Mia Shaikewitz is a television personality and spokesperson for disability advocacy. In October of 1993, Mia Schaikewitz was 15 years old and a rising star on her high school swim team. She was training for a new season when suddenly one evening, she found herself unable to move her legs. Within twelve hours, doctors discovered that a Spinal Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) had ruptured in her spinal cord, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. With resilient determination and a positive attitude, she moved forward to pursue her life goals. 

Mia finished high school and then attended the University of Florida where she excelled socially and academically. She became the first woman in a wheelchair at the school to rush and pledge a sorority and graduated with top honors in Media Production. After college, Mia moved to Los Angeles where she worked in the recording industry; Mia later developed an award-winning career in graphic design and branding.  

In 2012, Mia became one of the stars of the hit TV show Push Girls, which continues to impact audiences worldwide. The show is considered a trailblazer for breaking stereotypes about disability in Hollywood and it won the Critics’ Choice Award for “Best Reality Series” in 2013. This prompted Mia to become an advocate and prominent speaker for accurate inclusion in the media. She has been interviewed on Good Morning America, CNN, E! Entertainment, Ellen, and many other outlets.

Within her dynamic career pursuits, Mia is dedicated to raising AVM awareness and has a passion for staying physically active. She returned to her former sport of competitive swimming; Mia became the Swim Director for Angel City Sports, a leading Paralympic event. She is also a founding member of Infinite Flow — America's first professional wheelchair ballroom dance company, which now leads a global social movement for inclusive dance.

In this interview, with our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Mia shares her amazing insights on the importance of perspective, why you should never settle, and how she journaled through depression. Mia also discusses Spinal Arteriovenous Malformation and her resilience in the face of darkness, insecurity, and fear. Today, Mia continues to live by her motto, “Believing in yourself means never having to say, 'I can't'!”

Chris Gorham is a dad, an American actor, and an autism awareness advocate. He is well known for his role of Auggie Anderson on the USA Network hit series, "Covert Affairs.” Chris met his wife, Anel Lopez Gorham, at the University of California, Los Angeles in a vaudeville class; they later appeared together on the high-school drama series, “Popular.”

In 2001, Chris and Anel, welcomed their eldest son, Lucas. At nine years old, Lucas was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). (Asperger’s syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.) The Gorham’s knew that their son Lucas had a difference before his diagnosis. In the second grade, they had noticed that Lucas was having trouble with understanding the subtleties of socializing. 

“It’s upsetting to hear that something is wrong with your child. At the same time, it’s a relief to know what’s wrong with your child because if you know what’s wrong then you can start to take steps to help them” Chris states. With the knowledge about the diagnosis, a strong focus on family, and enrollment in a school that was geared toward kids on the autism spectrum, Lucas thrived. He is now twenty-one years old. 

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Chris talks about family, his career as an actor, and what it is like to portray a character with a disability. He also discusses his personal experience learning about his son’s diagnosis. "Chris says beautifully, "I don't think of him as my son with Asperger's. I think of him as my son. He's not wrong. He's not broken. He is who he is. We, as his parents, are going to do our best - as we do with all our kids - to give him the best shot at having the best life he can."

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Jenni Ahtiainen, Founder & Head Designer at AIDesign and DEAFMETAL, discusses her hearing aid journey starting in 2018. Being involved with the fashion and music industry and her love for aesthetics, Jenni designed hearing aid jewelry collections for women, men, and children. The story of DEAFMETAL can be found here: The story behind DEAFMETAL® by its Designer Jenni Ahtiainen - YouTube.

Please see Jenni's photo biography below to learn more information about her work as a designer and her wearable art pieces.

Amanda Leduc is a disabled writer and author of the non-fiction book, Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability and Making Space, which was published by Coach House Books in 2020 and shortlisted for the 2020 Governor General’s Award in Non-Fiction and longlisted for the 2020 Barbellion Prize. She is also the author of the novel, The Miracles of Ordinary Men, published in 2013 by ECW Press. Her new novel, The Centaur’s Wife, is out now with Random House Canada.  

Her essays and stories have appeared across Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia, and she speaks regularly across North America on accessibility and the role of disability in storytelling. She is represented by Samantha Haywood at the Transatlantic Agency. 

Born in British Columbia, she has lived in Ontario, England, BC, and Scotland, and holds a Master in Creative Writing from the University of St. Andrews. Amanda has cerebral palsy and presently makes her home in Hamilton, Ontario, where she lives with a very lovable, very destructive dog and serves as the Communications and Development Coordinator for the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD), Canada’s first festival for diverse authors and stories. 

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Amanda unpacks the many ingrained biases lurking in classic fairy tales, while also exploring her own experience with cerebral palsy. She also discusses the pedagogy of fairy tales, disability representation, writing tips, moving space, and responsible social media use for public figures. Amanda states, “Disability isn't visited on us in response to a grand, overarching narrative plan, but rather is a lived, complex reality that reimagines the very nature of how we move through and occupy space.”

Roy Tuscany, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the High Fives Foundation, had dreams of being a professional free skier. After graduating from the University of Vermont with a degree in mechanical engineering, he headed out west to pursue that dream. In 2006, Roy suffered a life-altering injury while skiing that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Forty-three days after Roy entered the hospital as a paraplegic, he walked out. His determination to walk again was the catalyst for the creation of the High Fives Foundation.

Roy turned the financial and community support of his own recovery into a “pay-it-forward’ adventure. In April 2008, Roy put on his first event, called High Fives, a best 540 contest at Sugar Bowl (today the event is known as Trains). The idea was conceived during a backyard brainstorming session. Following the success of the event, Tuscany launched the High Fives Non-Profit, the name deriving from his hand slapping hospital antics and the high fives thrown at the event. 

On January 19, 2009, the High Fives Foundation became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The High Fives Foundation not only funds recovery for athletes with spinal cord injuries, but also aims to provide preventative information to young athletes. Through a program called B.A.S.I.C.S. (Being Aware Safe In Critical Situations) it aims to “promote smart decision making in the mountains.” B.A.S.I.C.S. creates a documentary every year focusing on one aspect of mountain safety and streams it for free online while also touring it around the country, showing it in schools and to professionals in the industry.

In 2011, Roy was the recipient of the “Spirit Inspires” Award from Disabled Sports USA and he once held the world record for the most high-fives in a 24-hour period. Roy has relearned how to walk, ski, and surf, which is Roy’s newest thrill-seeking activity. He currently lives in Reno, Nevada with his wife, Alana Nichols, and son, Gunnar, and enjoys finding fun in everything he does.

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Roy opens up about his life changing incident, the power of being vulnerable, how your biggest enemy could be looking at you in the mirror, and why it is important to celebrate your moments. Roy also discusses the High Fives Foundation and how it is cultivated on inclusiveness. Roy’s secret to connecting with others, with or without a difference, is clear; it is the simple act of a high five.