By: Maria Williams
“We are one community and we should help each other.” Businesswoman, model, and philanthropist Michella Filipowitz sat down with us to shed light on the importance of diversity and inclusion within society—and removing the stigma behind children with disabilities. Read on to hear her story.
Despite being in the 21st century, there remain many areas within society that are lacking in terms of acceptance and inclusion. 1 in 36 children and 1 in 45 adults have autism in the U.S., yet, these individuals still experience discrimination in the workplace, school system, and even at home due to false assumptions and stereotypes, a reality Michella Filipowitz knows on a personal level.
At the age of 23, Filipowitz became a single mother to her beautiful son Benjamin, and by age 3, he was diagnosed with autism. “At first, I didn’t want to believe it because no one in my family has disabilities,” she says, but with the support from her mother, she was able to navigate this unfamiliar situation—and realized how important it is to accept and embrace this difference.
Benjamin has what’s called a hidden disability, which is defined by the Invisible Disabilities Association as “a physical, mental, or neurological condition that is not visible from the outside, yet can limit or challenge a person’s movements, senses, or activities.” For Benjamin, “It’s speech delay. The connection, the brain waves are not matching. You don’t see it, but you can tell by seeing other children hit their milestones, and Benjamin wasn’t hitting his. He was declining and it was really painful to see that.”
What became increasingly evident for Filipowitz was how much her son was being left out of school because of his disability. “It pained me to see him playing on his own while the other children were playing together,” she shares, “But it helped me a lot to understand and to become more aware of other children as well.” A perspective she hopes to pass on to her community and beyond.
It’s so easy to form assumptions about others from the outside looking in, especially in today’s day and age where everyone and everything is online. We live in a world of “copy, paste”, with a fear of being different, but Filipowitz is here to encourage society to celebrate their differences, whatever they are. Life should be about accepting one another no matter what, not rejecting those who don’t fit a certain mold.
“You can’t pass judgment on someone when you don’t know what’s going on in their lives or what they’re going through,” she emphasizes. “I have such sympathy and empathy for every child, and every family, and it’s making me become more of a person of awareness. I want to bring that awareness to the community.”
This awareness begins with advancing the school system.
“In mainstream schools, they don’t want to accept some children who are on the spectrum because they think they’re too disruptive for the other children. So they’re put into special schools,” she continues. This is not a solution, however, it’s merely a band-aid approach.
“All these children should be together. They should understand diversity, that not everyone’s the same, but you can play with them. And if they’re more integrated into society, they will get better and better rather than being placed in a school where their growth is somewhat stunted.”
Filipowitz believes the school system should be more diverse in teaching children, especially as 1 in 100 children have autism globally. “Children should be taught to have respect, be kind to another, not laugh at someone if they have a disability… we have to accept them for who they are.”
Photo Courtesy: Vassi Lena
“My dream is that there’s an education for this in the school system and they would accept and integrate these children more into the system of mainstream school.”
To help further her reach, Filipowitz Co-Founded a foundation with her fiancee, the DR Family Foundation, which focuses on all children with disabilities and provides funding to families in need.
“I have a very great passion for all the things I went through as a single mother, going through all of the testing, all of the therapies, the costs, it is a lot. I saw the need that a lot of families don’t have the type of funding that I did,” she explains. “We started this family foundation to focus on mostly autistic children, but also kids with disabilities and kids that can’t pay their school fees. We help them pay their school fees that families can’t afford.” The foundation is also planning on opening up a home for children who may not be in a good situation in their family lives.
“My perspective on life has changed,” Filipowitz says, and since bringing Benjamin into the world, it planted a seed within her being that has blossomed into a strong desire to help others. “I want to help other people who are going through these struggles as I did.”
“Benjamin helped me overcome a lot of challenges—he’s the reason I am who I am today,” she concludes.
To learn more about Filipowitz and her foundation, follow her on her socials here.
Published by: Nelly Chavez
