Good Neighbor Podcast Live

Creating Safe Havens: Inside I Am Academy for Special Needs Children

• Garfield Bowen

Share episode

When traditional education failed her autistic son, Anna Moore took matters into her own hands. What began as personal advocacy blossomed into I Am Academy, a sanctuary where children with special needs are celebrated rather than merely accommodated.

Since 2015, this intimate K-12 private school has been transforming lives by rejecting the common misconception that neurodivergent children are simply "defiant." As Anna poignantly explains, behaviors often misinterpreted as intentional misbehavior are actually manifestations of neurological differences requiring patience, understanding, and tailored approaches. Drawing from her experience raising a son with autism and Tourette's syndrome, Anna has created an educational environment where dignity and respect form the foundation of every interaction.

What sets I Am Academy apart isn't just its curriculum, but its deliberate smallness. Anna maintains limited enrollment to ensure each child receives the personalized attention they deserve. Many students have grown up within the school's nurturing embrace, some now transitioning to adulthood after joining as five-year-olds. Before founding the academy, Anna's advocacy work led to landmark changes in Florida legislation, requiring schools to report instances of restraining special needs children – a practice previously conducted without parental notification.

The school operates on a word-of-mouth model, with families finding each other through therapy networks and special education circles. Currently relocating to a more visible location at Kitterman and US1, I Am Academy participates in the Step Up for Students scholarship program, making specialized education accessible to more families. Connect with this remarkable school through Facebook (I Am Academy K312) or by calling 772-380-4400, and discover a place where children with special needs aren't just taught – they're understood, valued, and empowered to be exactly who they're meant to be.

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Garfield Bowen.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you looking for a private school for your special needs child? Well, one may be closer than you think. I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Anna Moore, with. I Am Academy Anna, how are you doing today?

Speaker 3:

I'm good. How are you?

Speaker 2:

I am well, I am well. Listen, we're excited to learn all about you and your business. Tell us about your company.

Speaker 3:

We are a K-12 private school for children with special needs and we've been around since 2015. We take children with all different, unique abilities. We are a different type of school. We cater to not just autistic children but all different abilities. So you know, it just depends what your needs are.

Speaker 2:

Tell us, how did you get into this business?

Speaker 3:

I have a son who has special needs. He's autistic, also has Tourette's syndrome and he was high-functioning. We actually didn't really know until he was about five or six and had some issues in public school, and that's how I became an advocate and then decided I needed to create something that would cater more appropriately to the needs of our children.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I have a nephew with a disability too, and I know my sister dedicated her life to social work to really help, so that mom, super mom, comes out in you right, yes, what are some of the myths and misconceptions?

Speaker 3:

in the industry.

Speaker 3:

You know, a lot of times, mostly for autistic children, or you know a lot of these kids, they, you know, they think that and I dislike this word a lot defiant they use with them and a lot of times they need more time to process.

Speaker 3:

They need more, you know, time they're held to different standards. Especially it depends on their levels. If they're higher, like my son, was mainstream, they wanted him to be like the other kids and he needed accommodations and just needed a little bit more so he would be seen as doing things on purpose or, you know, because they couldn't see his disability weren't on purpose and he wasn't doing these things because he was bad. He actually had neurological issues that he needed help with. Yes, he was high functioning, could speak and everything, but he still had processing issues and things that you know they were misunderstanding and so you know those are issues that we have a lot of trouble with and you know you got to have a lot of patience and understanding with these kids and you know, unfortunately, you know you can read it in a book, but unless you raise a child with these needs and I don't think you can fully understand, to be quite honest, we know marketing is the key to all businesses.

Speaker 2:

Who are your target customers and how do you attract them?

Speaker 3:

You know I really go by word of mouth. I've been doing this since 2012. I started in somebody else's school and then I became a school myself in 2015. And parents, they run into each other everywhere and you know you have your therapist and you know everybody talks and I mostly it's by word of mouth and I get referred a lot. I'm a very small school. I prefer to have quality and so I keep it small. That's how I make sure you know the children get what they need one-on-one and um, so mine are all by referral and we take this step up for student scholarship, so we're on that list. So I get a lot of calls from there. But, um, you know, I, I, I probably should market, but um, I, I prefer that you, you know, if you find me, you need me, so that's you know I'll give you my uh sister's information offline.

Speaker 2:

But yeah, it is a small community in there and there's like a bond between the community with the parents and the advocates in there. Um, I mean, have you ever thought about doing your own uh podcasts?

Speaker 3:

I have. I was an advocate first, so I've been in documentaries. My main thing was restraint and seclusion, and so I did that for a long time and it became very stressful. I would get sent videos from all over the United States, and right now I'm with a group and they're in England and fighting restraint and seclusion over there. We got laws changed in Florida. There was a time when they didn't have to tell you when they put their hands on your child, and now they do so. Now we have stats across all 67 counties, and now they do so. Now we have stats across all 67 counties, but you know they have to tell on themselves. So, but at least we now have a record and we have stats. But we didn't have that before, you know. So we did make a difference, and but that's why I opened a school. I wanted to do more. I wanted to create a place that I wish I had when my son was younger.

Speaker 2:

So, anna, when you're not busy running your business, what do you like to do for fun?

Speaker 3:

Rest, I don't, I don't, I really I don't really do much for fun. I rescue animals. That's about it. I you know, I'm home, I rest, I have too many animals.

Speaker 2:

I'm always saving something or feeding something, so that's what I do, so you're a nurturer right down to the core, huh.

Speaker 3:

Pretty much.

Speaker 2:

So we're about to come to a close, but I wanted you to tell our listeners one thing they should remember, if nothing else, about I Am Academy.

Speaker 3:

I Am, academy is, you know, for us we're not just a school, we're, you know, we're a family here. You know a lot of these kids I've had since they were five years old, so you know I basically raised a lot of them. A few of them are aging out now at 21, 22. And it's, you know, it's a different type of school and you know, here we make sure the kids are treated with dignity and respect and we want them to be exactly who they're supposed to be and we don't force things here. And they're nurtured here and loved, and that's what we do here at IM Academy.

Speaker 2:

I know you said earlier that you have a small community and everybody can know everybody, but it's probably a few people that have never heard of you before and there's one question on their lips, and that's how, how do I get more information about I Am Academy?

Speaker 3:

We are on the Step Up for Students list. We're on Facebook. We do have a website, but I'm having I need to have it redone. I'm the chief cook and bottle washer so I do everything, so I am going to have somebody have that done. We are in the process of moving right now, so we're moving down to Kitterman and US1. So we will be down there and they'll be able to see us more. Now we're going to actually have a sign, because right now we're inside of a church. We've been here for 10 years but we will be more visible and we are working on a new website and everything. But we are on Facebook under I Am Academy K312. And that would be the best way to find us.

Speaker 2:

I just want to push the buttons on the phone. Do you have a number you'd like to share phone? Do you have a number?

Speaker 3:

you'd like to share 772-380-4400.

Speaker 2:

Well, Anna, it's been a pleasure having you on the show. We wish you and your business the very best moving forward.

Speaker 3:

Thank you, it was nice to meet you.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Port St Lucie. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpportsaintluciecom. That's gnpportsaintluciecom, or call 772-362-3840.