STEP Into Advocacy Cohort 2
STEP Into Advocacy
They said, "You have to fight for everything when it comes to disabled kids..."
But we didn’t think it meant fighting for disabled kids to keep the same rights and protections they were born with.
Right now, we need more advocates sharing their experience and advocating for the greater disability community.
And that’s why I am continuing the STEP Into Advocacy Cohort.
Early bird pricing ends 12/1/26
20 spots, first call January 11, 2027.
If you want disabled children to grow up with the same rights and protections they were born with - This is for you
- Access to a Free and Appropriate Public Education
- The right to live in the community with the services and supports they want and need
- To be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their ability to work a job
You’re an advocate at heart -as a caregiver, disabled person, or someone who works with disabled folx…
You spend time you don’t have researching, making calls, falling down Google research rabbit holes.
You do your best with incomplete information.
And now you’re ready to advocate for every disabled person – not just your child or the children you work with – but first…
You need to stop feeling like an imposter or that you aren’t “expert enough”
So much can change in just 3 months
You want to advocate more... You just don't know where or how to start
STEP Into Advocacy is a 3 month group cohort designed for when:
✓ Every new policy threat sends you spiraling . You know what it means for your family but aren’t sure how to activate your network enough to care.
✓ You know there are systems that have to change – but you don’t really understand what the systems are, who works in them, what the rules are, or how they get funded – and it makes your head spin trying to figure it out.
✓ You know your story matters, but you freeze the second it’s time to tell it – unsure what to share, who to share it with, and how it helps change what’s happening right now.
✓ Even when you do speak up, you don’t have a plan for what comes next – so the moment passes, and you’re right back where you started.
You say something – but it doesn’t make you feel like less of an imposter – it doesn’t feel like it’s enough.
Not because you aren’t an expert, but because no one ever showed you how to turn what you know into something that helps create change – for all disabled kids, and for the families who are raising them.
3 months, 2 hours per week. Early Bird pricing is $397 (paid in full).
Advocacy In Action: The 4 STEP Approach
In 3 Months, Advocacy Won’t Feel Like Spiraling Anymore. It’ll Feel Like Power.
The STEP Approach is a four-STEP framework that teaches you how to turn what you know – and what you’re feeling – into advocacy that moves people and helps shape policy.
→ You stop reacting to every headline and comment riddled with disinformation – and know exactly what should get your attention and how.
→ You stop guessing at how the systems work, and start understanding exactly who holds the decision, who funds it, and who you need to talk to.
→ You stop freezing when it’s time to share your story, and start walking into any room – a call, a hearing, a comment section – with a story you’ve practiced and facts you can cite.
→ You stop letting the moment pass after you’ve spoken up, and start knowing what comes next, every time.
Here’s what STEP stands for:
STOP the spiral – is this truly urgent, and does it protect the services and supports your child needs, or move us toward a larger advocacy goal?
THINK through the facts, urgency, your gut reaction – the systems, the policies, the funding, the people who make decisions.
ENGAGE whether it’s in a comment section, with your friends and family, a call to your elected officials, as a board or committee member, or testifying at a bill hearing
PROCESS what happened after you engaged. How do you feel? What happened? What worked? What needs to change so you can keep speaking up?
By month three, you’re not waiting for someone else to tell you what to do next. You already know.
3 months, 2 hours per week. Join the waitlist now to lock in the early bird price of $397.
What Happens When You STEP Into Advocacy
3 months and a full plan
The Outcome
After our 3 months together, you’ll no longer tell yourself the story that you are “not expert enough.”
You’ll know how to stop yourself from spiraling every time a new headline hits with a new threat against the disability community…
Or when an acquaintance regurgitates some disinformation talking point…
Or when you know it’s time to say something – but your voice shakes and your hands tremble.
You’ve learned the STEPs, understand the systems that support disabled folx, practiced your story, and know that you belong in the rooms where decisions get made.
You know how to activate your community to join the fight to protect our children’s rights, protections, services, and supports.
Every week includes:
✔️ a live Monday call,
✔️ access to the cohort’s private community and discussion threads, and
✔️ direct access to Christy, her network, and 15 years of disability and healthcare advocacy experience.
What you’ll leave with
Month 1: Welcome and Starting Point
Week 1 — Welcome + Your Starting Point
Kickoff call. Meet the cohort, get oriented in the community space, and map out where you are right now – what’s urgent, what’s not, and what you actually want out of the next 3 months.
Week 2 — STOP the Spiral
Learn the STOP framework and practice applying it to a real, current threat. Walk away knowing how to tell the difference between what needs your energy right now and what can wait.
Week 3 — Understanding the Systems
A breakdown of Education, Medical, Legal/Future Planning, and Government/Social Services – how they’re funded, who runs them, and how they connect. This is the foundation everything else builds on.
Week 4 — Finding the Right People
Learn how to identify who actually holds the decision you’re trying to influence, and how to find trusted organizations already doing this work in your state or community.
Month 2: Your Story and ENGAGE
Week 5 — Building Your Story
Start drafting your 60-second story – the moment, the stakes, the before-and-after. This week is about getting it out of your head and onto paper.
Week 6 — Protecting Privacy While Sharing Story
Refine your story with a focus on what’s yours to share and what details should be protected for privacy and safety. Leave with a story that honors your experience and makes folx lean in.
Week 7 — Matching Your Story to the Room
Learn how the same story shifts depending on who’s listening – a legislator’s voicemail, a school board meeting, a social post. Practice adapting your story for the room you’re headed into next.
Week 8 — ENGAGE: Making Contact
Write your first script and make your first real contact – a call, an email, or a comment – with support from the cohort behind you.
Month 3: Process and Debrief
Week 9 — PROCESS What Happened
Debrief your first engagement as a group. What did you expect? What actually happened? What’s the next STEP?
Week 10 — Getting Into the Room
Start building your personalized plan for the boards, commissions, and committees where decisions get made in your state or community – Level up your advocacy.
Week 11 — Making Your Application Stand Out
Work on your actual application or outreach to a specific board, council, or taskforce – with feedback from Christy and the cohort.
Week 12 — Where You Go From Here
Close out the cohort with a plan for what advocacy looks like for you going forward.
What happens when you STEP in?
There are only 20 Founding Member spots
• Sign up by August 1 → get a bonus 1:1 call with Christy
• All founding members join a live bonus group call August 3rd
• Price increases to $449 once spots fill or August 1 passes
Frequently Asked Questions
I know that $397 is real money – especially in this economy.
I also know that when you understand how the systems work , you can better advocate for the services and supports disabled kids need right now.
This is a real investment – if you have questions, email me at info@Experiential-Life.com
That depends on your goal…
If you are ready to advocate for the disability community – not just your child… This is the space you need to be in.
The Experiential Life Community is perfect for families who are trying to survive everyday life, and they need to be able to ask systems navigation questions and get help with their unique situation right now.
It is perfect for the family that wants a place to get information they can trust, hear directly from experts, and get support for in-between IEP meetings, therapy appointments, and community support.
STEP Into Advocacy is for the family that wants to level-up their advocacy.
Get informed on what is happening right now, and respond to it for their disabled child and the greater disability community.
The family that wants to speak about current issues without feeling like an imposter or questioning their lived experience.
The family that feels like their story could persuade their legislator to oppose actions that threaten their child’s future rights and protections, and protect their child’s services and supports – but isn’t sure how to tell that story.
STEP Into Advocacy is how families go from advocating at the IEP table to helping create the change they want for their disabled child’s future.
A weekly Monday call plus community engagement plus homework is a real time commitment on top of IEP meetings, therapy appointments, insurance calls, all the paperwork.
STEP Into Advocacy is a weekly commitment. You get out of it as much as you put into it.
You can watch the replays of the calls, rather than joining live.
You can skip the homework if you don’t have the capacity.
You don’t have to engage in the community at all…
If you skip one of the STEPS, you’ll still get something out of the program.
Folx I work with not only have better results advocating for their children in daily life – but they end up on local and state boards and commissions where decisions get made, they land jobs that fit their schedule, and they feel more confident talking about their experience, regardless of the room they are in.
I know your capacity is thin on the best of days – you can get the homework done in less than an hour, with your first cup of coffee, or instead of scrolling social media before your head hits the pillow.
The homework isn’t mandatory – we aren’t in school, and I am not going to grade you.
But the homework is tied to the weekly call.
If you do the homework before the call, you’ll feel better prepared to engage in the call.
And if you didn’t have time to do it – we’ll help you catch up.
The live calls are recorded and there is time between calls to “catch up” – but there is also no falling behind.
You get access to me through the community, the discussion threads, and DMs.
Also – you are on your own unique journey.
STEP Into Advocacy is designed to help you figure out how you want to level up your advocacy for the greater disability community – and that will look different for everyone.
Some people just want to be able to talk to their relatives.
Some want to create content on social media about it.
Some want to be able to engage with their legislators and elected officials.
Some want to sit on boards and commissions.
I am not here to set your goal, I am here to support it.
You are the expert in your experience.
You’ve navigated the systems that are supposed to support disabled kids without anyone telling you how – you just did it.
That’s exactly why we need more advocates and allies speaking out against the threats to disabled children’s rights and protections.
No one can deny what you’ve already lived through – your story is what helps change minds and policy.
Fear of being visible – a “60-second story that stops people in their tracks” means being seen and heard, which is a bigger ask than passive membership.
You choose where and when you share your story – or if you even do.
But I bet you share your story every day in some way.
Whether at an appointment intake, the IEP meeting, or with a friend over coffee.
If you choose to share your story publicly – we’re going to shape what parts of your story get told and in which rooms.
If you just want to talk to friends and family about what’s happening – we’ll help you shape that story too.
This is a legitimate fear.
The disability community demands that we honor their experience and their humanity – rightfully so.
And that’s why STEP Into Advocacy focuses on your lived experience.
And if you get something wrong, and are called out on it – which does happen – we’re here to support you, encourage you, and help you work through what happened, why, and how you feel.
The simple truth is, when you know better – you do better.
We are asking that of the people we are speaking to, and we can also take that advice.
What if everyone else is further along than me?
There is no getting ahead when you are advocating…
Everyone has more to learn – even me.
Comparing stories and progress does nothing to help you reach your goal with this cohort.
In some ways, people who are just starting have an advantage because they are more open to trying new things and supporting others as they decide to level up their advocacy.
I am here to support everyone, with the same level of attention and support – regardless of their experience.
About Christy Russell
Christy Russell is a healthcare and disability advocate with 15 years of experience working inside the systems that families raising neurodivergent kids navigate – with providers, school teams, state agencies, and hospital systems across Maryland.
Over her 15 year career, she’s supported thousands of families – helping them navigate the systems that are supposed to support them.
She built the STEP Into Advocacy Cohort because after the DOJ memo came out on June 18, 2026 – she knew she needed to use her experience and knowledge as a disability advocate to support other families in speaking out against the threats the disability community’s rights and protections.
She is also the mom of an autistic teen, deep in the future planning process, and determined to ensure all kids with disabilities grow up with the same rights, protections, services, and supports they were born with.