My name is Shakela Strawberry, and I have spent the majority of my career being an advocate in one way or another, from working with our most vulnerable population on Public Assistance to now teaching our inner-city youth. When one of my children was identified as Dyslexic, Dysgraphic, and ADHD, it seemed like I was constantly jumping through hoops to get answers. From the first evaluation, it seemed like I, who was in a PhD program then, was reading a different language. It made me immediately question everything about myself being an educated woman and a mom. As my husband and I sat through our meeting about the evaluation, we simply asked one question at the end of the meeting: “What does all of this mean is going on with our child?” The psychologist leaned into me and whispered, “Look up Dyslexia. Your child is Dyslexic”. I replied, “Okay, well, let’s just write that in here so we know where to go from here.” Her response: “Mrs. Strawberry, I can’t do that, and it probably won’t be necessary.” Oh, how wrong she was about the necessary part. I have encountered so many obstacles to ensure my child receives the appropriate services for their success.

I not only had issues advocating for my child in the school system, but as I started a journey to find schools that taught neurodiverse children like mine, not to my surprise (but to my disappointment), what I found were private schools that were out of the budget of most low-income families with little diversity in the student population, the staff, and the administration. Even in searching the schools, there were tiers: affluent schools that looked more like college campuses and not-so-affluent schools, which ironically happened to be more diverse in the student population (however, still not so with faculty, staff, and administration). There is also a disconnect in how academia affects the mental and emotional health of these children. So, my journey into Dyslexia began. I received my certification in Dyslexia as well as founded a non-profit, A.D.E. Audacity to Dare to Educate, with the mission of Embracing our Differences and Closing the Equity Gap in Special Education, One Unique Mind at a Time. My goal is to minimize the number of parents having the same experiences I am, and the number of children who endure what my child is still trying to overcome.

This platform has allowed me to speak on platforms such as Andrea Sander's A Lawful Truth, present at the National Black Literacy Conference in Omaha, NE, serve on Councilman Anthony Phillips' Parent/Guardian Engagement Taskforce, prensent across the globe in both Ghana and Nairobi, and facilitate workshops in my community to bridge the gap between the Neurodiverse and Neurotypical community. I am excited to bring Awareness, Destigmatize, and Empower our underrepresented Neurodiverse families.