Dignity, Respect, Equity, Inclusion… BECOME AWARE!

“Thank you for your superb seminar on Disability Awareness Training. We all learned a great deal. Your vast knowledge as well as your wide array of information concerning disability awareness will certainly prove to be helpful tools in assisting the constituents of the Town of Huntington. Again, thank you for your time, energy, and outstanding dedication you presented regarding the Disability Awareness Training classes.”

“On behalf of the committee for Geneva City School District’s Staff Development Day, and for those staff members who participated, let me extend a heartfelt thanks for the superb job you did presenting the Disability Awareness Workshop. We had a very positive response and everyone left with new insight and information. The handouts were great too. Your willingness to accommodate our schedule was greatly appreciated, and helped to make the day a success. Again, please accept our thanks, and we appreciate your support and professionalism.”

“Thank you so much for the wonderful and informative program that you presented yesterday on Disability Awareness at the Ken-Ton Chamber of Commerce. The program gave an excellent overview of the issues that our Chamber members need to know in relation to employing and interacting with 20% of our population. Your presentation, the first of its kind partnership between Ken-Ton School District, the University of Buffalo Model Transition Program and our local Chamber of Commerce, set the stage for duplication throughout New York State. It was a pleasure meeting and working with you on this project over the past few months. I would not hesitate to utilize your services again as well as recommend you to other interested clients.”

“On behalf of myself, the Department of Criminal Justice, and the Border Community SERVICE Program, I’d like to thank you for your service as a presenter during my recent graduate level Homeland Security class at Niagara University. Your presentation was extremely informative and timely; it added a very important and unique dimension to the course outline and lectures. Thank you very much for taking the time to share your expertise with Niagara University students and CERT volunteers associated with the Border Community SERVICE Project. I look forward to working with you to enhance citizen preparedness in our region through future collaborations.”

“On behalf of the Fire Prevention District, the Philadelphia Fire Department and the Citizens for Fire Prevention Committee, I want to thank you for the excellent presentation you made at the 41st Annual Fire Safety & Education Seminar. Your talk on “Disability Awareness Training” was much appreciated by the audience. I certainly appreciated all the work you put into the project, the quality of the presentation and the many excellent points you made that spoke to the key issues of concern. We were truly fortunate to have a person with your experience to help make this year’s Seminar a success.”

“I wanted to thank you for helping at the Commissioning in-service held at the Catholic Center. Your discussion was enlightening and informative. I realize the number of well intentioned mistakes that I have made in the past when I have dealt with an individual with disabilities, and will work to become more aware of my interactions. We have had numerous responses and phone calls. Excellent job. I wish we could have given you the full day.”

“I would like to thank you for the training that was offered to the employees of Learning Disabilities Association of Western New York. We had over 40 staff in attendance at the presentation that you gave on an Overview of Developmental Disabilities. You did an excellent job and the information was very valuable to us. We had very positive comments from the staff who were there and many would like to have you back for more if at all possible.”

“In my over 30 years of law enforcement experience, I have attended many, many trainings, including the prestigious FBI National Academy. I must say that David’s presentation was on par with the finest trainings I’ve attended. I must admit, at the start, I was not overly enthused to find out that we would be spending two entire days on this topic. HOWEVER, David’s passion and energy for the topic kept me interested and tuned in and I learned more about common disabilities that law enforcement is most likely to come in contact with then I even knew existed. The instructor/trainer notebook and PowerPoints were as professional as I have seen and very easy to understand and teach from. Kudos for this program and for David Whalen. The presentation was inspiring and once I returned, I took immediate steps to incorporate what I had learned into teachings at the recruit and in-service levels.”

“I wanted to thank you for coming into our office and giving your presentation. I have to say, I walked away with a much greater understanding of the daily struggles with someone who has a disability. The day after your presentation, I was called by a family member to assist my elderly aunt has who Parkinson’s disease. Your presentation could not have come at a better time. I had to care for my aunt for the evening, and believe me when I tell you how difficult it was to dress her and take her to use the bathroom. She is fully aware of her surroundings, however it was very difficult for her to speak and move. As I was caring for her, I heard your voice over again, and believe me when I tell you that it really helped me assist her. When I was finally able to put her to bed, we both were left with a feeling of comfort. I thank you, I have a much better appreciation for caretakers, and all I can say is, please do not stop doing what you do. It does make a difference!”

“I want to thank you for working with the Community Relations Service (CRS) on the process of creating a Disability PowerPoint training. We valued both times you traveled to CRS headquarters to discuss our vision for the training program. Your patience and willingness to be subjected to honest external peer review, CRS review process, and most importantly your time, technical knowledge, and subject matter expertise was much appreciated. We recognized that this has been a long and arduous process. Although we agreed upon taking a different direction than the training you provided, your work was valued and integral in making this decision. In addition, the quality of work submitted meets the high standards that we established for this project. We would like to acknowledge your expertise in this area when we make presentations. Again, thank you for all your hard work.”