After taking a class on early childhood development at Baylor University, Dalton Kendrick decided to get his Master’s in Educational Psychology. During the last year of his master’s program, he enrolled in ACT LEND, a 9-month training through UT Austin that prepares professionals in a wide range of careers to be leaders in improving health outcomes for people with Autism and related disabilities. His interest in public policy led him to be matched with the Autism Society of Texas for his LEND internship last August.
As part of his internship, Dalton has been leading the Waco Autistic Adult Group. In January, he began teaching an in-person and online Advocacy Basic Training to prepare participants for Texas Autism Advocacy Day on March 31 st . “Our goal is to make advocacy less scary,” says Dalton. “It was scary for me as someone who is neurotypical and I could only imagine the additional stress that could be added for some Autistic individuals. Before I got involved with AST, I didn’t even know how a bill becomes a law in Texas.”
The 3-part advocacy training includes an overview on the Texas legislative process, information on where to go and what happens on Advocacy Day, and details on specific bills – what the bill says, where it is in the approval process, and how it affects people with Autism. As part of the course, participants practice what they will say about policy issues during visits with legislators. Advocacy training gives them a way to make their voices heard, not just at the state capitol, but in everyday situations when they need to speak up for themselves.
Dalton plans to take what he has learned from his internship with AST into his career in Educational Psychology. His next step is starting a PhD program this fall where his research will focus on access and equity in post-secondary education for people with developmental disabilities. As Dalton explains, “I’ll be looking at students in their final year of high school to learn how to help them successfully transition to college, trade school, or other educational program.”
We are so grateful for the passion and dedication Dalton has brought to his internship with AST. Videos of his Advocacy Basic Training sessions are available to view on the AST’s Youtube channel here.