by Stephen Spector
AAPD Member

Throughout my long career as an advocate for people with disabilities, particularly attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), I have forged strong relationships with people in the special needs community in this country. Together we have worked hard in state houses, on Capitol Hill, and government agencies to make this country a better place for people with learning and mental health disorders and their families. The battle has been both formidable and rewarding. So much work done, but so much more to do.

Maybe that’s the reason so many of my friends and colleagues gave me a whimsical look recently when I told them I was going to Bulgaria to take part in activities and ceremonies to raise awareness about people living with disabilities. Why Bulgaria, was the common refrain. Did I have a family connection to Bulgaria? After all, there’s so much work to do in the U.S., right?

Yes, but as we’ve learned (the hard way), the world is nothing if not interdependent. This is true when it comes to pandemics, it’s true when it comes to terrorism and it is certainly true when it comes to disability rights.

Before I get to the part about meeting the Bulgarian President, exotic road rallies and other stories that normally would be relegated to fairytales, I must ask your indulgence as I rewind to fall of 2001. I was contacted by the U.S. State Department. A woman was here from Bulgaria. She had a Ph.D. and a son with AD/HD and wanted to meet me. At the time I was the public policy director at the nation’s leading organization serving people with the disorder, CHADD.

As soon as I met Diana Indjov I knew I liked her. Adventurous, intelligent, and on a mission, she was ready to learn all she could about how the U.S. deals with issues affecting people with disabilities. We hit the ground running. Meetings with key members of Congress on disability issues, including Patrick Kennedy, visits to important federal agencies, and attending mental health coalition meetings. You name it—we did it.

Thanks to the visit, Diana—loaded with information and inspiration—headed home to Bulgaria to begin the first non-governmental advocacy and lobbying organization for people with disabilities. She effectively began a national conversation about disabilities in her country.

Fast forward to the winter of 2006. I receive a message from Diana with an invitation to visit Bulgaria to speak to her organization and take part in ceremonies honoring work to raise awareness about all disabilities. All I had to do was get there. Bulgaria? Why would I got to Bulgaria? Sure, the invitation was interesting, to say the least, but why would I go all the way around the world to do this?

My family was more than happy to answer that question: “It’s a once in a lifetime experience. GO!”

GO?

Like a dream, the next thing I know I was standing at the regal Bulgarian presidential ceremonial room with President Georgi Parvanov, who was thanking me for all my contributions. An American woman named Sharon Miles, who was the wife of the former U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria, was receiving a medal for the role she has played in raising awareness about people with disabilities. One of Sharon’s first acts upon arriving in Bulgaria was hiring a visually impaired Bulgarian interpreter to travel with her.

As if that wasn’t enough, the next part of my fairytale trip was to the parliament, where I was able to spend an hour speaking with the chairman. Fortunately, Bulgaria has elected a woman in a wheelchair to parliament who can raise the same issues officially. Unfortunately, they have not given her a handicap parking spot, or a way to get her wheelchair over the curb to get into the building. There are no such parking spots.

This was brought to the attention of the parliament chair during our meeting. He seemed greatly embarrassed. Unlike the U.S., however, Bulgaria is very specific with its handicap auto stickers. In fact, the stickers highlight the driver’s specific disability. One has a wheelchair while another shows an individual with crutches.

One of the most interesting parts of the trip was participating in the annual road rally, where people with disabilities have to accomplish an obstacle courseand then drive to a distant point in the city and at a precise time leave and drive back to the starting point. This was something unique to Bulgaria, and an idea that would certainly play well back home with the disability community and the NASCAR crowd!

My family was right. Bulgaria was a once in a lifetime experience. And the collaborative efforts between people of both countries proved mutually beneficial. As the rest of the world erupts in flames, it’s heartening to have individuals in two countries working together to make the world a better place. Are these efforts small? Sure. But if the Earth can be turned on its head for such senseless and seemingly small matters, then it can be put on the right path by equally small efforts. In the case of Diana, that meant making several trips to the U.S. For me that meant making a trip to—yes—Bulgaria.