Inclusion Starts in Preschool. Not Later.
Kimberly Tissot
Too often, people with disabilities are treated like they have to earn their place after school, after a job, after they’ve “proven” themselves. But inclusion shouldn't come with conditions. It has to start early. It has to start now.
In this energizing session, nationally respected disability rights champion Kimberly Tissot shares how we can stop sidelining disabled people and start including them from the very beginning, especially in early childhood. Through powerful personal stories and real-world wins, Kimberly shows how preschool and early life experiences lay the foundation for a more inclusive future.
She’ll dig into the barriers that hold disabled kids back, call out the outdated beliefs that still linger, and spotlight what needs to shift in classrooms, in health care, in workplaces, and in how we support families.
This session is part storytelling, part strategy, and all heart. Get ready to be challenged, empowered, and re-energized to help build a world where people with disabilities matter -- because they’ve always mattered.
About The Speaker
Kimberly Tissot is a fearless national leader in the disability rights movement and the powerhouse President & CEO of Able South Carolina. A proud disabled woman, Kimberly has spent over two decades tearing down barriers and building up bold, disability-led systems of inclusion—from early childhood education to adulthood. She has driven landmark policy wins, including ending subminimum wage in South Carolina and protecting the rights of disabled parents. Known for unapologetic advocacy and transformative leadership, Kimberly is reshaping what inclusion, independence, and justice look like for every stage of life.