Otto Lana
Otto Lana is a high school senior and lives in San Diego. He is an award winning poet, an accomplished film maker, actor, lyricist, and has been lending his voice as a self advocate championing the rights of those with communication challenges since 2018. He was a Youth Delegate for the Department of Rehab in 2021 and was awarded the Harry Servidio Memorial Leadership Award for his work in advocacy and inclusion. He was the recipient of the first inaugural Heumann-Armstrong Award for Excellence in overcoming ableism in academia. He is an entrepreneur, designing and selling letterboards and apparel on his website www.ottosmottos.com Instagram is a great way to get the word out too @otto_types He is doing all this while taking honors classes at Fusion Academy. He loves the outdoors too. The coastline is his zen. Whether it’s hiking trails or swimming in the ocean, the beach is definitely his happy place. Oh and he has Autism and Apraxia by the way. He says these are diagnoses that describe him but do not define him. His goal is to change the face of Autism and Apraxia. He has a great life and a bright future and wishes to lead by example giving parents and disabled individuals hope to fuel their own moonshots.