Meet Addy | Addy Manriquez C & C

I look forward to using the sum of my expertise and experiences to help parents and caregivers powerfully advocate for their families

AND

create more inclusive and supportive experiences for individuals with differences and disabilities at home, at school, and in the workplace.

From a young age, I've embodied the characteristics of an empath. I was often attuned to how others were feeling and felt responsible for ensuring that others felt safe, secure, and happy. These characteristics shaped all of my life's decisions which have resulted in both positive and challenging life experiences. Every decision and experience has developed me into the compassionate and empathetic coach and consultant I am today!

I always knew that I wanted to help those who were treated unfairly or disregarded solely because they were different or had a disability. This led me to pursue academic and professional paths aimed at giving me the knowledge, skills, and expertise needed to support those within the most vulnerable populations.

Initially, I wanted to be a teacher, then a special education teacher, and then an educator for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. I eventually pursued the path to become a speech-language pathologist (SLP), leading me to provide communication therapy services to children and adults of all ages, with varying disabilities, in various clinical and school settings in Colorado, Hawaii, and Virginia, and abroad in Turkey and Germany for more than 25 years.

While watching teams struggle to achieve consensus when making decisions and developing educational plans for students, I felt that there was something more that I could be doing to ensure that all voices were heard and all ideas were considered. Recognizing the value of leadership in effecting positive change, I actively volunteered to serve on school leadership teams, completed coaching and leadership training, and pursued additional education so I could contribute to systemic change and shape policies and programs that benefit students with exceptional needs on a broader scale. Within the community, I facilitated discussions focused on creating an opportunity for deeper listening and sharing around the issues of difference and violence. I've always believed there is more that we can do to shape the world, individually and collectively.

It didn't take me long to realize that no matter my extensive years of experience, my broad knowledge, the strides I’d made in shaping best practices, my educational achievements, the leadership positions I held, or my unwavering support to school staff and families, a recurring pattern persisted. Regardless of the child's age or the family's race, ethnicity, culture, geographic location, or status, common themes consistently emerged throughout my career. The ebb and flow of grief stages, coupled with feelings of guilt and overwhelm, were and continue to be universal challenges for parents and caregivers. I frequently observed how a prevalent lack of understanding of special education processes and documentation compounded their difficulties. When advocating for their children, I saw that parents had lingering questions, but a lack of information and confidence in this environment prevented them from asking these questions from an empowered stance. Having experienced many disempowering situations in my own life where I didn't feel heard or understood, I got where they were coming from.

Like many, I have been confronted with challenges and have experienced trauma that has left me feeling unsupported, powerless, overwhelmed, frustrated, angry, and fearful. I understand what it feels like to be a caregiver, unexpectedly circling through the grief cycle. I've experienced the tangled web of growing up with and supporting family members with substance abuse and mental illness. When attempting to get help for family members, I was met with obstacle after obstacle and often felt exhausted, frustrated, and afraid. I got so tired of hearing “I’m sorry, it’s such a broken system.” Ultimately, I felt the heart-wrenching loss of one parent to the grip of addiction and another to the relentless progression of Alzheimer's disease. I've faced the pain and the scars left by abuse, endured the process of divorce, and navigated the complex, but absolutely beautiful journey of remarriage and blending families. I've experienced unexpected health complications that have resulted in surgeries and unanswered questions about what is happening to my body and what the future holds. While my story may be different from yours, I do get it...

While working to effect positive change in my professional and personal lives, the always doing for others, feelings of "not doing enough," and my reactions to situations outside my control were taking a toll, resulting in feelings of overwhelm, exhaustion, resentment, and fear. Through life coaching, I discovered how my thought patterns, misunderstanding of boundaries, and fears of rejection and abandonment in relationships were impacting my life. I recognized that in my attempts to care for everyone else, I neglected the person who needed the most care...ME!

While in the midst of both personal and health challenges and a recovery from surgery this year, I reflected on my life and knew that I could no longer put off my long-held desire to serve as a life coach. I felt torn as I wanted to continue to serve students with disabilities and the school staff who cared for, supported and taught them.

At the same time, I could no longer deny the need for more comprehensive and universally applicable coaching and consultation support for parents and caregivers who care and advocate for neurodivergent and disabled children, especially as they moved into the transition to "adulting."

So, as with so many other times in my life, my setback has become my comeback and here I am, ready to build bridges and create more inclusive environments for those within our most vulnerable populations...just on a greater and more dynamic scale as a coach and consultant!