Optimal Access / Access Academy

11/20/2025

🌟 Reminder for ACCESS Parents! 🌟
Don’t forget — our monthly ACCESS Parents meeting is TONIGHT at 5:30pm CST on Zoom. We’d love to have you join us for connection, updates, and shared support. 💛

👉 Please make sure to complete the registration form to receive the Zoom link!
We can’t wait to see you there. 👋💻

Register here: https://bit.ly/accessparentgroup

11/07/2025

Indiana waiver families…. Advocacy opportunities coming up. Make your voices heard!

As we've already seen, advocating after decisions have been made, is not effective. Instead it results in caps to services. We NEED individuals and caregivers to be part of the conversation BEFORE changes are made. We highly recommend that you take part in these meetings and make your opinions known. Read below for more information and links to join the meetings.

Indiana is working to improve disability services so people can live more independently in their homes and communities — and they want to hear from YOU! 💬✨

Join the Indiana Waiver Reset Collaborative Conversations on:
🗓️ November 17th or 19th, 2025
🧑‍🦽 For individuals with physical disabilities (under 60), intellectual or developmental disabilities, and traumatic brain injuries

These virtual sessions will gather feedback on:
✅ What’s working well
✅ What needs to change
✅ What you want future services to look like

Make your voice part of the solution!
🔗 Register for a session:
• Nov 17: https://shorturl.at/Goiey

• Nov 19: https://shorturl.at/o1yKv

📌 Learn more about Indiana’s Waiver Redesign: https://www.in.gov/fssa/ddars/bds-waiver-redesign/

We encourage everyone eligible to join and help shape the future of services in our state! 💙

11/06/2025

🎉 Happy Birthday to the BOSS! 🎉

Today we celebrate Casey, the visionary Founder & CEO of Optimal ACCESS, and the heart behind everything we do.

Your leadership is bold, your passion is unstoppable, and your belief in every voice being heard inspires us daily. Thank you for leading with strength, heart, and that unshakable CAN-Do Attitude.

We’re better because of you!

11/04/2025

🧠 Mind Over Matter starts TODAY!

This course is designed specifically for nonspeaking individuals who want to strengthen their focus, manage stress, build confidence, and develop healthy thought habits - all through the power of a CAN-Do Attitude.

It’s not too late to join! You can still register through November 11th, and if you can’t make today’s session (or any in the future), recordings will be available so you can stay connected and on track.

Let’s train our minds like we train our muscles, because how you think shapes how you live.

10/31/2025

🎉 Happy Birthday, Blake! 🎉
We're excited to celebrate one of the newest members of our Prep Academy! Blake brings that cool California energy and a fresh perspective to our community. 😎🌊

So glad you’re here — and we can’t wait to see all the great things ahead this year. Have an amazing birthday filled with good vibes and even better snacks! 🎂🎈

10/24/2025

🌟 Mind Over Matter: Semester 2 is here! 🌟

Join us for a virtual 6-week journey of growth, connection, and empowerment — designed for nonspeaking individuals, their friends, and support teams. Each session explores the "CAN-Do Attitude" through the lens of science, philosophy, faith, and motivation, helping participants discover new ways to connect mind, body, and purpose. 💪🧠✨

🗓 Tuesdays at 3:00 PM CST
📅 November 4, 11, 18, 25 & December 2, 9
💵 $180 for 6 weeks
🎓 ACCESS Academy students receive a discount!

REGISTER: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/mind-over-matter-semester--2
📩 Reach out to eric@optimalaccess.org if you have any questions.
Let’s rethink what’s possible — together. ❤️

10/23/2025

🌟 ACCESS Parents kicks off TODAY - Thursday, October 23rd! 🌟
Join other parents of nonspeaking, minimally speaking, and unreliably speaking children and adults for connection, support, and shared understanding. 💬💙

It’s not too late to register — scan the QR code or click the link below to sign up!
https://bit.ly/accessparentgroup

10/21/2025

🙌 Hands raised to rethink autism.

Earlier this month, at the TACA National Autism Conference, Casey DePriest, CEO of Optimal ACCESS, presented “Understanding the Lived Experience of Nonspeaking Autism.”

In this powerful session, Casey invited families, educators, and therapists to reimagine autism through a neuromotor and sensory lens — recognizing that movement differences reflect the body’s experience of communication, regulation, and connection.

Every raised hand reflected a shared commitment to presuming competence, honoring communication in all its forms, and supporting regulation before expectation. 💛

Together, we’re building a future where every body is seen, supported, and understood.

10/21/2025

We’re honored that Casey DePriest, founder of Optimal ACCESS, will be presenting “Rethinking Autism for Trauma-Informed Care” at the 2025 William J. Millikan Vital Signs Trauma Conference, hosted by Ascension Indiana: St. Vincent Evansville.

This session explores how reframing autism through a neuromotor and regulation-based lens can transform trauma-informed care—improving safety, understanding, and outcomes for autistic children and adults with high support needs.

Through our ongoing partnership, Optimal ACCESS and Ascension are working together to create safer, more compassionate systems of care that recognize the sensory and movement differences often misunderstood.

🗓 Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2025
📍 Location: Ascension Indiana: St. Vincent Evansville
🕢 Time: 7:30 AM – 4:15 PM CT
🎓 Credits Offered: 6.25 CE hours across multiple disciplines

There’s still time to register and join professionals from across healthcare and trauma services who are committed to advancing inclusive, evidence-based care.

👉 Register now: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2025-william-j-millikan-vital-signs-trauma-conference-tickets-1591020357719

Together, we’re rethinking autism—and reimagining trauma care with safety, dignity, and understanding at the center. 💙

10/17/2025

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Looking for something that works?
Reach out to us to schedule your initial intake session and start your communication journey today!

10/14/2025

🎉 Oh HOOT! Grace’s birthday was yesterday! 😅 Happy 13th to this incredible ACCESS Academy student who works hard, shows up with heart, and makes us proud every day. 💕🎂

10/13/2025

Had to share after reading the comments on this original post…
So many here are completely missing the point of this post! Please read it again…

We have been brainwashed into believing that Special Ed is a type of classroom environment. WRONG.

We’ve been brainwashed into believing that kids that don’t speak or move reliably can’t learn age appropriate things. WRONG.

We’ve been brainwashed into believing that students with disabilities with significant support needs have to “behave” (without their needed supports) to get access to an equitable education.
SO WRONG!

Children with disabilities need individualized supports, accommodations, and ACCESS to equitable learning opportunities, not segregation and modified learning.