Students with Intellectual Disabilities Shine in New Leadership Opportunities

Michael Reisman • March 25, 2024

College of Adaptive Arts Showcases Several Student Standouts in Honor of National Disability Awareness Month

(Saratoga, Calif., March 3, 2024) The month of March marks National Developmental Disability Awareness Month, and several students at one Bay Area college are proving that their abilities extend way beyond just the classroom.


The College of Adaptive Arts, a non-profit providing a lifelong collegiate education to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), serves 230 students in person and online, many of whom have been diagnosed with I/DD.


The school has recently introduced a new workforce development program which trains its students into paid apprenticeship positions, including receptionist and teacher’s aide. Two of those apprentices, Victoria Rivera and Sam Headley, both say this is giving them new opportunities which they never had before.


“Working gives me a sense of duty and responsibility,” said Sam. “I hope to continue to grow and maybe teach at the college someday.”


Sam has been a student at CAA since 2020 previously worked as a bagger at Lucky’s. While he enjoyed his job there, he said it was more focused on what his body could do as opposed to his mind.


Although he’s a self-described introvert, he still got up in front of a packed house to give the Pledge of Allegiance at Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg’s last State of the County Address.


And it’s not just the apprentices who have been given incredible new leadership opportunities. Student Michael Oduma is has a dream to become a sports announcer one day and because of CAA’s unique partnership with West Valley College, he was able to make this dream a reality by co-announcing a basketball game for the college. Oduma is known as the “Mayor of CAA”, is their official tour guide and was also an emcee for a CAA press conference with Senator Dave Cortese (D-San Jose).


“I like being a leader and getting to use my voice,” said Oduma.


Brighid Kohl is another student who showed incredible initiative and campaigned for a You Are Not Alone (YANA) club to be created at her school. Even though her disability sometimes can affect her speech, that didn’t stop Brighid from learning how to create a PowerPoint plan, presenting it to the school, and eventually gaining national recognition from influencer and popular YouTuber Jessii Vee.


“All our students are challenging the traditional perception of ability,” said DeAnna Pursai, co-founder and Executive Director of College of Adaptive Arts. “So often adults with disabilities are overlooked and not seen as the thoughtful, intelligent, capable, beings that they are.”


In all 50 states, adults with disabilities are mandated out of post secondary education at 21 or 22, but CAA hopes to change that by offering a program of lifelong learning which doesn’t impose age limits or restrictions on students. In fact, the school actually encourages students to re-enroll even after they have graduated.


According to the CDC, 6.5 million people in the United States have intellectual or developmental disabilities. CAA’s goal is to reach any adult within that population who wants to pursue higher education. Their mission is to be able to expand their collegiate model, replicating it on every campus of higher learning across the country, and eventually, the world.


ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ADAPTIVE ARTS:
College of Adaptive Arts is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to providing a lifelong, equitable collegiate experience to adults with special needs who historically have not had access to college education. The vision of CAA is to empower adults with special needs to creatively transform perception of disability. This is an institution of higher education where adults have opportunities to learn from a diverse and rich curriculum that will enable them to live a full and empowered life as successful, contributing members of the community.

For more information, or to volunteer and/or donate visit https://www.collegeofadaptivearts.org/

Where the System Ends, CAA Begins. We Built the College We Couldn't Find. CAA Story #7 Curtis K.

By DeAnna Pursai • April 6, 2026
When Curtis Kitaji was first born, his family was told that he wouldn’t be able to speak. Fast forward many years later, and Curtis is one of the most prominent performers you’ll meet. In fact, his dream is actually to become an actor one day. Curtis takes acting and songwriting classes at CAA and recently was one of the emcees at the Celebration of Inclusive Partnerships Gala, where he received rave reviews. “Being at CAA has helped me come out of my shell,” Curtis said. “I love being on campus and being here with my friends.” CAA’s model for lifelong learning was highly beneficial for Curtis. He attended two other colleges before CAA but had trouble keeping up with the required pace and workload. There have been so many great memories Curtis said he had experienced as a student, and he remembers fondly when his acting teacher showed up to class dressed as a chicken for no reason. Curtis was a participant of CAA’s Cardinal Apprenticeship Program and has learned many new skills, both in class and in his on the job training, that will help him later as he explores new career opportunities. Curtis is a South Bay native and loves participating in various sports. He is part of the Special Olympics bowling team and also an integral part of the CAA golf team. When Curtis isn’t in class at CAA, he enjoys hanging out at the mall with his friends or listening to his favorite band, Pentatonix.

Where the System Ends, CAA Begins. We Built the College We Couldnt Find. CAA Story #6: Longstanding Supporter Erin B.

By DeAnna Pursai • March 30, 2026
Longtime College of Adaptive Arts supporter and donor Erin Benford has been an integral part of the school since its inception. Erin has been a well-known realtor in the South Bay for nearly twenty years. She currently works for Christie’s International Real Estate Sereno, but prior to that she was a teacher, so she always had a passion for education. After meeting CAA co-founder DeAnna Pursai at a Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce mixer, the two bonded over their shared similarities of being school teachers and having loved ones with disabilities. Erin’s son Joel had learning disabilities and was diagnosed with Asbergers Syndrome. He is high functioning, so he was able to work in various different jobs before eventually settling in as a valuable assistant at Erin’s real estate business. Working alongside Joel, Erin knew firsthand the importance of creating opportunities for a neurodiverse population. Aside from her family, her real estate business and philanthropy, one of Erin’s biggest passions is sewing. She is the president for the American Sewing Guild’s San Jose chapter which encompasses 5 different bay area counties. The guild is a community service organization and educational group, focusing on garment making, textile arts, quilts, machine embroidery and much more. Erin says she hopes more people will get involved and support organizations like CAA who have no federal funding. “Raindrops make oceans,” said Erin. “If everyone gave just a little, it could do so much.”

Where the System Ends, CAA Begins. We Built the College We couldn't find. CAA Story #5 Kim Rains

By DeAnna Pursai • March 23, 2026
Kimberly was born in May 1978. She was a beautiful baby but something seemed off so testing was done and it was determined that she had Down syndrome. Testing also revealed she had a heart defect with a hole between chambers and a valve that didn’t work properly. This was all new to us. She was doing well so doctors decided to wait to let her grow bigger before doing heart surgery to repair the defects. We waited about 3 years and finally had open heart surgery at Stanford Children’s Hospital. The heart surgery went well but there was scaring below the vocal cords in her air way which required a Tracheostomy Tube below her vocal cords to allow outside air to & from her lungs. The Trach tube required suctioning to remove mucus from her airway and her lungs. But as Kim grew and made friends in the neighborhood and at early intervention school she learned she loved to dance and perform for the family and for an audience. She thrived when dancing in class, when practicing and when performing. She was a regular dancer at the Alice Porter Dance Studio in San Jose. She taught us, her parents, what she could do. We never said “you can’t” or “You won’t”. I would urge parents to use positive words when speaking to their children. She learned sign language to help communicating with others and her teacher. She learned to cover her trach with her finger to force air through her vocal cords to speak out loud. When teaching Kim how to ride a two wheeled bike she had difficulty with balancing. We tried everyday for a long period of time. We eventually found a three wheeled recumbent bicycle. She could ride that bike right away, and loved it. With her medical issues, we ended up with a trip to see a specialist in Salt Lake City, Utah and several trips to Cincinnati, Ohio. Dr. John Langdon Haydon Down (1828 – 1896) was a British physician well known for his work & description of the genetic condition “Down syndrome” which he originally classified in 1862. He is also known for his work in social medicine and as a pioneer in the care of mentally disabled patients. It is too bad he didn’t have a different last name or a different way to identify the syndrome. For many of our children there is so much more “Up” and not so much “Down”. Kim joined several dance classes and used sign language for the church choir. Once we discovered College of Adaptive Arts there were several classes Kim wanted to take part in. She loved her new friends and brought several existing friends to join her in classes. She thrived in dancing, acting, practicing and learning new things. She led practice sessions at various times in several classes. The College of Adaptive Arts has been a great resource for Kimberly and for us to help and enable Kim to learn, grow and thrive in many areas. She loved to perform in public and on stage. CAA offers many types of learning scenarios and learning environments. It can be good to consider which classes are available and join those that could turn out great for your child. The sky is the limit. The College of Adaptive Arts is a lifelong learning environment. Thank you to Pam and DeAnna for your vision and for your follow-through. Thank you to all the current leaders for their work and dedication. CAA has been a blessing to us in so many ways.

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