one of the examples that, you know, they did that.

They were able to do that for.

For this individual thinking outside the box.

Right, Exactly.

You know, and he's happy.

But we do have.

We do have several seniors.

They're still part of our program.

Obviously, we always take safety in consideration before making any decisions.

And we want to make sure that everybody.

It's okay.

But we pushed.

We push people to change their mentality, especially, you know, the support staff that they have sometimes families.

We have to kind of walk him through the process of how that new lie or new position will look like.

So you touched on the film and media program.

Give us a little bit more detail about that.

That's an amazing program.

I. I love going to tour that program because you see the individuals in that program and how there's.

This one is more like a classroom setting or a studio setting.

There's different studios, and different abilities are practiced on each of the studios.

They promote creativity there because some of the participants walk into this program because it's cool working with technology, working with cameras, lighting, and all that, but they're not sure they're gonna like it.

And then they start loving it once they get exposed to all different things that they can do.

And, you know, if they Allow these participants to practice so many skills.

One of them that I have observed is the teamwork.

You know, how most of the individuals in the spectrum, they really tend to isolate and themselves, they really don't want to socialize.

Yeah.

So this program kind of not force them, but kind of encourage them to do that.

You're working on a project.

You have to make sure that the set, the decoration of the set looks like we put it them on the picture, remember?

So you are going to work with so and so to do that.

And this is going to be your test.

So they work together, they communicate with themselves and know that and.

And I like to see that because I went and take.

And I, you know, I can invite you whenever you want to take a tour of that.

Of that program.

It's amazing to see how the.

The participants.

And there's so many aspects to that.

You know, there's the writing and like, you say camera work and production and editing and, you know, directing.

Yeah, there's so many aspects, you know,.

And sometimes I think you have to.

You don't have to love it all to love one aspect of it.

Go ahead, Eddie.

Well, and you have to hide it too, because you're not like, oh, you're gonna go talk to Joe about blah, blah, blah, Right.

Like, they're like, oh, I don't talk to other people.

But you're like, hey, I need you to work with your buddy because we need this shot.

So it's a team.

It's a team goal.

It's a skill that is being not expressed as a certain specific title.

So they're more comfortable with that.

You know, it was funny.

I was hanging out with a group of friends this weekend, and there's.

There's a few that are neurodivergent in there.

Right.

Like, to where I'm kind of like sitting at the table and people start stimming and doing different things.

And I thought, like, never in my life would this happen, like 20 years ago.

Also, because it's been so much more talked about and acknowledged that, like, there are slides on the spectrum of different things and stuff.

I literally, I tend to be the observer sitting there and I was like, literally just watching the table and, you know, different.

One girl, like, she has real hard time with eye contact.

So once she starts talking, we all kind of just let her talk.

Even if she's looking at the table, she's talking to us, you know, and different things like that.

So it is, it is.

It is amazing because we, like you say we don't put it in, in, in a, in a way of like, they feel like they have to do that.

It's like, hey, you know, we'll working on this, on this project.

It will be great if you can help so and so or if you can go and show them what you did.

Some of the individuals have the ability to write script.

You know, they ask them could you want to write a story?

And they don't know they're writing a script, but they doing it.

And then we have other individuals that you show them whatever this person wrote and they edit it to make it fit for whatever project they're working on.

And that's how the ideas kind of come over.

They have, they have produced a couple of.

Whenever you have a chance, if you go to the website, there's a couple examples there of the, of the work that they have done on producing and they were together with different big companies that have different platforms like Netflix.

I think there's one called Pro Image, if I'm not mistaken.

Did they give them the opportunity to.

They give them assignments to do and so they come up with the assignments finished and the reviews are very good.

And you know, a lot of people come out with that program because it's only a temporary program.

It's only for.

It's by semester and it's only 20 semesters.

I think it's about two years.

The program.

They only, they can only be on that because the waiting list is long.

So we have to give everybody a chance.

Your popular programs, huh?

Very popular program.

Yeah.

I wouldn't be on that program if you asked me.

It's.

I know, right?

You're like, well, I just live vicariously because it's super cool.

And I think that's, that's part of the cool thing.

I, I have learned about all these different people we talk to too.

It's like the human mind.

If we made like a whole universe of it.

Nobody has the same two thoughts.

And like people with autism and things are like so creative because they're not bogged down and all like the social nuances that we all are.

Yes.

They think of the coolest stuff and you're like, okay, yeah, you can't figure out how to put, you know, to put your clothes in the washer, but you just solve something that like people have been trying to do for 10 years and they don't see it as any big thing, but it's because they're using a different part of themselves or they're not dealing with social graces.

They're Just gonna say it, you know,.

A part of themselves that other people don't recognize.

Sometimes that may be very helpful in the workplace too.

For sure.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And then those.

Go ahead.

I was just gonna say you have another program, SA&E project.

So what's.

What is that?

That's the Supported Employment.

Okay.

Supported Employment.

That program helps the individuals they pro.

They already have previous training on.

On how to, you know, fill up the application, how to conduct themselves on an interview, practice different work skills, like, you know, how to work as a team, how to follow directions for the manager and all that.

So when we find a job that individual ones name it, you know, a Walmart Target or a restaurant or an office, a doctor's office or, you know, any type of job.

Excuse me.

Maybe I have to turn out my excitement.

Yeah, that's all right.

Yeah.

Everybody's like, hey, slow down, man, slow down.

So we finding the job and then we provide support 100% of the time at the very beginning.

Yeah.

And then has.

Has this person is learning the task.

We start slowly fading out according to the feedback that we get from the manager, from the coach, and for everybody involved, including the.

The participant, obviously, where we all kind of feel comfortable fading up a little bit.

And we have different jobs, different companies that work with us.

I can, I can share one that.

It kind of personally touched me because I knew this individual.

We're going to call him Adrian for just the purpose, but that's not his name.

But, you know, this.

This individual had a really big issue socializing or interacting or having any type of relationship with anybody other than outside his home and always being that person that you will find in a corner, including in his house, you know, playing his video games and all that.

Very smart individual.

But that was his thing.

And when he decided that he wanted to have a job, we help him find a job at.

At a restaurant.

And it was.

It was through.

Through the community engagement where we can find a group employment because it could be a group or it could be an individual.

So this one, to make everybody in this group feel comfortable that their friends were there too and they were going through the same thing.

They were going.

We find a group employment at a restaurant and, well, we don't get to tell the manager, well, you should put that person in here, you should put that person in that, because they're not going to listen to you.

They put whatever they needed, right.

So they give him the position to be the host, to be in the front of the store.

And obviously I was supporting.

I was part of the support in that group.

We took a deep breath and I say, oh Lord, there's a challenge coming.

But you know, we all kind of put our minds together and we find a way to slowly helping him.

And he managed to kind of go through all, to kind of win over all those challenges and slowly was able to talk to the people now, you know, people starting to know him by name because he was very friendly with them.

Hey, how are you?

And they started to have conversations, finding out that there's a lot of in common with them and he didn't know that there was people that they like whatever he likes.

Right.

So we were in the back kind of pushing him a little bit to do those type of interactions.

And I can say right now that he's just celebrating his eight year anniversary on the, on the restaurant.

Yeah, amazing.

He has got recognition for providing understanding customer service support and this.

The regular customers will come to the, to the restaurant and say, hey, where's Adrian?

He didn't come today.

What happened?

So yeah, people really kind of miss him when they go.

And that's kind of the goal, that's kind of the goal for, for us when we, when we find them a job to make sure that people know what they're capable and what a difference they can make in their job.

Because now people come because they want to talk to, to Adrian.

They want to have that conversation with this person.

But that's what the supported employment do also.

It could look like a group or it could be individual.

I bet you Adrian is experiencing that in other parts of his life, you know.

Right.

It's not just isolated.

I was going to say that.

Yeah, yeah.

We get comments from the families say I cannot believe now he comes out of his room.

Like he, we used would do that only if we force him.

But now on his own, he comes out of the room and, and shares his everyday experiences.

I met this person, his name is.

So he has a kid that loves the same video game I have or he has a kid that's into having a, A, you know, one of those plastic pulls on the back of the house.

He, he was into that some, you know, at some point and, and he find very interesting that people still like that.

Yeah, that's great.

So when, and then you make that connection and, and, and that's, that's what's really rewarding to hear the family say, hey, you know, not only at work, we've seen it right here.

He wants to go out with us.

Obviously has to be related to what he really likes, but he's now more willing to participate at home than before.

And that's what it's all about.

Because we want to make sure that they translate or they transfer those skills to their personal life.

Yeah, for sure.

So they can become more independent.

So that, that's the amazing thing that happens with this program, that they can do that.

And, you know, that's where I love my job flourish.

Yeah.

Another question about coaching, too.

I know the goal is for them to, you know, be on their own and independent without the coach, but if there's an individual that still needs, you know, maybe they've got them to less and less coaching, they're still going to be there if needed, right?

Yes.

Once we get to individual, be as independent as possible.

The coach still comes maybe once a week and connects with him and the.

And the, the supervisor to make sure that everything's fine.

Yeah, but we don't fade the.

The coaching part 100%.

No, we're still.

So we'll go maybe twice a week, maybe once a week, depending on what the participant feels comfortable.

Because some of them say, yeah, I don't want my new friends here to know that I have a support person.

No, no, no.

If you want to come, just stay over there.

My crazy uncle ordering pizza.

Yeah.

Or something.

I don't know.

Yeah.

So if people are listening to this and they hear what we've had to say and they want this for their child or their family member, how do they.

How.

How do they go about it?

And two.

Oh, four.

Sorry, I don't know my numbers.

Well, you never have to call yourself.

It's all right.

That happens to me all the time.

Like, wait, what?

And then they can go to optionsforall.org board and they have all kinds of information, and they can also go to referrals or ask for Leo Zuno.

And they will, you know, they will contact me.

You'll take care of it.

Good, good.

In anticipation of this interview, I put it on our website, our resources page, so you can look for it under.

I think I put it under neuro, diverse help, that kind of thing.

So, yeah, that'll help you out.

Do you want to.

You want to pose our last question?

Oh, me daddy.

Yes, sure.

So obviously you were telling us in the beginning that, like, this is close to your heart because of your brother and like him getting similar services that has made him grow into more who he is.

And I I have a sister as a person with a disability, so I would love to hear what your favorite thing about having somebody with a disability is in your life or in a way that they may have.

Because there's a him.

It's a better you.

Well, it's.

It's so many things, honestly, but I think the ability to kind of just stop for a second because I have to.

I have to present information in a different way.

I.

And it kind of helps me in my personal life because now my friends, the friends that know me from the past, and they see me, you know, later or now, they're like, oh, my God, you.

You're not.

You now talk different.

Like you're still at work, but, you know, you never know.

You now.

And then you see people that have a disability, but you never know.

But patient is one of the things also that he has t me that.

That.

And don't give up because I have to make sure that him and, And.

And the.

The individuals that I work with, you know, they get help some way or another.

And maybe like in my brother, sometimes it's hard for me to, you know, get through him because he see me like the authority figure, and sometimes he doesn't want to do anything to do.

Right.

The oppositional, defiant, like, just as you said.

So I'm not eating that, but if you leave, I will eat the whole thing.

Yeah, exactly.

So I have to first learn not to take it personal because we're humans, right, and just kind of go around it and fight other partners in crime that can go and present the information with their own way.

And that has been successful.

So.

And that kind of helped me also in my personal life.

You know, sometimes you're like, well, if he doesn't want to talk to me, you know, walk away.

And, you know.

Yeah.

But now I. I kind of just stop and say, you know, maybe they're going through something, so maybe I can put it in a different way or approach in a different way.

So.

But it has t me to.

To just be more patient to.

And, And.

And to communicate differently and to.

To kind of see, see, observe the people and see if they, you know, they might need it for me to present information a different way.

Perspective.

So he is the bearer of perspective and patience.

Two P's, I guess.

Yes.

Not.

We're not.

We're not built the same.

Exactly.

And that's okay.

Yeah.

And thank goodness that's okay.

And, you know, I always say I might have a disability or I might have something.

We all have a little something.

Because that we do in, In.

In our line that we don't know, but other people might notice.

So we all part of everything, so.

But I want to take a moment to really mention that I really admire what you guys do.

I. I saw some of the episodes you got, and I was, you know, blow my mind.

All the information that you provide for, for this, for this feel for this community.

And you know, by watching this, it kind of teach me that, you know, disability looks in so many different ways.

It doesn't have to be in my field, you know, the intellectual and all that.

It's so many, so many different ways to see it.

And every person has their unique way of dealing with and.

And by you guys providing the voice and the resources and all that, I'm sure you're making such a big difference on their life.

So thank you.

Yeah, we make a lot of friends.

We make a lot of new friends.

Yeah.

I am spoiled to ride on Doug's coattails as the honorary daughter who gets to do it with him, but, you know, he had the foresight to start it.

Yes.

A great addition.

A great addition.

Yes.

That kind of allows you this type of work to really meet people that you connect with.

Yeah.

Because sometimes when I wouldn't with my.

I have very few friends and when I'm with them, sometimes when I'm talking about my work, they don't understand.

But then when.

When I meet other people and they understand, like, oh, cool.

Yes.

Someone weird like me.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

100.

Well, we made a new friend in Leo Zuno from Origins for all and thank you for joining us here on Walk and Roll Live.

We're appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for inviting me.

Absolutely.

Each week on Walk and Roll Live, we share honest and open stories of people living with a disability.

I was into aggressive rollerblading.

I was skating half pipes, jumping stairs, grinding rails.

Okay.

And like, there's one moment where we're skating to like a fast food restaurant and I was visually following my friends.

I didn't have enough, like distance or preview.

There's a change in texture.

I'm an asphalt.

And then horns are honking their horns.

I had crossed the street on a wreck.

Join us weekly for another powerful episode, Walk and Roll Live.

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From the Agya professional training studio.

You're listening to Walk and Roll.

Thank you to Leo Zuno and options for all.

For all the great information.

What do you think?

This was an awesome story and it shows that that, like, when somebody has a true passion for what they're doing, it's not a job.

You can tell sitting with him, this is not a job.

This is a life that he loves.

Yeah, it sounds like maybe his colleagues are having to tell him, you know, time to go home now, Leo.

Yeah, exactly, exactly.

I think it's like this cleaning people are turning the lights off and he's not gone yet.

And then they're like, hey, I got a lock up.

Are you going to leave or, you know, which is me.

Oh, go ahead.

No, I was just going to say if you, if you heard anything in there that might affect you or might help a loved one, they're on the website.

Just go to the resource page and search options for all and you'll go right to it.

Yeah, for sure.

And I mean, I think that that's the thing too.

We're joking about him never leaving the office, but I think it never leaves his heart.

So he does never leave the office, right?

Absolutely.

It's just the, the building does not contain him and his skill set and his love for people.

And I think that that is the best kind of people to have in those positions.

Yes.

In a non profit, those are the kinds of people you're looking for, you know, and you kind of have to keep an eye on them because sometimes they'll, they'll go too far and it might harm themselves.

Not enough like a physically harm, but they, you know, they kind of overstep the balance just trying to do the right thing and, and I love it.

I'm here for it.

As they say, we're clapping, we're laughing.

Gotta have some true believers.

Yes, yes.

Well, you know, to that, to that note, I've been kind of like searching the, the Internet and trying to add more and more research stuff for us, resource stuff for us, and, and I'm trying to branch out into other areas.

So I'm just going on like, you know, any kind of adaptive programs in, in Colorado or whatever and seeing what comes it up because, yeah, you know, you know, a lot of our stuff comes from Southern California.

That's where we are.

That's where we know people are and that's where we know people.

So, you know, that's great.

But you know, I'm trying to make this a little bit more either nationwide or even worldwide.

I mean, we have people listen at different places, so we can't get it all in there, but we're trying to kind of branch out and make it.

And if there's something that you know, of that you go to and you have a program that you love and wherever you are, Wisconsin, I don't care.

You know, let us know and we'll.

We'll put it up there so other people can find it.

Alrighty.

For sure.

And next week, nobody moves.

Next week.

Yeah, he's looking.

Gonna go to the phone, Internet referencing, checking notes.

I made it literally, so that would.

Be what I can tell.

Yeah.

Okay, go.

No, you go.

I was gonna tell people what to do while you.

While you looked, which is like, subscribe, press all the buttons, do all the things here, here.

Help us.

Yeah, it doesn't cost you a cent.

Yeah, just a.

Like and subscribe and share and, you know, give us a little comment, whatever it is.

All right.

Yes.

So next week we've got a B.

Remember, Remember ab.

He is the.

Yeah, I do.

Champion.

Yeah, the champion bocce ball player.

So they just had a.

A, like a regional tournament in Iowa, Idaho, Ida something.

So.

And that's kind of the precursor.

And there's a bunch of people I know around here that are trying to get qualified for.

For the Olympics, the Paralympics in 28.

So we'll.

We'll kind of keep an eye on their story and share those with you as they move forward.

All right, Scott, thank you for coming by and kind of adding some spice to our show.

Thank you for the invitation.

This is really nice.

I am so proud of you, Doug, for what you are doing.

Not only just from the, you know, keeping.

Keeping your own creative stuff going, but what you are doing for the disability community.

I. I'm very, very proud of you, man.

Well, thank you.

I appreciate that.

You know, it kind of started as.

Just trying to give back to the organizations that helped me and my brother and my family when.

When we were kids.

And it's just kind of kept growing as I've done this.

I've seen there are other needs and, and trying to connect people and.

And talk about certain things and all of that.

So just ongoing.

I can't, you know, I can't.

I can't ever see myself stop doing it.

Yeah, you know, I kind of think so.

Yeah.

You better not.

We're just gonna end, but.

Yeah, I don't see that.

So I'll.

I'll figure it out as I go along.

Alrighty.

Thank you.

Thank you, Addie.

Have a great week.

Thank you for listening.

From the Aguar Professional Training Studios, this has been Walk and Roll Live Disability Stories.

Life Limitless.

Walk and Roll.

Life's the best walk in Life.

Limitless.