Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:00:00 — 0.1KB)
Get new episodes by email RSS
Cosmo Duncan is about to graduate from high school, in Burlington, Vermont, and embark on his life as an adult. Cosmo, who has Down Syndrome, sits down to talk with his mom, Scarlett Duncan, and occupational therapist Catherine Armani-Munn. They talk about what life has been like for the family in Vermont, Cosmo’s new business, and some important differences between life in rural and urban Vermont.
“I think that it’s really important to see the difference between the two Vermonts: the rural and the urban Vermont. And we are still good here in Burlington, but people who live in the boondocks? There’s nothing there. And if the person does not have a driver’s license, which a lot of people with developmental disabilities won’t be able to have, then they’re stuck.” –Scarlett Duncan
A full transcript of the episode is available below.
Catherine: Welcome to Green Mountain Disability Stories. I’m so happy you’re here today! And I’m going to introduce myself: so I’m Catherine Armani-Munn and I am an Occupational Therapist or OT, state consultant with the I-Team. And here today, we have… Cosmo, do you want to introduce yourself?
Cosmo: Cosmo Duncan. My name is Cosmo Duncan. I am 19 years old and I live with Down Syndrome. I have graduated with my friends, 2023, with my… But I spent longer time at the high school. I am a super senior. I will be alone–
Scarlett: Done.
Cosmo: … I mean done with school this June.
Catherine: Thank you, Cosmo. And we also have?
Scarlett: Scarlett Duncan. I’m the mom, his guardian and his fierce advocate, if I may say so. I’m excited that we are here. I’m always excited if we can get stories out that encourage other parents or other therapists or teachers, whoever, and how this can run and how beautiful the stories can be if it works.
Catherine: Exactly. So today I’ve asked you, Cosmo and Scarlett, to share your story, but really focusing, like you said, Cosmo, you just graduated and you’re really entering that next phase of life of becoming an adult and living on your own. So I’d love to talk about today what your leisure activities or what brings you joy, because you’re going to be away from your school community soon. So really what you plan on doing once you leave school and you’re out in the community and how you’re going to find joy every day. So that’s what I would love to hear your story.
Scarlett: Do you want to tell her that or do you want me to start you off?
Cosmo: Yeah. Start me off.
Scarlett: So maybe I give a little start-up, so he knows where to take off.
Catherine: Yeah, exactly. Maybe a little back.
Scarlett: So Cosmo is a super senior. That means he stays in the school’s district even though he doesn’t really have school anymore. He’s supposed to get transition services and other services. Due to workforce problems and funding problems, that has been really sketchy. Up to now, they have not been able to find a job placement or even an internship that would make sense, because the funding for the program he was in stopped in the middle of the school year. But exciting news, as we don’t seem to find the right placement, Cosmo is planning on his what?
Cosmo: I am having my own business.
Catherine: Oh, I can’t wait to hear more about that.
Scarlett: So right now, that’s his biggest thing. It’s all worth it. He’s totally for it.
Catherine: I believe that. So what have you found to be the best thing about the systems of support or the education that you’ve worked with here in Vermont, Scarlett or Cosmo?
Scarlett: So the best thing here in Vermont is that everybody ever in our, well except one or two exceptions, I shouldn’t say everybody, but nearly everybody has always tried everything they could, and that was in their power to make things work. And as we are the pandemic generation up and running and also the PCV generation, which means we didn’t really have a high school, that took a lot of our educators to make it work. We always found everybody tried to make him feel belonging, which is more important than anything else. So that part of Vermont and the education is something that I value highly. From the educational system, I have to say we went through both rural and urban education system. The rural education system in Vermont is non-existent for people with a disability. There is nothing. There’s nothing.
If there is, they can’t get there. And so, that is really something that has to change. We had to move, we had a beautiful house and we felt very happy where we were. But for Cosmo’s sake, there was nothing that we could offer him, whether it was school or in his leisure time. So to have him have his best life, we needed to move. And that’s fine, we are happy here now, but I think it’s very devastating that families have to come to the conclusion and we are not the only ones that had to do so.
Catherine: Yeah. And kind of on the flip side of that question, what are some areas that these systems could improve, right?
Scarlett: Yes. So I mean what could improve is you have to train the teachers to be inclusive. If we would have an inclusive school system, the other things would not matter so much. So when you went to school, Cosmo, who was the most inclusive teacher?
Cosmo: Daniel Garvin.
Scarlett: Daniel Garvin, our German teacher, right? Not because he was German, but because he never even thought there could be a difference in the students in his classrooms, whether they were other ethnicity or had a disability. It didn’t make any differences and it worked great. So it was just proof that if you intend to include everyone, it works, because everyone will help you do so.
Catherine: Yeah.
Scarlett: So that is really something that is amazing that there are some individual teachers who really make it work. And there was a program, right Cosmo, what was the best school time ever? Was it BCL?
Cosmo: Yeah, BCL.
Catherine: Could you Cosmo — because there might be some listeners that are not sure what that is — could you tell us what BCL is?
Scarlett: What does it mean?
Cosmo: Oh, I can tell. What it stands for is Burlington City and Lake Semester and I did it. I was the first one with a disability to finish it.
Scarlett: So what did you do?
Catherine: Yeah, what did you do there?
Scarlett: Where was it at the time?
Cosmo: It was on Arling Street.
Scarlett: In which building?
Cosmo: The Community Center.
Scarlett: And what did you mainly do? Where did you go with BCL?
Cosmo: Out in the community. We went to places in Burlington, Vermont.
Catherine: And what were some things you did there?
Scarlett: You talked to the mayor.
Cosmo: I talked to the mayor.
Scarlett: And you build.
Cosmo: I build.
Scarlett: Gardens.
Cosmo: Gardens.
Scarlett: What else did you do?
Cosmo: And we had field trips. We went to Kesey Park in the New North End, Vermont.
Scarlett: And you talk to native leadership, right? To Abenaki leadership?
Cosmo: Yes.
Scarlett: So it was something where you learned about the native, you went out with the research folk.
Cosmo: I did.
Catherine: So it sounds like you got to do a lot of different things in the community and meet a lot of different people.
Cosmo: Yes.
Scarlett: And they had very long and very difficult research work to do by themselves as homework. But they picked the topic within the unit they were doing at the moment, what they wanted to research could be anything loosely connected and you should have seen that. It was just amazing how all the students that are supposed to be no learners or dropouts and they suddenly thrived in that classroom. So did Cosmo. He wrote things that I didn’t think he could and he worked whole weekends just to get it done. So it was hard work. It was not a fun thing only, but it was purposeful. It had a purpose and they understood what they were learning, because they picked it themselves. So it was amazing. And I can only recommend more projects like this. In Europe that’s very common, project-based learning here is still not, but it can make a huge difference.
Catherine: Yeah. So Cosmo, do you think doing those projects, did that help you figure out what you want to do with your business?
Cosmo: Yes it does.
Catherine: Because it sounds like you learned a lot of different skills by going all around the community and doing different things.
Cosmo: Yes, I do.
Scarlett: He did not only learn things, it is people learned about him and they learned about our other ethnicity students and they learn that other cultures can be really interesting and renewing for the community. And it’s a back and forth like that. Both sides learned a lot. And there’s just no place now that we can go and they don’t know Cosmo. I’m not worried. I can let him go and I know people know him and they would interact with him if he needed to. Right Cosmo?
Cosmo: Right, ma.
Catherine: Right? So Cosmo, could you tell me a little bit about what you’re hoping to do next or about your business once you finish this year?
Cosmo: Yes.
Scarlett: Get to start what you work at. Where did you work right now?
Catherine: Oh yeah. Yeah. Tell me what you’re up to right now. I haven’t seen you in a while. What are you up to?
Cosmo: I have been good. I’ve been very proud of me. I am self-advocating for myself.
Catherine: That’s a beautiful thing, Cosmo. We all need to self-advocate for ourselves. Right?
Scarlett: Who did you join, Cosmo?
Cosmo: And I joined GMSA.
Scarlett: The Green Mountain Self Advocates. And which group?
Cosmo: I’m planning Voices [the Choices & Voices conference] every Monday.
Catherine: That is so wonderful to hear. What a great group.
Cosmo: And I went to several conferences in Burlington and in Massachusetts.
Scarlett: But where did you work? Your friends, where did you work for a while and learned all about jobs and job skills, Cosmo? Where was that?
Cosmo: At Andy’s Dandy’s.
Scarlett: What is Andy’s Dandy’s?
Cosmo: In disability, and Andrew and his parents, his mom, they came up with it by themselves.
Scarlett: And it’s a business. What do they make?
Cosmo: They make dog biscuits.
Scarlett: Organic dog biscuits.
Catherine: And where can you get one of these organic dog biscuits from Andy’s Dandy’s?
Cosmo: Get them at the mall in South Burlington.
Scarlett: At the Pet Food Warehouse.
Cosmo: Pet Food Warehouse.
Catherine: Wonderful. So what did you do when you worked there?
Scarlett: Did you run through the stations?
Cosmo: I ran through all the stations. At the end, I did the assessment.
Scarlett: And what were you in the end? Say it.
Cosmo: I was at the sales part.
Scarlett: So they went through the stations from making the dough of cutting the cookies, of packing the cookies, labeling and bagging or whatever, and distributing. And some of the students were really good in the making of things and didn’t want to do anything else. And Cosmo, as you know, was bored quickly and wanted to do more. So they took him out in the sales department.
Catherine: Oh, I bet you’re real good at sales, Cosmo.
Scarlett: Well, he’ll sell a fridge to people who live in Alaska without any problems. And they suggested that he becomes a self-employed salesman for them, because they need a sales representative. Most of the students are young people that work there would not be able to do that.
Catherine: You look very excited about this, Cosmo. That’s so great.
Scarlett: Yes, it’s good, huh?
Cosmo: Yes I am excited.
Scarlett: And what’s the other job we are still working on? That Bill is trying to get for you.
Cosmo: Internship at The Edge in South Burlington, Vermont.
Scarlett: And where at The Edge?
Cosmo: Front desk.
Catherine: So it sounds like, will you be able to work out at The Edge when you’re not working there?
Scarlett: We go to the Y, right?
Cosmo: We go to the Y.
Catherine: I was going to say you go to the Y too.
Cosmo: I always see you at the Y.
Catherine: I love seeing you at the Y. It’s important to take care of ourselves, right? Stay healthy.
Scarlett: Yeah, Cosmo’s just started to do weights too. He can do it now without being irresponsible.
Catherine: So what are some other things you like to do for fun, Cosmo?
Cosmo: For fun?
Scarlett: Yeah, we wrote down some other the things, because being excited. We forget things very quickly. So what do you have?
Cosmo: I have a band.
Scarlett: You have your own band?
Catherine: What’s the name of your band?
Cosmo: Yeah. Professors of Mystery. I am a frontman. I play the trombone and my mom on the drums, my dad on the guitar.
Scarlett: And the bass.
Catherine: Do you ever play anywhere in Burlington?
Cosmo: We did. I’m a appearance on stage.
Scarlett: And then Radio Bean.
Cosmo: Radio Bean.
Catherine: I was there. I’m a number one fan.
Scarlett: Oh, we played there many times, right?
Cosmo: Yes.
Catherine: Yeah. So Cosmo, do you think you’ll continue playing in your band once you finish school this year?
Cosmo: Yeah, we having a course tour.
Scarlett: They got to have a tour.
Catherine: I love it.
Scarlett: A Vermont tour.
Cosmo: I’m gonna stop by at your home.
Catherine: An outside concert, right outside. So you have your band. What are some other things you like to do for fun?
Scarlett: Can I say that?
Cosmo: Dragon boat. And I did it through Champlain Community Services.
Scarlett: Where do we meet Ms. Armani?
Cosmo: When we run together.
Catherine: I love running, especially with you. You keep me going.
Scarlett: He is going on the treadmill now. He’s going to be faster this year.
Catherine: And are you going to run the Burlington City Marathon this year in 2025?
Cosmo: Yes I am.
Scarlett: In everything?
Cosmo: Yes. With my friend Luca and Chris Brennan.
Scarlett: But first you have to run which race?
Cosmo: The EDD 5K.
Catherine: Yeah. It’s all part of the training.
Cosmo: My friend has epilepsy, severe seizures.
Scarlett: Don’t have to say his name, but you help him, right? Running.
Cosmo: I do.
Catherine: Yeah. Well it sounds like you’re busy and involved with lots of great things in the community, Cosmo.
Cosmo: Yes.
Catherine: Are there other places you like to go in Vermont that are outside of Burlington?
Cosmo: Yes, I do.
Catherine: Where?
Cosmo: I like to go to St. Albans. And Leddy Beach.
Scarlett: Leddy Beach is still Burlington. Where do we like to go? Where we went to the cabin.
Cosmo: To the cabin in Florence and Vermont.
Scarlett: To go what?
Cosmo: To go fishing.
Catherine: Oh, so you like fishing too. So it sounds like you are involved with lots of fun things.
Cosmo: Yes, we do.
Scarlett: And best of all, you like what?
Cosmo: I like to do swimming.
Scarlett: Yes.
Catherine: So, do you like to swim in the lake or do you like to go to different water spots In Vermont?
Cosmo: I go to the Y and…
Scarlett: The lake.
Cosmo: And the lake.
Scarlett: And we went to…
Cosmo: I went to St. Albans Park Pool.
Scarlett: And we went to the waterfall. Remember that? That was fun.
Catherine: Ooh, lots of beautiful places in our state of Vermont. Right?
Cosmo: Yeah. And my friends’ grandparents house has a pool outside.
Scarlett: Yeah, that’s outside. It sounds really great. So I think he’s very busy, but it’s not organized the way I wish it was. It only works if I do it. And that’s the part that I think needs to be worked on. And I think when they grow older also there’s no third place. You what the third place is yes, right? So there’s home at work and then there’s a third place.
Catherine: Right.
Scarlett: Where you could meet others where you belong. Like, you would go to a bar or whatever. Not so much for Cosmo, but for a lot of his friends, that’s not an option for many reasons, but they need third places where they can go and feel they belong and they can have fun and hang out. And there’s nothing, really nothing like that in all of Chittenden County, not only in Burlington, which is really, really sad for them. We try to facilitate things, but it’s still not the same.
Catherine: Still. Yeah, I know. So it’s like what are we hoping for in the future of Vermont and how can we create spaces where everyone can access and you’re able to hang out with your friends and yeah. It’s a lot to think about.
Scarlett: One place like Radio Bean, they have an alcohol-free time from 7:00 to 9:00, where there is no alcohol served. So whether they, for safety reasons, you can go there, if you don’t feel safe in the environment and also when you are not of age yet you can still listen to music and do things. And I think that’s a very good example that with just a little bit of adaptation of your place, you can make it more accessible for people. Not only with disability, but for everyone. I think that is just small things like that can mean a lot.
Cosmo: Yeah, they do.
Scarlett: (Don’t make so much noise with the chair).
Cosmo: I’m doing long boat rowing.
Scarlett: What was the race you raced and what did you win?
Cosmo: I almost got first place.
Catherine: That’s amazing. That’s a lot of hard work and dedication to get first place like that.
Cosmo: Yeah. And my group I was in with, Eunice.
Scarlett: You both. You are just great. You are great rowers, both of you.
Catherine: So do you think you’ll keep doing that after this year?
Cosmo: I do. Unfortunately my coach [inaudible 00:24:09] flew to Ireland.
Catherine: Wow.
Scarlett: That’s kind of why we picked this. It was a high school activity, but not through the high school. It’s through the Lake and Maritime Museum in Vergennes. But we picked it, because without any scene, they have adult rowing in the same place just an hour later. So when he’s not at school, he can just keep doing this without losing activities that he had before. And I think the continuity of these things is not always easy to achieve at the high school. And I’m really happy that we have a few things that just keep going.
Catherine: Yeah, exactly. Your band, you’re rowing, running. And Cosmo, I think you said in the beginning, is your goal to live all on your own and have an apartment?
Cosmo: Yes. That’s my goal.
Catherine: And I think you’ve been using the bus, right? To get around in the community?
Cosmo: Yes.
Scarlett: What do they call you now? The GMT.
Cosmo: GMT.
Scarlett: Specialist.
Cosmo: Specialist.
Catherine: Wow.
Scarlett: If you need to know how to get wherever you want to go just ask Cosmo. He tells you-
Catherine: Exactly. You’re very good. Cosmo, did that take a lot of practice, learning how to navigate the bus system or how did you learn to do that?
Scarlett: What did you do at, Cosmo? At the beginning?
Cosmo: In the beginning we didn’t have a car.
Scarlett: Yeah, we did.
Cosmo: And we wanted to co-exist there.
Scarlett: But at the beginning, Cosmo, how did you learn to do the bus? We drove you to the bus station. You would take the bus. We would drive with the car after the bus and make sure you got off where you had to get off and change when you had to change. And slowly, but surely you learn how to do it. And now sometimes there’s certain places where I don’t want him to go. So we have to find ways to avoid those places, like the transit station.
Catherine: Yeah, right.
Scarlett: But otherwise he’s very independent and he knows how to get to and where to go. And whether they go on the weekend or whether they don’t. I hope we keep this system. It’s not the perfect public transport system, but it’s good enough to get around in the closer area. And I think that’s great.
Catherine: Exactly. And especially for your job too, right Cosmo? Will you have to use the bus system to be able to go to work and do your job as a salesperson?
Cosmo: Yes, I am. I am taking the bus. Into Winooski, and then you come and get me. It’s a long walk from Winooski High School to Handy Dandy’s.
Scarlett: That’s a long walk, yeah, but you could go to Costco and walk from there. That’s not so far.
Cosmo: No, that’s not that far.
Scarlett: Did I ever regret moving from rural Vermont to urban Vermont? No, I did not. I mean, I personally did the first years, because I didn’t have any friends and we didn’t have a nice big house, we had a very small house. But did I ever regret doing so? No. Cosmo has so many possibilities here and people open possibilities for him. Like the relay run, there was nothing like that where we lived before. And I think that is really important to see the difference between the two Vermonts: the rural and the urban Vermont. And we are still good here in Burlington, but people that live in the boondocks and if the person cannot have a driver license, which a lot of people with developmental disabilities won’t be able to have, then they’re stuck.
Catherine: Yeah. Is there a piece of advice you’d like to give people who are trying to access different types of services in Vermont?
Cosmo: We do message.
Catherine: I would love to hear that.
Cosmo: My message is, be safe with your money.
Scarlett: Be safe with your money and what is the other?
Cosmo: Speak up for yourself.
Catherine: Most importantly. And you do such a good job at that.
Scarlett: And I think that is sad. It’s sad that everything you might need for your young child or the adult person with a disability may need, requires constant advocacy and constantly speaking up. You don’t get what you need if you don’t. And I think for a population that is not always able to do so, and do so appropriately, that just not acceptable.
Cosmo: Yes we are.
Catherine: Is there one thing you wish you knew earlier about accessing any of these services?
Scarlett: Yeah, I saw the question before and I thought long about it. And I think there’s a lot of things I just found out that I have a right, in many things I knew, but in many things I didn’t. And I only now find out. If I had known that before I would’ve approached it differently. It’s a jungle of administrative paperwork that you just don’t easily see through what it all means. I still don’t. And yeah, I’m not very happy with that. It should be in plain language so that my son, who is an adult, also can do this. Apply for services, can make choices. He can’t, because there’s no way you can read these documents. Even I can barely understand what they’re about. So I’m very upset with this regulations for adult people with intellectual developmental disability, because they cannot make their choices that they could if they could get the information. So they always have to rely on somebody else. And that means they might not always get the information that they really want.
Catherine: Right. Even maybe, Cosmo, if you had to go to the doctor, being able to call your doctor’s office and make an appointment or your eye doctor or the dentist. Sometimes.
Cosmo: [inaudible]
Catherine: Look at that.
Scarlett: He’s got the cleanest teeth in all of Vermont.
Catherine: Cleanest teeth.
Scarlett: Yes.
Cosmo: And my mom was laughing. She was.
Scarlett: We were very lucky with his medical care since we are in Burlington. I have to say, lucky, it’s not necessary for everyone, but we were lucky.
Cosmo: Mama was laughing. I love the dentist.
Scarlett: Cosmo, one of his favorite places in this world is going to the dentist. And to give blood is actually also one of his favorite.
Catherine: Wow. We all have our favorite things.
Cosmo: Yeah. And I’m all quiet.
Scarlett: No, it makes me laugh, because you just so…
Catherine: We’re laugh-crying.
Scarlett: You’re just so unique in everything who you are, that is just makes me happy.
Catherine: It’s a beautiful thing.
Scarlett: Yeah, it’s a very beautiful thing.
Cosmo: Yes, we are.
Scarlett: And of course he invites his dentist to every concert and they come.
Cosmo: I do.
Scarlett: Hygienist and doctor and helper.
Cosmo: All come, they came. For my birthday I thought. They all came.
Catherine: Yeah. And I think that just shows, Cosmo, how you do such a nice job advocating for yourself and inviting people in your community into your life. And that’s why you have so many great friends too. It’s a really beautiful thing.
Scarlett: Yeah. And I think one advice that connects to exactly that, that I would give parents or caretakers or guardians is, assume that the people want to do the right thing and they want to help. Don’t come there with negative feeling, “You have to do this.” It’s not going to help. I have learned to be patient and always kind and trying to understand the position they they’re in, but they’re overworked or that they just don’t have the knowledge. We all don’t know everything. We cannot.
Catherine: Yeah, we’re all learning every day.
Scarlett: I think it’s a long journey if you have a child with a disability and if you don’t take your time being kind and patient with the people who support your child, it will not be a good journey. Not for you, not for the child and not for the people who try their best. So am I asking always the impossible? Yes. But if that is not possible, I try to understand why and support the people to do their level best. Most of the times it’s not the people that do the support work that are to blame. Most of the times it’s other dimensions that are to blame.
Catherine: Right. It’s a journey.
Scarlett: It’s a journey. Yes, it is.
Cosmo: It is.
Catherine: Yeah.
Scarlett: Oh yeah. And maybe your listeners and viewers want to know what was the biggest thing you have done up to now in your life, Cosmo? What did you do?
Cosmo: It is done. I give my commencement speech.
Catherine: That’s quite the honor to be asked to do that.
Cosmo: Yes. And that means I got some cards in the mail.
Scarlett: Congratulating you.
Cosmo: [to Scarlett] That made you cry.
Scarlett: People wrote cards to him how great of a job he did and how they were impressed and they didn’t think maybe he could do it, but he did it.
Catherine: But you did it.
Cosmo: I did. If you hear it, think you might cry.
Catherine: I did. I heard it and I did.
Scarlett: I did too.
Catherine: They’re tears of joy, because you have accomplished a lot in your life, Cosmo. And you always speak up for yourself.
Cosmo: Same thing to my neighbors. They heard it. They did.
Scarlett:Yeah. I think what is really tricky in this whole journey is that people do not assume ability. They just don’t assume. So we go to the registration at the hospital. And he knows all these facts that are necessary to register. And they ask him and he answers and they look at me. They do not assume that he could understand.
Catherine: Do you ever turn your back?
Scarlett: No. I say the one sentence. I say, look, I’m just a Uber driver. Don’t ask me. I don’t know.
Catherine: Yeah, I’m just the driver.
Scarlett: I’m the Uber driver, I’m just driving. And now Cosmo has this and that might be interested to some parents. This is called a pacing board.
So when you have difficulties with your speech, and you might have seen Cosmo doing this during the podcast, you would say, “My-name-is-Cosmo.” So he speaks slowly and it’s reminding him of every language. And it was typical to find a way. And then I had this idea that we put it-
Catherine: I was going to say, something that you usually have with you is your phone. Right? So that’s a nice tool to help you when you’re out in the community. Do you think it’s helpful?
Scarlett: He puts the phone down and say, “Ask me.”
Catherine: So it sounds like you found some good strategies to help you, Cosmo?
Cosmo: Yes, I knew. And something about me and I was a peer mentor at [Champlain Community Services] and they run this through mid-November.
Scarlett: You’re a great peer mentor.
Cosmo: Yeah.
Catherine: Yeah.
Cosmo: My– I was– I’m on the TV show with The Joyful Friends. I am.
Scarlett: And maybe an advice, because I said so easily, people don’t assume abilities. It is very quickly that we as a parent or caregiver fall into that trap and take over in that moment. Not because we don’t assume our child or our grownup can’t do it, but because the situation is demanding action.
Catherine: Yeah, in the moment.
Scarlett: Four years ago I stopped. So whatever they cannot understand, I want them to ask. I’m not helping and I’m not facilitating that anymore. Is that really hard for me? Yeah.
Catherine: Yes. It must be, as a parent.
Scarlett: I want to say “Hey this is Cosmo and he–” I help him in this situation, because he knows so much and you wouldn’t always know that this is the time you could say this, but in those situations he doesn’t need help. And the biggest thing we have to learn as parents with a child who has a disability like this is not to help too much. We help too much, we don’t help. We hinder them. And that is a very tough lesson and it’s still tough.
Catherine: Right. Continues, yeah.
Scarlett: You are not doing them good or a favor or you’re not being kind and loving if you over help them all the time. Something’s a hard lesson to learn. No?
Cosmo: No, I have a surprise for you.
Catherine: You do?
Cosmo: Yeah.
Catherine: What is your surprise?
Cosmo: I’m on this TV show.
Catherine: You’re on a TV show?
Cosmo: I am.
Catherine: Do you want to tell the listeners a little bit about that?
Cosmo: Yes, I do. It’s at the very beginning. My mom, she drove me to CCS and it’s called Champlain Community Services. And I’m a peer mentor to people.
Scarlett: But how did you get to the TV show? I think that’s what Ms. Armani wanted to ask you.
Cosmo: And my TV show is called The Joyful Friends.
Scarlett: The Joyful Friends. But where did you do the TV show?
Cosmo: Town Meeting TV.
Scarlett: Town Meeting TV.
Catherine: Well, today you’ve talked about so many great things that you’re doing and doing in the community and you’re involved in and it just shows that life is way more than disability, right?
Cosmo: Yes.
Catherine: Thank you so much for sharing your story with us.
Cosmo: You’re welcome.
Scarlett: Are you happy too?
Cosmo: I am. I really miss Ms. Armani.
Catherine: I miss you so much.
Scarlett: We all miss her.
Cosmo: Yes. Please come to my school for a visit.
Catherine: I would love to.
Cosmo: It would make me happy.
Catherine: Do you have anything else you would like to share?
Cosmo: No, we’re not.
Scarlett: I have a question, Cosmo.
Cosmo: What’s the question.
Scarlett: What do you think is the most important for you living in Vermont and in Burlington? What is the most important for you there? What city do you like best?
Cosmo: I like best is to being a community where I belong.
Scarlett: That was a good answer.
Cosmo: Yeah.
Catherine: And thank you for being on Green Mountain Disability Stories, because this is exactly what this show is about, is featuring stories told by Vermonters with disabilities and all your experiences and your opinions. And so thank you so much.
Cosmo: You’re welcome. Thanks mom.
