Inclusion Desk

A local sixth grader is going viral in our community. At the age of 14 months, Oscar Merulla-Bonn was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy. He's been driving a power wheelchair for years. Oscar recently gave a presentation to his school faculty about disability rights. He joins us this hour to share his research and experience, and to discuss how to create more inclusive spaces.

In studio:

• Oscar Merulla-Bonn, sixth grader at Twelve Corners Middle School
• Sally Bittner Bonn, Oscar's mother
• David Merulla, Oscar's father
• Catherine Liebel, school counselor at Twelve Corners Middle School

This story is reported from WXXI’s Inclusion Desk. 

Lisa Hoffman lost her eyes to a rare form of cancer when she was 14 months old. That shaped her life in many ways, and for the better.

"She lived life to the fullest from the day she was born," said Susan Hoffman, Lisa's older sister. "She never let her blindness stop her at all."

It was cancer which ultimately ended Lisa's remarkable life on Monday. She was 54 years old.

A new center for people with autism and their families has opened in Rochester.

The Golisano Autism Center is a “one-stop hub” for services and support for people with autism, said Ann Costello, director of the Golisano Foundation.

We talk about adaptive sports for kids with disabilities. It's in advance of the Little League World Series Challenger Exhibition Game, which will air on WXXI-TV this weekend.

The Challenger division includes children with physical and intellectual disabilities, and we have a Challenger program here in Rochester.

We'll talk to an organizer and a player with the Webster Challenger program, and we'll talk to an organizer and camper at Camp Abilities -- a camp for kids with visual impairments. It's a conversation about inclusion and more. 

Guests are:

• Ron Kampff, organizer of the Webster Challenger Baseball League
• Anthony Vignare, member of the Webster Challenger Baseball Team
• Matthew Farwell, Camp Abilities graduate assistant
• Chris Smoker, camper at Camp Abilities   

This story was produced by WXXI’s Inclusion Desk, focusing on disabilities and inclusion.

The American Council of the Blind, an advocacy group for the rights of visually impaired and blind people, elected new leadership at the organization’s 58th Annual Conference and Convention in Rochester.

Around 1,200 people attended, along with roughly 300 guide dogs at the Riverside Convention Center for the week-long event, which wrapped up Friday.

Rocco Rodrigues was diagnosed with autism at age 2.  Now 9 years old, Rocco has spent the past four days at the "iCan Bike" camp at the Gordon Field House at RIT learning to ride a bike, something that AutismUp says over 80 percent of people with autism never learn to do.  

On Thursday morning, he was riding at a pretty good speed around the track with two volunteer spotters running alongside him.

"It's a little bit...I'm not gonna say scary, but startling," he said. "You want to know why? Because you feel like you're gonna fall over."