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POWERED BY THE BL ANCO FAMILY FUND FOR ADVOCACY AND FAMILY SUPPORT

When Matthew Mitchell talks about college, he doesn’t lead with classes or campus life. He talks about independence— choosing his schedule, speaking up for himself, and knowing he belongs there.

Just a few years ago, that future was far from certain.

Matthew had been successfully included through middle school, but as he approached high school, his school district began encouraging a more restrictive placement. His mom, Michele, remembers feeling the ground shift beneath her feet.

“I knew what my son was capable of,” she says. “But I also knew how hard it is to push back when you don’t know the system.” That’s when Michele reached out to Achieva.

“We often meet families at a moment when they feel unheard or overwhelmed,” says Mary Hartley, President of The Arc of Greater Pittsburgh, an Achieva family organization. “Our role isn’t to tell families what to do. It’s to help them understand their options and walk alongside them as they decide what’s right for and with their child.”

With advocacy support, Michele and Matthew began having different conversations with the school team—conversations grounded in Matthew’s strengths and the supports that had already helped him succeed. Together, they focused on what inclusion had made possible, not on what others believed Matthew couldn’t do.

EXPANDING THE CONVERSATION As graduation approached, Michele assumed the next step would be clear. Instead, she noticed something missing. “No one talked about college,” she says. “It was like that door just didn’t exist.” Achieva advocates helped reopen it. “Sometimes advocacy is about asking the question that hasn’t been asked yet,” Hartley explains. “College isn’t the right path for everyone—but families deserve to know it’s an option.”