WEBVTT

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[Shamus O'Meara] Thank you 
self-advocates for being here

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and lending your voice to just a...

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what can be a really 
great dialogue, I hope.

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So I don’t come to 
this issue by choice.

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Our family deals with 
an issue of a loved one

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with a developmental disability,

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and so it’s very much 
a family issue for us.

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And no matter how many times I...

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I speak about these issues, it's all...

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it's always very personal.

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And maybe that's the way it should be.

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But it doesn't always feel that way

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when you deal with the media.

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It doesn’t always feel that way

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when you deal with
the State of Minnesota

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or various counties.

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And I struggle with that as a parent,

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I attempt to even the playing field

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for people who have voices,

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but who for whatever reason

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 aren't being heard,

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or understood, or

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conveyed in the right way.

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And so the media in…

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in my view has a responsibility

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to help all of you, to help all of us,

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to help the public

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understand and appreciate

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the issues that we

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deal with as self-advocates,

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as families, as citizens 
of this country,

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handling and...

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and talking about issues,

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about people and families with

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developmental disabilities.

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So I really encourage a frank dialogue

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and I really encourage

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the self-advocates

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to ask questions today.

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Thank you.