Arthur Aston is a resident of New Jersey. He was born with a birth defect called Spina Bifida in 1981. This diagnosis has impacted his mobility and requires Arthur to use leg braces and crutches. He also uses a wheelchair at times. Being a lifelong self advocate. In his adult years, Arthur began advocating for others, and developed a passion and mission for changing the way society as a whole sees those who have disabilities. Arthur is a content producer for the New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Education, where he is the host of the inclusion Think Tank podcast for the last 10 years. He has also worked as executive director of build Jake's place a nonprofit that creates inclusive playgrounds, and manages the Camden County New Jersey miracle League, an inclusive baseball league for children and adults who have disabilities. In this episode, Arthur shares his personal journey of living a spinal bifida and how it led him to become an advocate for Inclusive Education. He discusses the importance of inclusive education and the need for students with and without disabilities to learn together, or there also highlights the work of and JCI EA in providing professional development and consulting services to promote inclusive education in schools. This week's episode is brought to you by MCIE is inclusion stories are a five part podcast series that tells the stories of families, educators and school systems on their journey to full and authentic inclusive education for each and every learner. All five parts of inclusion stories will be available on Friday, December 22 2023. Follow or subscribe on your favorite podcast player. After a short break my interview with Arthur Astin, and for free time this week, we are going to Arkansas to learn about the all in initiative.