Building A Community For Children With Disabilities: The Incredible Efforts Of Michella Filipowitz
When Michella Filipowitz moved to Sydney from Miami, she anticipated the regular challenges associated with moving to a new country, but nothing could prepare her for the trials and tribulations she would face as a single mother to a child with autism. Taking matters into her own hands, she is the Co-Founder of the DR Family Foundation in Australia.
Co-Founder of the DR Family Foundation, Michella Filipowitz is a model, business owner, and philanthropist passionate about providing kids with disabilities opportunities for success.
Having become a single mother at the age of 23 and navigating the subsequent challenges of her son’s autism diagnosis, Filipowitz channeled her experience into a broader passion for making change in other people’s lives.
Today her foundation provides schooling for kids with disabilities who may not otherwise have the opportunity. She is also in the process of building a shelter for children who come from underprivileged backgrounds.
“Currently, we pay the school fees for some children here in Australia and we're going to open up a home for kids that are not in a good situation in their family lives,” she says. Scheduled to open next year in the summer, Filipowitz says the shelter will be more than just a place to stay, but a community where people can come together, access resources, and feel safe and supported.
When asked what inspired her to embark on this journey she says, “I have such sympathy and empathy for every child and every family. I want to bring my awareness to the community.”
Having been in the position before of seeing other children playing together while her son played alone, Filipowitz was forced to look at what’s fundamentally wrong with today’s society and school system. Although 1 in 36 children today are diagnosed with autism, they are treated like outsiders and not given the same opportunities to succeed.
“In Australia, there is a much lower system of support compared to Miami,” she says. “It’s a much bigger struggle here, finding schools that would accept him, especially because now he's going to go into kindergarten.”
Filipowitz shares that she had appointments with multiple private schools but none of them accepted her son because those schools “don’t have the willpower or management ability to help children in need.”
“I think mainstream schools don't want to accept children that are on the spectrum because they think they're too disruptive to other children,” she says. Filipowitz explains that children with disabilities are usually put into “special schools,” which just isn’t the solution.
When asked how the school system in Australia could be improved for children with disabilities, she says classrooms should be more diverse and teach kids to respect each other no matter what. “These children don’t pick their lives,” she says. “They’re born like that and we have to accept and support them.”
Previously living in Miami, Filipowitz shares that she was able to find a really great school for Benjamin there. Before enrolling, he was non-verbal but with time he began speaking Spanish, reading, and growing his intellectual abilities with the help of the teachers and personnel at the school.
“His progress overcame my expectations immensely,” she says. Inspired by the experience she had in Miami, Filipowitz believes that if children with disabilities are more integrated into society, they will get better rather than being locked up in a school that enforces the idea that they are different.
Thankfully, Filipowitz shares that her search for a school for her son in Sydney recently came to an end. Benjamin was accepted into a public school, marking a turning point in their journey.
“I started crying in the car because I was so excited. The principal was so amazing and shared with me that there are other children with disabilities at the school that are integrating amazingly.”
Filipowitz’s dream is for the education system to integrate children with disabilities more into the classroom and encourage other children to play with them, hang out, and accept them as they are.
Acknowledging that this type of change will not come easily, Filipowitz has taken matters into her own hands with the DR Family Foundation. In addition to providing educational opportunities, she shares that the foundation will soon start a soccer team for children with disabilities so they can play with each other, socialize, and be a part of a supportive community.
“I want it to feel like a community where you can come, hang out, and know that it is a safe place for everyone,” Filipowitz concludes. Her vision is to create a space where every child, regardless of ability, background or family life, are given the tools and resources to thrive.
Although navigating the journey of parenthood to her son came with a lot of challenges, it inspired Filipowitz to help other parents overcome the same. If you would like to keep up to date with Michella Filipowitz’s journey and philanthropy work, be sure to follow her on Instagram @princessmichella.
