Cindy’s Story

Life shifted for Cindy and Andrew when their infant daughter contracted encephalitis. High fevers and violent seizures left Lexi with very limited cognition. Now 23, she struggles to regulate her behaviors and needs an attendant at all times. Since graduating from The Children’s Institute Day School at 21, Lexi has had little social interaction outside the family. Cindy’s felt isolated since Lexi graduated, too. “We’d slowly made some connections with other families at school, but after the yellow bus stopped coming for Lexi everyday there was nowhere to go, and no one to talk to.”

Cindy says that few people understand how lonely it is for families and their children with disabilities. There can be disconnects even within the disability community, since “disabilities are all so different, like snowflakes. But we all want to create a purposeful life for our children. We all want to make things better.” She’s more hopeful since she started attending 21 and Able housing meetings. “21 and Able wants to know what I need, and wants to figure out how to do it,” Cindy says.

With United Way’s 21 and Able initiative, Cindy also sees the possibility that the larger community might come to care about these issues, too. 21 and Able’s advocacy and policy work could be the key. “We need to ask how, as a community, we can make systemic change happen,” Cindy says. “United Way is addressing this need in multiple ways, increasing awareness and bringing the right players to the table.” Lexi’s disability will always be a focus for Cindy, but now she doesn’t feel so alone: “21 and Able definitely makes it better for us. Any mom like me would say that.”