In this video, two REALTOR® members and the founder of an online support system for mothers of children with special needs discuss the importance of going beyond being merely accommodating of special needs to being fully inclusive.

Gina Tarpey, a broker with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago in Lake Forest and Debra Hymen, a broker manager licensee with Century 21 Affiliated in Highland Park, are members of the North Shore-Barrington Association of REALTORS® Diversity and Inclusion Committee. They invited Stephanie Thompson, who is a broker at LT Family Financial, the mother of a child with special needs and the founder of Special Needs Mom Squad, to speak at a REALTOR® Reads event in October which focused on the book Being Human by Judy Heumann.

Discussion at the event centered on how to make housing more inclusive, from building accessible homes to learning how to better serve clients who are differently-abled or have special needs. Tarpey and Hymen believe conducting business in the spirit of inclusion is important and will help more clients realize the American Dream of homeownership.