The Spina Bifida Association (SBA) held its 38th National Conference at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, in June with more than 850 attendees, the largest attendance figure in more than a decade. The SBA summary of the event noted that, “In addition to a wide array of educational sessions, Adult Day attendees were inspired by the positive insights that keynote speaker Marly Cornell offered through her experiences with raising a daughter with Spina Bifida. Her book The Able Life of Cody Jane served as a guide to teaching the audience self-determination and independence, inspiring qualities learned from her daughter who refused to let the challenges of her Spina Bifida stand in the way of achieving her dreams.”
As one result of the talk, SBA chose The Able Life of Cody Jane as their inaugural read for the new SBA staff book club.
The event marked the start of some terrific friendships and I want to write more about the amazing people I met. I had a fantastic time!
Feedback from attendees indicated that people appreciated the talk “You’re in Charge: Independence and Self-determination.”
Comments from attendees included:
She was great, she needs to do this with the parents next year please.
Great, I can’t wait to read the book.
I don’t have SB but I do have a disability and I thought this was amazing for anyone. Thank you I really enjoyed it.
She’s great. I like non-medical sessions like this that focus more on attitude/confidence issues
Great presentation!
Thank you so much for speaking. I needed to hear your encouraging words
Biggest obstacle is distance and accessability. We need to be able to access that level of care in our own area
Thank you so much for being who you are. This segment touched me and meant a lot.
Loved hearing about an experience of a parent pushing their child to do things for themselves.
Thank you for your insight. I loved the things you said about empowerment!
Please being her back!
I could relate to what was said.
She was absolutely fantastic!
I was touched by her story. She has an amazing daughter. It’s so nice to hear a perspective based on independence and a good quality of life.
Thought the session was inspiring.
Great! Very motivating.