What We Do Connect the community to resources Advocate for inclusive opportunities Respect differences Empower individuals Support success
Our Mission: The Unicorn Children’s Foundation is dedicated to creating cradle to career pathways for kids and young adults with developmental or learning disabilities and helping their families navigate the complex journey.
Vision: We envision a world where all children, regardless of their disabilities, will have every opportunity to be accepted, included, and provided with opportunities for meaningful engagement in their community.
Key Initiatives:
Promoting early identification of symptoms associated with developmental, communication, and learning disorders;
Developing and disseminating worldwide ground-breaking and extensive evaluation and treatment guidelines;
Developing innovative and effective therapeutic and educational programs;
Fostering communication and collaboration between parents, professionals and policy makers to promote learning and increased awareness;
Providing adequate tools and resources to better meet the needs of our beneficiaries.
Area of Emphasis: Children and young adults with neurodiversity, such as ADHD, Autism, Bipolar, Dyslexia, and general Learning Disorders; Special Needs Educators; Pediatricians; Providers of Multi-disciplinary therapy.
What are Neurodevelopmental Disorders? Neurodiverse disorders range from Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Asperger’s, and other learning disabilities to the more severe Pervasive Developmental Disorder and Autism. Children with neurodiverse disorders are impacted by challenges that affect their ability to communicate effectively, develop and sustain relationships, tolerate their surroundings, navigate their social world, and/or succeed in academics. Neurodiversity refers to the idea that people experience the world differently, based on their neurological attributes. The neurodiversity movement recognizes neurological differences as equally valid, unique, and socially beneficial neurological experiences of the world that should be celebrated. Rather than taking the perspective that these individuals are broken or impaired, we direct our focus to developing each individual’s strengths and interests into competitive advantages. While there are many theories and no definitive answers, tremendous progress has been made in developing evidence-based strategies that can help children and young adults overcome these challenges. These best-practice strategies should address specific challenges rather than specific diagnostic labels. We hope to provide parents, professionals, and policy makers with tools that allow these individuals to reach their maximum potential and become fully engaged members of the communities in which they live.
How Are We Helping? The Unicorn Children’s Foundation is working toward a future where every child in the world with a neurodiverse disorder will have access to early identification and effective treatment so that they can lead productive and fulfilled lives. We raise funds to support education, awareness, and research that will improve the quality of life for our most vulnerable members.
We provide parents and professionals with the most up-to-date and effective strategies for identification, evaluation, and treatment through the development of comprehensive national guidelines and UCF’s informational website and newsletters.
We support parents with information, advice, and referrals to qualified health professionals.
We support and shape the educational curricula of our future teachers, ensuring these children are educated by highly qualified teachers.
We fund groundbreaking research programs to identify effective treatments.
We helped establish the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders to bring together professionals and health care providers from different disciplines so treatment can grow beyond isolated pockets of theory and practice and become a truly effective, integrated approach.
We sponsor educational programs designed to help professionals and parents address the challenges that these individuals face.
We teach parents the skills needed to navigate the complex world of special education and multidisciplinary interventions so that they are able to advocate for the needs of their child.
We work diligently to increase awareness of these devastating disorders and their early warning signs so their children can receive assistance as early as possible.
We have created a high school for individuals with neurodiversity that can be replicated in communities around the world. Using a strength and interest based curriculum, we will help these individuals develop life-long social, career and academic skills.
