Amrutha Nandam (’23) started Special Needs Special People when she was in high school in order to spread awareness about accessibility differences and promote an inclusive community for people of all abilities. By spreading awareness, Special Needs Special People hopes to educate children about the beauty in accessibility differences and foster inter-abled friendships.

During her second year at Carolina, Amrutha joined CUBE, UNC’s year-long Social Innovation residency that helps UNC students turn their entrepreneurial ideas for social change into scalable businesses through workshops, seed funding, mentorship, and academic instruction. Since joining CUBE, Amrutha has been able to launch SNSP’s inclusive education program, and create an asynchronous version of her talk about accessibility differences in order to reach more students.

To learn more about SNSP, visit their website at https://specialneedsspecia.wixsite.com/website or follow them on Twitter @SpecialNeedsSp2 and on Instagram @specialneedsspecialpeople.

Today, Amrutha and I are talking about her experience growing up with accessibility differences, founding Special Needs Special People, and the importance of starting conversations about accessibility and inclusion in elementary schools.

Music: Scratcher by Blue Dot Sessions

Graphics: Britney Hong