Mentorship for youth with disabilities should be a right, not a matter of chance

This summer marked the 36th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was signed into law on July 26, 1990. It celebrates disability as identity and community and asks whether the systems young people navigate truly support their success.

To keep the spotlight on serving and uplifting youth with disabilities, I spoke with a youth participant and program coordinator that are involved with the Ready to Achieve Mentoring Program (RAMP).

RAMP is an OJJDP-funded grant that provides a career-focused mentoring model for youth with disabilities who are currently involved with, or at risk of becoming involved with, the juvenile justice system.

The Institute for Educational Leadership has been recipients of this grant since 2009, and currently works with seven RAMP sites across the country, including Ability Connection Colorado (ACCO). ACCO currently implements RAMP at seven schools across the Metro Denver area.

In RAMP, each participant builds an Individualized Mentoring Plan with a mentor, develops career interests and skills, and connects with peers who understand what they’re navigating. Anthony and Jordon shared with me why the RAMP approach works so well.

Meet Anthony

Anthony Velasquez is 16 years old and is going into his sophomore year of high school at Rite of Passage Morrison Home, a small all-male residential facility for teens in need of special services who are under court orders. He enjoys fishing, playing video games and learning about dinosaurs. Anthony has been a RAMP participant at Ability Connection Colorado (ACCO) since 2024.

“Having a mentor and coordinator who understands what it is like to have a disability feels really good and it makes me happy. It makes me feel like I am understood and makes me feel less frustrated when I need help.”

Anthony shared that he has previously struggled with reading. His older sister supported him when he was younger, and now RAMP provides him not only with books but with RAMP mentors that help him read.

[Related: I was that kid — and schools are still getting it wrong.]

His advice to other young people is simple:

“If you are having problems, RAMP can help you. …RAMP helped me better understand my disability and my needs — learning about my rights and what laws protect me as someone with a disability and knowing how to protect myself when getting a job and asking for accommodations.”

Meet Jordon

One of Anthony’s mentors is Jordon Orona, who is also a RAMP coordinator at Ability Connection Colorado (ACCO). Jordon has spent nine years at ACCO, eight of them as a RAMP Coordinator, where she works with around 25 youth a year in RAMP. A lifelong Coloradoan, she lives with cerebral palsy, and draws on the support of her service dog, her partner of 15 years and her family.

Jordon shared how her personal experiences relate to her work with youth with disabilities.

“Representation is huge for the disability community. There was not a lot of positive disability representation when I was growing up, which makes my work so meaningful to me. Connecting with someone with a disability who understands the struggles and the little wins in life brings a sense of belonging to the youth we work with. My middle school and high school years were some of the hardest times for me, and if there had been a mentorship program in my life supporting me, I would have accepted my disability a lot sooner.”

“My work provides solutions to hard situations in life. Working with populations that are typically forgotten, or not given the resources to succeed, makes it much more meaningful.

Whether it is job and life skills, helping a youth understand their disability or mental health needs, or connecting their family with resources, youth rely on and trust us to help guide them through these moments.”

She shared one of RAMP’s many success stories that make her work feel like much more than a job.

“I have lived the experiences that these youth are going through, and I have had the same worries about what life would look like as an adult with a disability. One of my proudest moments was helping a RAMP graduate enroll at Metropolitan State University. College was not something his family felt would ever be obtainable, but due to his persistence and willingness to learn, he completed his freshman year and will continue this fall, both years paid for by a scholarship. Moments like these make me proud to be a part of the disability community.”

Jordon also emphasized the importance of youth with disabilities being supported by staff who share that lived experience or have a deep understanding of it.

“Having a disability, I know firsthand what it is like to not be understood. Youth and families are often told little about their disability or what they can accomplish. Without that knowledge, many life goals are put on hold. My work provides that support to youth and their families — letting youth take the lead and being that person they can lean on without judgment.

[Related: Youth development’s missing link? Intergenerational connection]

“In May, I spoke on the Closing Plenary panel at IEL’s Community Schools & Family Engagement Conference, where we discussed youth voice and youth/adult partnerships. Getting to share my story in front of thousands of educators, mentors and like-minded people made me feel heard. I was honored.”

The stories of Anthony and Jordon illuminate what systems should do to help young people find success. Jordon is the representation that she sought as a youth. At the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL), that “what should systems do” question drives the work. IEL changes systems through people so all young people can thrive, and RAMP is one clear expression of that mission. RAMP works because it is built by the community, for the community — ACCO has spent decades building trust with youth and families across Colorado, and that trust is what makes it successful.

As we celebrate and honor the ADA each year, the challenge is making sure youth with disabilities don’t have to rely on chance to find mentors to support them on their journey to success.

It is the right of anyone who needs it.

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Maddy Park is a program associate at the Institute for Educational Leadership, working on the Ready to Achieve Mentoring Program (RAMP) and IEL’s policy efforts. Maddy holds a master’s in political communication from American University and is based in Washington, D.C. RAMP is delivered by seven state and local subgrantees nationwide, including ACCO, and is supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).