ABOUT THE SESSION
Beyond Silence | Disability, Neurodiversity, and Expanding Care in AANHPI Communities
In many Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities, disability and neurodivergence are not absent; they are simply unnamed. Shaped by cultural silence, survival, and stigma, many of us learned to adapt quietly, mask our needs, and equate worth with endurance.
This session explores how disability and neurodiversity already live within AANHPI families, workplaces, and communities, and what becomes possible when we shift from silence to shared understanding. Through lived experience, storytelling, and culturally grounded reframes, participants will examine how stigma is formed, why visibility can feel unsafe, and how care, access, and belonging can be expanded without abandoning cultural values.
Rather than positioning disability inclusion as something “new,” this conversation invites us to recognize it as a return to community care, one that honors interdependence, dignity, and the many ways our bodies and minds move through the world.
Participants will leave with language, tools, and perspectives to foster more affirming, accessible, and psychologically safe spaces across generations.
Learn more about LEAP Connect here!
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Dennis Tran
Mental Health, Disability, and Neurodiversity Lived Experience Co-creator, Speaker, and Consultant
Dennis Tran (he/him) is a queer, disabled, late-identified autistic-ADHDer and partially blind Vietnamese American storyteller, speaker, and inclusion strategist based in Los Angeles. With a background in public health, media, digital health, and nonprofit leadership, Dennis bridges lived experience with systems change to advance neurodiversity, disability justice, mental health advocacy, and psychological safety, particularly the AANHPI community, building systems rooted in access and community care that is humane and inclusive. He has consulted on inclusive storytelling and representation in children’s media, including Blue’s Clues & You, introducing its first autistic character, and developed accessibility-focused curricula and national resource toolkits. His work has helped shape inclusive curricula, accessible digital platforms, and community-centered programs impacting thousands nationwide. A LEAP Impact Program 2024–2025 alumnus, Dennis has spoken at UCLA, UCSF, Sony Pictures, Autodesk, and the ADHD International Conference, leveraging storytelling as a tool for healing, advocacy, and belonging.