Carly Durham

Richmond 

Carly is a mother of three, a nurse practitioner, and an advocate for individuals with disabilities. Her journey began when her first son, adopted from an Eastern European country, came into her life with Down syndrome, exposing her to the realities of institutionalization and stigma abroad. After learning about similar dark chapters in U.S. history, she realized that while progress has been made, there’s still a long way to go. Raising two children with IDD, helped Carly to confront her own biases and deepen her advocacy.

Raising her children has been an honor. It inspired Carly to serve as president of her local special education parent advisory committee and train as a special education advocate. She now uses her skills to empower families in navigating the education system and securing necessary services. In her professional life, Carly works with patients facing autoimmune neurological diseases like Multiple Sclerosis and ALS. She’s passionate about addressing the lack of training in the medical field when it comes to supporting individuals with disabilities, something she has witnessed both in her work and as a parent.

Eager to bridge these gaps, Carly is dedicated to learning about how policymaking drives systemic change. She is committed to advocating for a more inclusive and understanding world, both in healthcare and beyond.

Project Title

Disability-Informed Care: A Community Advocacy Toolkit

Project Description

This project aims to empower caregivers and self-advocates to discuss professional development opportunities with their personal healthcare providers. The project addresses the widespread lack of training among healthcare providers in delivering individualized, competent care to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Despite the significant health disparities faced by individuals with IDD, disability-informed education is largely absent from nursing, medical, and continuing education programs, leading to inequitable healthcare experiences.

The initiative will provide a generalized advocacy toolkit that individuals and organizations can use to have conversations with their providers about how to provide disability-informed care.