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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0R8A8448.jpg?resize=790%2C527\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nBoth Biggs and Stults also talked about how their work with the individuals in DSNWK has impacted them.
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\u201cI absolutely fell in love with what I was doing,\u201d Biggs said. \u201cI have three girls and they\u2019ve grown up around most of the individuals. We have them at our house, we celebrate birthdays, their parents or guardians will ask about my girls, so it\u2019s a great community with a lot of support.\u201d
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\u201cWhen I came here to Fort Hays I was a business major,\u201d Stults added. \u201cI started working in a group home and changed my major to sociology. I\u2019ve grown up with the individuals that we serve, they\u2019re like family to me. I\u2019ve just learned so very much from them. It impacted me enough to change my degree, and basically my life path.\u201d
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Much of McCullough\u2019s story was also about how much she has learned, especially when it comes to celebrating her daughter\u2019s milestones.
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\u201cWe started celebrating \u2018inchstones.\u2019 I\u2019ve definitely learned to slow down, take nothing for granted, and to celebrate every moment,\u201d McCullough said. \u201cAt the end of the day, we really don\u2019t know what life has in store for us.\u201d
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She also talked about the negative experiences she has had as the parent of a child with a developmental disability. McCullough\u2019s daughter is nonverbal and uses an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device to communicate, which some people don\u2019t understand. McCullough\u2019s advice is to be curious and accepting.
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\u201cHelp others in your sphere of influence be [curious and accepting] as well,\u201d she said. \u201cHays is a great community for acceptance, but we\u2019ve even had experiences with [my daughter] at the park, where children tell her to leave, it isn\u2019t a place for her. Just be curious and ask.\u201d
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Similar to McCullough, Bradshaw discussed inclusivity when answering questions.
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\u201cFor a long time, up until I was 21, I knew that I had the diagnosis, but I didn\u2019t consider myself part of the community,\u201d she said. \u201cI put myself in this box of, \u2018I have these issues, but I\u2019m not them.\u2019 It took COVID for me to finally break out of that box and realize that not only was I doing myself a disservice, I was doing the community a disservice. Now I\u2019m trying to figure out how I fit in and how I can make sure that everybody fits in as well.\u201d
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One of Crawford\u2019s main points was along the same lines. She discussed the individualized education programs (IEP\u2019s) students have access to in K-12 education, but then not in higher education.
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\u201cWhen you graduate and turn 18, you don\u2019t have those services. The IEP goes away. So when you come to college, vo-tech, or even the world of work, you are responsible to self-advocate, whatever that looks like.\u201d
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