Dear Friends,

Here is our first Question & Answer episode for the All Our Brave Hearts podcast. I respond to questions following up on our Episode 2 (“nonspeaking” vs “nonverbal” labels), as well a question about interdependence and about what animal I’d choose to transform into. It is a fun episode!

You can listen and read the transcript at AllOurBraveHearts.substack.com, and you can also listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts – just search All Our Brave Hearts. Please share, like, review, comment, and all of that!

We also set up a Ko-Fi account for me, for anyone who is able to donate to support my unpaid advocacy work with social media and this podcast. All the money goes to me!

Please keep sending us your questions for future Q&A episodes.

Your Friend,

Danny

(Note from Tara: these blurbs were prepared before my trip, which is why they don’t contain Danny’s usual updates about how he’s doing. But I heard from my mom that he had a wonderful time my first day away, with our sister and Danny absolutely rocking two activities that are new to their spelling partnership. He’s feeling proud and confident. I’ve just arrived in Bangkok, and I sure miss him!)

Dear Friends,

Tara is going on a long trip for her marine conservation consulting work. Seven weeks or so! I am so thrilled for her, but we are both sad about our time apart. It is our longest separation in over four years. I will feel incomplete without her.

But my mom and my other sister are awesome and will take over much of what Tara does in terms of coordinating and supporting my activities. They are more fluent than ever with me now, and we are going to do great. It won’t be easy, but it will be so important for us to gain this experience together. I am excited for us!

Tara is an angel to me. She deserves this time to enjoy her work and friends and even some fun in Southeast Asia, where she used to work extensively. I am so lucky she gave that up for me. But one day, we will travel there together! That is my dream. We will make it happen.

My social media posts will be more sporadic while she is gone. We have pre-recorded a few more All Our Brave Hearts podcast episodes, so keep an eye out for those in the coming weeks. I will be enjoying this new experience with my mom and other sister, and taking it easy for a bit, too. More regular posting will resume in May!

Your Friend,

Danny

Dear Friends,

Thank you for the great recommendations for diversity training! We have a lot to review.

Today, I am happy to share Episode 3 of the All Our Brave Hearts podcast! This is on being in public in my disabled body. I am so absolutely sure you will resonate with this episode. Whether you are disabled, a support person, an ally, or a person in public, this episode will touch on your experiences.

As you know if you have followed my account, I adore being out in public. But it is certainly challenging. And it is the reactions or actions of others that often is the biggest source of stress. We chat about that and how we handle it and some ideas for a more inclusive experience in public.

Please continue to like, share, subscribe, and comment on whatever platform you use to access this podcast:
Substack
Spotify
Apple Podcasts

Thank you for listening and/or reading along!

Your Friend,

Danny

Dear Friends,

I am so hoping you can help with this! An advocacy group I am part of is seeking disability-informed diversity training. Communication access is limited for us nonspeaking apraxic folks, but particularly for BIPOC families. Even our group is not very racially representative. So we are needing to develop a diversity campaign, but first our team needs to build familiarity with diversity issues.

Please recommend any trainers or programs! I so appreciate it.

Your Friend,

Danny

Dear Friends,
I am pleased to share Episode 2 of All Our Brave Hearts! This is on the labels “nonspeaking” versus “nonverbal.” It might seem like a niche topic, but it is an example of how important terminology is. Please listen to the full episode. I also sass Tara a bit, so tune in to catch that!

Thanks to those of you who have given us great feedback on Episode 1! Send us any questions for our Q & A episode. We are eager to see them!

A reminder that we are selling “nonspeaking, very verbal” t-shirts and stickers! We thought the t-shirts were a limited run, but it keeps renewing automatically, so they are still available here

Thank you for tuning in! (Check out Substack for the transcript!)
Substack

Apple podcasts

and Spotify:

Your Friend,
Danny

Dear Friends,

Wow, I had the best night last night! Tara took me out to a dinner and show at a newly opened, renovated historic venue, Lou Lou’s Club at the Lafayette Hotel. It was gorgeous! So elegant and fun. It was a real supper club experience, with a beautifully dressed crowd, delicious food, and fantastic music! The murmur of the crowd was perfectly loud for me; it made my stimming inconspicuous and it was a pleasant sensory input. The table we reserved was great, right on the edge of the lower dance floor, so our view of stage was uninterrupted.

I absolutely loved the ambiance! I could feel the history of the place. They did a fabulous job designing the room. I could have sat there and admired it even without music. The people-watching was so much fun, too.

The music by Whitney Shay and her band literally made me dance! I tried to stay in my seat because I didn’t want to risk getting too amped up and galloping around in a crowded space. But my feet started tapping and then stomping. Tara kept reassuring me that I could get up and go to the dancing area in front of the stage. But I was shy. Finally, my body did just that, and it was so much fun! Wow! The crowd on the dance floor welcomed me. I felt so enthralled by being part of it.

I did this a few times. The singer even sang to me briefly when she saw me on the dance floor! I felt so accepted.

This was my first party night out late. And I had been nervous to be out with crowds who are likely ignorant of my diagnosis and my reality. I have had negative experiences with ignorant folks in public before. But last night was perfect. I loved it so much!

Tara was so watchful and mindful, as always, checking in with me regularly to see how I was feeling. I knew she would be there if anything went wrong. That helped me relax.

Don’t we look sharp? Tara is so stylish and her outfit was perfect. I chose a new combination and I think it looked sharp. I was so proud to be out with my beautiful sister!

That was a memory I will always cherish. I hope to go back for some future special occasions. We nonspeakers and other disabled folks deserve to enjoy experiences like this. I hope such spaces become more accessible. How amazing it would be to have a more diverse crowd enjoying these nights!

Your Friend,

Danny

Dear Friends,

I am so thrilled to share our first full episode! All Our Brave Hearts is my passion project for this year. I love how this episode turned out!

The topic is interdependence. This is so important in envisioning a better world for disabled people and everyone, really. It is the foundation of this podcast.

Please listen, share, and like and comment. This will be worth your time!

Listen & read transcript on Substack

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Your Friend,

Danny

Dear Friends,

Wow, I am so excited to share the introductory episode of our new podcast, All Our Brave Hearts! I am so proud of this project. It is a podcast about interdependence and about how we can shape a better world together. Tara is my co-host. It is about my disability and my family’s experiences as my support team, but it is also a call to rethink how we value people.

I hope you join us on Substack or Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Please share widely! We aim to reach people of diverse backgrounds, including those who don’t have experience with disability. That is important, to show those people a new perspective that they haven’t seen.

And send us questions for our monthly Question and Answer episodes! Comment here or DM or contact me via my website.

So exciting! Thank you for being part of my inspiration to do this.

Your Friend,

Danny

Dear Friends,
Something special is coming soon…

Here’s a sneak peek for Valentine’s Day! I love you all. Thank you for being such a loving community.

Feeling coy,
Your Friend Danny

Dear Friends,

I finally have put together a complete professional outfit! New shoes and a new shirt brought it all together. It is a bit wrinkled in the photo, but Tara will steam it for me.

I am a stylish guy in my heart, even though I don’t often show it. I love a sharp outfit. I didn’t have a way to choose my own clothes until spelling. Even now, I try to not spend much money, so I don’t often buy clothes. But I ask for nice clothes as gifts. And my mom and sisters have good taste.

I am so proud of how I look in this outfit. I am so driven to be seen as a real adult, and one to be taken seriously. And of course appearances shouldn’t matter, but my personal feeling is that I feel more confident in a nice outfit.

I was so excited to try it all on! I was giggling and dancing around. I ran up to my mom and spelled, “Did you ever think I could be professional?” I am so delighted.

And now I am extra ready to be a public speaker! I hope you all are having a great start to the week. And I am wondering what you think about style!

Your Friend,

Danny