No Shame. No Gatekeeping. Why We Built a Sliding Scale
Every month, I meet parents who show up shaking at the IEP table. Parents who apologize before they even speak. Parents who walk out with nothing but a headache, believing they’ve failed their child.
Let me be clear: it’s not you. It’s the system.
Special education, disability services, even therapy and wellness: they’ve all been built on a pattern of abandonment. Children get just enough scaffolding to be “productive,” then adults are dropped the second they age out. Globally, 1 in 3 disabled children never even enters school (UNICEF). ND adults face unemployment rates double their peers (WHO). Those with privilege hire help. Those without are told to “be resilient.”
This is not resilience. This is oppression dressed up as policy.
Why Sliding Scale
Most advocacy and coaching services replicate the same inequity they claim to fight. Pay the full rate or get left out.
That’s not justice. That’s gatekeeping.
I know this because I’ve lived it. I was a parent who needed sliding scale. I was often priced out. I needed someone to recognize the inequity in access and no one did. So I learned the law, the strategy, and the language myself. And I built the thing I wish had existed for me.
That’s why every single service and resource we offer: from IEP advocacy to ND mom coaching, from one-on-one sessions to downloadable guides is offered on a sliding scale.
Sliding scale is not charity. It’s not pity. It’s not about “discounts.”
It’s about economic justice. Everyone pays according to their capacity, not their worth. Families with expendable income invest more. Families stretched thin invest less. Everyone still receives the same quality, the same depth of strategy, the same dignity.
It works because it’s built on trust. No paperwork. No proof. No humiliation. Just honesty.
Why This Matters in ND Spaces
Neurodivergent families already carry more weight than most people can see:
Therapy costs. Medication. Lost work hours. Endless bureaucracy.
The nervous system toll of years of gaslighting, silencing, and shame.
Mothers (especially ND mothers) shouldering invisible labor until they collapse.
Too many parents are told: if you can’t afford it, figure it out.
That’s not advocacy. That’s abandonment.
Our sliding scale says: no shame, no gatekeeping. You belong here, regardless of income.
How It Works
Our model has four tiers:
🌞 Abundance - Standard rate + 5%. You support your family and help another family access support. Community care in action.
🌟 Standard - The actual cost of services and resources. For families who can pay without strain. Sustains this work long-term.
🌿 Reduced - For families meeting basic needs but stretched by therapy, tutoring, or debt. Accessible without creating hardship.
🌱 Community - For families under significant financial pressure. No shame, no gatekeeping. Everyone deserves access.
Each family chooses their tier with honesty. Each receives the same support, whether it’s a 90-minute advocacy session, ND mom coaching, or a digital toolkit.
Why Now
Every month that passes without supports is another month your child falls behind or burns out trying to keep up.
Sliding scale is one way we refuse to replicate abandonment. It’s a small crack in the wall of inequity. A way of saying: access is not charity. Access is love.
Our Promise
No shame. You don’t have to prove hardship.
No gatekeeping. You don’t have to choose between groceries and support.
No hierarchy. Every family gets the same advocacy, the same resources, the same care.
Because ND people deserve systems that don’t abandon them. And because we refuse to replicate oppression in the name of liberation.
Explore all of our sliding scale services and resources here.
