AADMD Student Column
Introducing the Student Column
Natalie Stagnone
Summary: Healthcare students can be powerful advocates for better care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Natalie Stagnone introduces AADMD’s Student Column and the interdisciplinary student community working to expand education, share resources, and bring more attention to disability-related gaps in healthcare training.
Students really are changemakers. Students are constantly thinking about pushing themselves, pushing boundaries and making a difference in their communities. As the Chair of the Student Committee at the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (AADMD), I have witnessed firsthand the incredible work that students are participating in. The Student Committee is a group of interdisciplinary students representing medical, dental, nursing, physician assistants, physical/occupational therapists, pre-health, and other healthcare-oriented students. We work in many areas, including to increase student involvement nationally, increase awareness of the healthcare needs for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD), provide resources for students to make changes at their institution or community, and advocate for educating students on the unique healthcare needs of people with IDD.
As students, we receive limited-to-no formal training on working with people with IDD. Many of the students came to this work through experiences prior to their healthcare training, including volunteering or working at summer camps, having children, siblings, other family members, or friends with IDD, or simply feeling unprepared to care for diverse patient populations. For many of us, it was seeing the inequalities that existed that drove our passion and encouraged us to get involved with this work.
Unsurprisingly, there are some amazing stories that have come from these students' passion. In my own life, I was drawn to start a nonprofit organization after seeing how my friends with IDD did not have the same opportunities as I was provided. I also experienced the lack of opportunities that existed for peers with and without IDD to interact and form lasting relationships. The nonprofit is now in its seventh year of operation and serves hundreds of youth each year. And my story is just one example. Another student shared how they were driven to become an occupational therapist after participating in a unified basketball team at her high school. They found an amazing community and wanted to continue working within it. Lastly, a group of students noticed that their special needs dental clinic did not have sensory items, communication cards, or weighted blankets available to their patients. They applied for and successfully received funding to change this, purchasing items that could sustainably support their patient population. Each one of these students was drawn to a health-serving field and chose to continue to advocate for people with IDD. It is our goal to share these stories of innovation, drive, and passion with the broader intellectual and developmental disabilities community.
In collaboration between the Student Resident Committee of AADMD and the Helen Journal, we are creating a Student Column as a way to lift up student voices, stories, and accomplishments. We hope that students, faculty, and community members can be inspired by these students to both take on their own projects as well as encourage younger voices to make a difference in their community. Welcome to the Student Column!
If you are a student interested in submitting an article to the Student Column, please reach out to Crissy at helenjournal2026@gmail.com If you are interested in getting involved with Natalie and the Student Committee at AADMD, please reach out to students@aadmd.org. We also encourage you to follow our Instagram page, https://www.instagram.com/aadmd.src/
About the Author
Natalie Stagnone (she/her/hers) is a fourth year medical student at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. She was born and raised in Olympia, Washington. She attended the University of Washington – Seattle where she received dual degrees in Neuroscience and Disability Studies. She is passionate about making her communities more inclusive and accessible for people with and without intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD). During college, she co-founded Thurston County Inclusion, a nonprofit organization that creates activities for youth with and without IDD in her home community, and she currently sits on the board of directors. Natalie is also currently serving as the Chair of the Student Committee for the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry. She has also been involved in the IDD community in many other ways including through Special Olympics, volunteering with other local organizations, leading ThinkCollege Initiatives, and more.
Her career goals include becoming a Physiatrist, with particular interests in serving those with developmental disabilities and those who are medically complex.