Today is the World LGBT Pride Day. A day of vindication of rights for all LGTB people with intellectual disabilities so that they can express and live their sexuality freely. And on the occasion of this world day, Toni García, whom we support, has been the protagonist of the podcast “It’s time to speak up”, promoted by the Spanish Association of Tutelary Foundations (AEFT in Spanich), in a program dedicated to sexual diversity and intellectual disability . Hear all his story here.
Toni is a 38-year-old young man who, at 19, realized that he liked men. In the interview, he says that the support and understanding he received from his brother and especially from Ainara, the professional who provided support in the apartment where he lived at that time, was very important. “It was very nice what was happening to me, although at first I was confused and was not clear about the type of attraction I was feeling. But she helped me in the whole process ”, remembers Toni.
Toni loves to celebrate Pride Day. The colors of the flag seem beautiful to him and he believes that it is a very relevant day to continue claiming the rights of the LGTB collective. “We have to continue showing society – which is not yet adapted – that we are all equal in rights, but different in tastes and preferences“.
In this sense, Toni points out the importance of entities that provide support to people with disabilities to help them express their preferences freely. Thus, dialogue with families and the creation of an atmosphere of security and trust can allow them to express their preferences freely.
And he has a message for people with disabilities who have not yet come out of the closet: “Do not be afraid, show all your pride and strength to defend what you like and to show your feelings”.
