allowed myself to become resigned and numb to my disability for much of my life, because I simply felt powerless to do anything about it.
This resignation and numbness came at a heavy cost because it encouraged me to refuse to develop skills in important areas of my life. For example, when I was certain that I was stuck with my voice, sounding just the way it was, I spoke as little as possible to try and hide it. In retrospect, I realize that I was very literally depriving my voice of the practice it needed to grow, mature and become more understandable.
When I deprived my beautiful voice of practice, guess what? It never improved in any noticeable way. This lack of improvement gave me further “evidence” that nothing would change and I was utterly stuck with my voice just the way it was.
What I didn’t realize then is that the reason I felt trapped was because I was refusing to attempt to take small steps to move forward.
“Jason was a hit with our audience, primarily comprised of people with disabilities, who were very interested in his presentation of living your Imperfect Best life. I think, very often, people with disabilities look at their imperfections as a real liability and I think that Jason brought some humor and some light to the discussion and I think everybody left on a really high note.”
Great joy comes from discovering what we can learn and accomplish through consistent practice, instead of wallowing in what we imagine we might not be able to do.
I’m excited to offer the community of people who, like me, experience disabilities a fun and interactive presentation that invites them to see the best in themselves and, at the same time, challenges them to take steps forward.
Even after a decade of practice consistently using my voice, guess what? I still have a speech impediment! BUT that hardly matters because I’m actively living my dream of being a professional speaker and am pursuing my goal of speaking to MILLIONS of people in my lifetime.
I don’t have a magic wand, just a magic speech impediment. We, the people who experience disabilities, are capable of practicing, of learning new skills, of taking steps forward, and of discovering lives that exceed our wildest expectations.
SPEAKING EXPERIENCE:
California Supported Living
NetworkConference
San Diego, CA
State Council On Developmental
Disabilities All Staff Conference
Sacramento, CA
Total Living Concept (co-led with
Peter Leidy)
Kent, WA
South Dakota Rehab Action Conference
Northwest Area Education Agency
Sioux City, IA
University of South Dakota Center
for Disabilities
Sioux Falls, SD
Supported Life Conference
Sacramento, CA
Iowans With DisabilitiesIn Action
Mark Your Mark Conference
Honey Creek Resort, IA
People First Conference
San Diego, CA
LifeScape
Sioux Falls,SD
DakotaAbilities
Sioux Falls, SD
Networkx
San Diego, CA
Creative Support Alternatives
San Diego, CA
Home of Guiding Hands
El Cajon, CA
HIRE JASON FREEMAN:
619.823.8536 [email protected]