Mikayla's Voice is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to spread the word about inclusion. Inclusion means accepting people for their differences.

One way of teaching people about inclusion was writing a book. Mikayla Resh and her third grade classmates joined forces to illustrate, write, and publish a few books. One book was published in 2006 and is called "Our Friend Mikayla."

Mikayla suffered profound brain damage at birth, causing many ailments including seizures, cerebral palsy, blindness and many other neural impairments. The book was dedicated to all people with differences everywhere. The project was funded from the National Inclusion Project to help spread the message of including all people with differences be it religious, ethnic, mental to be included in schools and communities. In fact, Mikayla is the face and voice of the National Inclusion Project's message that has been spread across the nation.

The book has also become the subject of a SkillsUSA project led by Stanley Dixon, BAVTS' building trade instructor. Dixon will guide students in the creating paintings, frames and delivery of the mounted paintings. The destination of these paintings includes local elementary schools and community centers.

"I was asked to construct frames of art work for other students," Dixon explained. "The project inspired me because I felt inclusion was more than just accepting people with physical ailments. I felt that we should make everyone more accepting of all differences regardless of race, religion, academic or physical challenges or social welcome in society."

A quote from the journal BATVS student Devin Kinkaid demonstrates the positive impact this project has had thus far. Devin indicated that the message itself was inspiration enough to motivate the students work together in a positive manner on the project.

"One thing made the group work very well was the positive communication," Kinkaid wrote.

So what did positive communication look like? For Kinkaid, it meant hearing or saying "good job" or "keep up the good work." This is just one of the examples of how people are working together to try to spread the message of accepting everybody regardless of differences.

"It makes me feel good about myself because I have ADHD and that I can help out others," Kinkaid said about the project. "I think everyone should try to understand people with disabilities and not be so quick to judge."

Mikayla's Voice seems to be a powerful one across America and BAVTS is pleased to contribute to this project and spread the message of inclusion within the school's own community of students and teachers.