Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay

More Like You Than Not

Tampa, FL – On Thursday, April 4th, 2013, at The Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay Ollibean Art for Change, is sponsoring an afternoon talk about community acceptance and diversity. This event is open to Boys & Girls Clubs members only. Presented and discussed will be the importance of  inclusion and friendship for youth with disabilities. The cast and of the acclaimed feature documentary, Wretches & Jabberers will be joined by The National Center on Inclusive Education’s Mary Schuh, PhD, and Tampa advocate, 13 year old, Henry Frost.

Wretches & Jabberers, a powerful film, directed by Academy Award® winner Gerardine Wurzburg, follows two men, Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonette, who are on the autism spectrum, as they embark on a global quest to change attitudes about disability, intelligence, and communication.

The WALL STREET JOURNAL called WRETCHES & JABBERERS an  “Ingenious documentary about real autistics”

The film directed by Academy Award® winner Gerardine Wurzburg follows two men, Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonette, who are on the autism spectrum, as they embark on a global quest to change attitudes about disability, intelligence, and communication.

The film and its stars have had a huge impact around the world and our Tampa area is no exception. Henry Frost, who is also on the spectrum, was greatly inspired by the work of Thresher and Bissonette. The film and mentorship of the pair lead Henry to get involved in disability rights advocacy when he was just twelve years old. Henry spearheaded a campaign that garnered over ten thousand participants worldwide to take a stand for the civil and human rights for persons with disability.

Dr. Mary Schuh of The National Center on Inclusive Education and University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability has more than 20 years of experience in inclusive schools and communities and is currently collaborating with the SWIFT national project for inclusive schools.

Dr. Schuh and then 11 year old Frost met at a conference at Massachusetts’s Institute of Technology in 2011. She and Frost spoke about inclusive education and advocacy and have worked to make that a reality. For the first time in Frost’s life, Henry attends his neighborhood school with his typically developing peers.

Wurzburg’s films ‘Wretches & Jabberers’ and ‘Autism is a World’ and Henry Frost’s ‘I Stand With Henry’ Campaign and Civil Rights video are required viewing in many graduate level special education classes.

Ollibean Art for Change is hosted by Ollibean.com, Autism Society Florida , CARD (The Center for Autism and Related Disorders) , NCIE (The National Center on Inclusive Education), The New York Yankees, , The Tampa Theatre, The Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay, and The Autistic Self Advocacy Network.