Pamela Lindsay

I cofounded the College of Adaptive Arts (CAA) with DeAnna Pursai in 2009 to provide structured higher education on a private diploma track system for adults with Down syndrome, autism and other developmental or intellectual disabilities. Historically, adults with these disabilities have not had access to an equitable college education. CAA gives adults with special needs the same opportunities for lifelong education and personal development as other adults in the community.​

The problem I’m trying to solve​

At age 22, adults in the special education system in California lose access to higher education. Intellectually disabled adults are often low-income and face disproportionate loneliness and isolation after being mandated out of the school system. They are marginalized and lack equitable access to employment opportunities and community connections.

We are working to provide an equitable collegiate experience for adults with special needs so that they have access to the skill-building they need and the community involvement that will help them become successful, contributing citizens in ways they have not been able to before now. ​

The World Health Organization estimates that 16 percent of the world’s population — or 1.3 billion people — have significant disabilities. CAA’s philosophy is similar to the Special Olympics, which provides lifelong access to athletic opportunities for those with an interest in them, regardless of their skill or ability. At CAA, we’re applying this philosophy to the educational space by providing access to learning for adults ages 18 to 74+ with intellectual disabilities. We want to empower them to see themselves as successful, contributing members of the community and to change the way people perceive those with intellectual disabilities, a​nd we are committed to sharing this model with other organizations that serve adults with intellectual disabilities. Our goal is to help other organizations replicate the CAA model in their own communities, to expand access to high-quality higher education for people with disabilities across the U.S. and beyond.​

The moment that sparked my passion​

My personal life has been a driving force for this work. My background is in performing arts, business and education. I also mentored my three children through the education system. My daughter was diagnosed with high-functioning autism at age 9. That diagnosis placed her outside the scope of available services, so our family creatively quilted together individualized strategies for her learning and social development. I then worked with other families to develop individualized curricula for their special learners. This provided a deep understanding of the challenges they face, the realization that something like CAA needed to exist, and my research to develop related instructional models.