KultureCity’s mission to change how people see those with invisible disabilities

[0:00] they say there is no power stronger than a parent's love for their child and the co-founders [0:04] of culture city are proving that to be true inspired by their son their non-profit is [0:09] changing how the world approaches people with autism and other sensory issues [0:13] their latest project takes us inside an old steam plant in alabama the plan to transform [0:18] the site into a place for higher education and what comes after in tonight's prime focus our [0:23] steve osin sami shows us just how far a little kindness and a lot of creativity can go everyone [0:33] deserves to belong it may have started with our story but it's everybody's story on a tuesday in [0:43] october in 2007 doctors julian maha and michelle kong welcomed into their lives a beautiful baby boy [0:53] who would fill their home with endless love and would teach them how to change the world how long [1:05] before you knew he was different you know it was the first couple years but when he was around two [1:13] and a half it was like something just happened like a switch turned off he just stopped talking [1:19] he stopped sleeping it was a very difficult moment because you know i think especially as parents [1:23] with your first child you have all these hopes and aspirations right you know you have dreams when [1:28] you're holding the baby that what he or she's going to become and then suddenly something changes [1:33] and you have to recalibrate they named him abram from the good book and what changed their lives [1:41] was autism doctors would tell these doctors that their son with the happy feet would likely never [1:49] lead the life they hoped and prayed for and now that he's turned 18 they share the fears of nearly 10 [1:58] million american parents today whose adult children with autism are less likely to hold a job [2:04] and more likely to become victims in police encounters like this one in maryland stop stop where 25 year old [2:16] alexander lamori died in a hail of gunfire in march of this year alexander stop one of the greatest [2:25] worries of a parent who has a child with these disabilities is who will take care of their adult [2:30] children once they're gone when he was given the diagnosis we were told that he had severe autism [2:37] that because he had severe autism to expect him not to ever speak not to go to school not to have [2:44] friends and that we would most likely need to put him in a home when he grows up and this still is a [2:49] very common thing that a lot of families go through at time of diagnosis because you are given this [2:55] whole list of nevers but you're never given the positives yeah good job and for us i think this [3:02] list of nevers basically put us in this short period of grieving but it was then this [3:07] realization that abram was still the same child that god had given us nothing had changed except [3:13] someone had given him a label but a lot of ways there was a little bit liberating because by the [3:18] world quote unquote writing him off all the barriers have been lifted so everything he accomplished from [3:23] that moment onward was a win you took that never right and said i'll show you yeah from their home in [3:34] birmingham alabama they poured all they had into making the world a safer place for their oldest son [3:41] starting a non-profit group called culture city teaching nearly 800 police and first responders so [3:47] far how to save someone who has what they would like everyone to call an invisible disability here they [3:55] are with their governor announcing that every one of her state police officers has to pass their program [4:01] so instead of taking people to the emergency room or to jail a law enforcement can properly differentiate [4:08] from somebody who is being combative or argumentative with someone who may simply be struggling with an [4:16] overwhelming or physically painful sensory issues they've trained security at more than 7 000 stadiums [4:25] parks and zoos across 40 countries [4:28] and they've set up these sensory overload rooms at 25 sports arenas across america [4:35] and even at the super bowl for families with autistic children who need a break but don't want to leave [4:41] and they've even built an app for smartphones powered by ai that gives a voice to children [4:49] like 16 year old gabe gottsman who should we listen to first who just like abram is non-verbal but can [4:54] still read or adele what you didn't get yeah with your son right the help yes and i know you feel this [5:06] way because i see it you both get joy in knowing that you're trying to provide that for other parents [5:16] in your situation yes 100 yeah but it's their latest dream that continues to show how you should never [5:25] underestimate the power of a parent's love they've now raised nearly half of the 50 million dollars [5:33] they need to turn this old steam plan in downtown birmingham into a vocational college with a sensory [5:40] accessible playground and entertainment area outside god this is huge yeah yeah yeah yeah and the nation's [5:48] first technical school for people with sensory disabilities inside so the classrooms and the simulation labs [5:56] would be up here yeah for a student who wants to come to school here yes do you know now how much [6:02] it will cost them we don't have the exact number yet except i would say this which is cost will never [6:08] be an entry barrier for them more than a hundred businesses have already signed on planning storefronts [6:14] restaurants and even a pharmacy downstairs hiring students who graduate from upstairs trained to handle [6:20] the lights and sounds they could find on the job that would otherwise overwhelm them everybody's trained [6:26] everybody knows how to engage and how to interact and how to include and so it's going to apply for [6:33] the students it's going to apply for the employees it's going to apply for the guests who's coming in [6:39] to visit it's more than 80 000 square feet of hope for the mother of 10 year old xander across town thank [6:49] you thank you getting clean feels good doesn't it okay this is everything everything you know okay for him to be [7:00] able to have an opportunity to learn to train to earn money for him to be able to have that opportunity [7:08] is everything and we're doing everything in our power for people to understand how important that is [7:15] for so many people good job come on how many parents have you heard from already about this [7:23] yes countless countless countless if you are in school you have a scaffolding mechanism around you [7:31] that supports you until you're 21 22 you get education you get services but what students and [7:38] families will realize when they hit 21 or 22 is that everything disappears they want for other families [7:47] what they're doing for abram who understands all he hears his mother drives him to a job every day [7:55] where they've trained him to roast coffee beans that he helps ship nationwide they tell us they thank [8:02] their son for making them better parents than they ever dreamed of becoming a lot of families that have [8:11] kids you know with disabilities their biggest wish is to die five minutes after their job who else can look [8:16] after your child better that's why this is such important work because it needs to be done i mean [8:24] you know this has been this is something that no one's ever taken on and we've always said like [8:31] the story may have started with us yeah but culture city is truly something that belongs to you [8:38] belongs to everybody and it is their story as much as it is our story and i think that's what makes it [8:46] have a good day okay so beautiful and powerful and that we're all just connected in this way