LAKEWOOD, Colo. — If fashion shows are about sharing who you are, Emily Waldo will have no problem on the runway.
"I'm kinda shy. No, not really," Waldo said. "I'm never shy."
The 33-year-old woman has a developmental disability, yet she lives alone independently and relishes her chance to be a model an at event called Rockin' the Runway Together put on the by Developmental Disabilities Resource Center in Lakewood.
"We've brought people with developmental disabilities with other members of the community without disabilities to enjoy a night of fashion and music," Michele Majeune, DDRC Director of Community Relations, said.
She wants people to make connections.
"Our whole point was bringing people together around this shared experience and through that getting to know someone that they otherwise wouldn't rub shoulders with," Majeune said.
These are people ready to show who they are on the runway no matter their abilities.
"You act and be cute, be cute," Emily said.
Majeune says this experience is meant to erase negative stereotypes of people with developmental disabilities.
"You see the personality and character and creativity of folks with disabilities," Majeune said. "You realize whoa, they're just like us."
It's a chance for people to share the stage together and share life.
"I think this event really makes people feel that they're included that they're welcomed that something you normally wouldn't associate with someone with a disability - fashion," Majeune said.
Emily loved it.
"Gonna shake it, baby," Emily said.