Unconferencing: An Innovative Way to Support Conversations About Disability

Since 2012, HDI has been instrumental in bringing participant-driven meetings, called unconferences, to Kentucky residents with disabilities, their family members, and support workers. The unconference format is inherently democratic, providing a space where disabled voices are respected as experts on disability. Learn more about unconferences and how they work, including examples of recent HDI-sponsored unconferences.

Bev Harp, Laura Butler

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Rooted & Rising: Supporting Mental Health in Rural Kentucky

Rooted & Rising: Supporting Mental Health in Rural Kentucky

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Speaking Through Felt: Katie Peña-Van Zile’s Autistic Voice on Stage

Speaking Through Felt: Katie Peña-Van Zile’s Autistic Voice on Stage

Katie Peña-Van Zile remembers the job that inspired her play, Felt, well. “I was diagnosed with autism in 2021, much …

How an Autistic Advocate Turned Personal Loss into Lifesaving Work

How an Autistic Advocate Turned Personal Loss into Lifesaving Work

Caleb Rader was 13 when his cousin died by suicide. He remembers the funeral vividly—and the decision it sparked in …