Meet Mark
As 2024 comes to a close, we reflect on our role in supporting people we serve in Southwest Michigan with fostering independence. One way we do this is by working alongside people with disabilities to grow self-advocacy and life skills, just like in Mark’s story.
Imagine searching your whole life for the place
where you fit in.
Some people are born knowing their purpose and who they are, and for others it can take a lifetime to figure out. For Mark Pangle, it took over 40 years of knowing they were different from others but being unsure why. At age 42 an assessment was done and things became clear: Mark has Autism.
Being Autistic, Mark encountered barriers that made it difficult to be authentic and comfortably connect with others. Mark self-isolated and suppressed normal behaviors in hopes of fitting in. Can you imagine the exhausting task of “faking it,” or putting up a front to hide the real you?
In looking for support, Mark quickly found Disability Network Southwest Michigan’s Autistic Peer Support Group. This group allowed Mark to find community, connection, and compatibility with others with the same disability. Finally, Mark could take the mask off and breathe!
Mark credits the peer support group with providing our community the following:
- A place to develop coping skills for disability-related needs
- An opportunity to connect with other late-diagnosed Autistics
- A place where no one needs to explain their disability because everyone understands
- A safe space to drop the mask and shine as their most genuine self
For anyone living with a disability, life can feel isolating because society often doesn’t understand. “Most public spaces don’t accommodate the needs of people with disabilities,” Pangle said. “In an ideal world, everything would be set up so everyone could participate fully.”
This is the type of community impact that your gifts support.
Because of the opportunity Disability Network provided for Mark to meet other Autistics and find connection, Mark recognized their ability to take that inclusion further into the community and create an accommodating and welcoming space for all.
We cannot hold and create safe spaces for people like Mark without your help.
Helping people recognize their abilities is just a part of what we do here at Disability Network, particularly within our four different support groups. This year, over 318 participants in the Autistic Adult, Brain Injury Survivors, Chronic Pain, Legacy Group, and Phenomenal Women
peer groups were provided support at no cost to them, thanks to our supporters.
A $100 gift allows peer support services to be offered to one new individual.
Your gift allows us to continue this important work. Make a gift today so that we can continue to support people with disabilities and the communities of Southwest Michigan. Your support will help people with disabilities, like Mark, to feel free to live the life they want, be who they want to be, and create a more inclusive Southwest Michigan.
Can we count on you to support stories of independence and self-advocacy, like Mark’s? Donate today!