Back-to-School Success Must Include Students With Disabilities
By Lixon Nelson
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Alliance Community & Employment Services (ACES)
As families across Miami-Dade County prepare for another school year, parents are buying supplies, arranging transportation and preparing children for new classrooms and routines.
For families of children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, back-to-school preparation often involves far more.
Parents may be navigating Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), 504 Plans, accommodations, therapies, and meetings with educators. As their children get older, families may also face an important question: What happens after high school?
Will there be opportunities for higher education, employment, and independence? Will young people know how to advocate for themselves? Will employers recognize their abilities rather than focusing on their disabilities?
These are questions families should not have to answer by themselves.
At Alliance Community & Employment Services (ACES), we believe that preparing young people with disabilities for success means providing individuals and families with access to information, resources and opportunities that extend beyond the classroom.
Parents need to understand their rights and feel confident in advocating for their children. Young people need opportunities to develop self-advocacy, leadership, and employment skills that prepare them for adulthood.
Employers also play a role. Individuals with disabilities bring talent, creativity, resilience, and valuable perspectives to the workplace. Building a more inclusive South Florida requires schools, employers, nonprofits, government agencies, and families to work together to create pathways from education to employment and independence.
That is why ACES is hosting the Leaders with a Destiny Summit on Saturday, August 8, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Miami Dade College North Campus, located at 11380 NW 27th Avenue in Miami. Event Registration:Eventbrite Registration.
The free community event will bring together youth, families, educators, disability advocates, and community organizations for discussions on education, self-advocacy, resilience, leadership, employment readiness, and independence.
Attendees can participate in educational breakout sessions, hear from national speakers and disability advocates, and connect with organizations at a community resource fair. A complimentary lunch and a backpack and school-supply giveaway will also be available.
Backpacks and supplies help students start the school year prepared. But what goes inside a backpack can only take a young person so far.
We must also equip our youth with confidence, knowledge, opportunity, and a belief in what is possible.
As we begin another school year, our community should ask not only what students need for their first day of class but also what they need to build successful futures.
A disability should never determine a person’s destiny. Every individual deserves a path to discover their potential, pursue their goals, and live with dignity, purpose, and greater independence.
Lixon Nelson is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Alliance Community & Employment Services (ACES), which supports individuals with disabilities and underserved communities through employment, education, mental health services, advocacy, and personalized guidance.