Bridge the gaps. Change the story.

College isn't just possible. A full college life is the goal.

We help students with complex physical needs get to campus — and we help universities build the systems so they can truly thrive once they're there.

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Diego and friends on campus — real college life with a power wheelchair, autumn trees, and mountain views

This is what a full college life looks like.

The Challenge

Families are reinventing the wheel. Every single time.

Families of students with complex physical needs don't have a playbook. They're learning reactively — often too late and always overwhelmed. Too much falls on advocacy, strategy, and figuring out things that shouldn't need to be figured out from scratch. That's not fair.

Every.

family starts from zero — no roadmap, no system, no shared knowledge

Reactive

learning that comes too late — families don't know what they don't know

Possible.

a full college life — not just enrollment, not just accommodation

What We Do

Inclusion isn't charity. It's design.

We don't do accommodations as an afterthought. We apply universal design to the full college experience — so it simply works for everyone.

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Systemic Solutions for Universities

We help institutions identify the small barriers that create big gaps — and build repeatable, affordable systems so every student with complex needs has a real path, not a workaround.

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Family Guidance & Advocacy

Families shouldn't have to become experts in systems they've never navigated. We help them understand what's possible, what to ask for, and how to stop reinventing the wheel.

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Speaking & Training

We bring this conversation to conferences, campuses, and organizations — sharing what we've learned from walking this path so others don't have to start from scratch.

Why Access Path

Built from lived experience and systems expertise.

We understand both sides.

Access Path was founded by a parent and systems thinker who has navigated every barrier that keeps students with complex physical needs from thriving in higher education.

We combine institutional knowledge with the daily reality of what it actually takes — from PCA coordination to accessibility infrastructure — to make college possible.

AHEAD Member (Higher Education & Disability)
Systems engineering background
DMAIC framework for systematic improvement
Decade+ navigating complex care systems
Lived experience as a caregiver and advocate

"Families are learning reactively because no one paved the path. Schools want to help but don't know how. We've walked this road — and we're building it as we go so the next family doesn't start from zero."

— Leslie Guzman, Founder & CEO

The Real Story

Not just enrollment. A full life.

A student with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy studying Urban Planning. Living independently. Playing power soccer. Making friends. Building a career. This isn't an inspirational exception — this is what happens when someone walks the path first.

Inclusive campus life — students with and without disabilities enjoying college together

It works.

When the right systems are in place, students with complex physical needs don't just attend college — they live it fully.

But right now, every family figures this out alone. The learning is reactive, often late, and always overwhelming. We walked this path so the next family doesn't have to start from zero.

Small barriers. Big gaps.

A housing form with no place for live-in support. A speech that's not intelligible and no system to bridge the gap. A student who can't find the words to ask for help because no one thought to ask them first.

These aren't failures of caring — they're gaps in thinking. Universities want to help. They just haven't had to design for this before. And families haven't walked this path yet — they don't know what they don't know.

"It requires a completely different way of thinking. Once you see it, you can't unsee it — every small barrier connects to a bigger system that either opens a door or quietly closes it."

We've seen it. We've lived it. And we know how to help both sides get it right.

Both Sides

Nobody should be doing this alone.

Families know their kids. Schools know their systems. Neither has the full picture. We connect both — so the path gets clearer for everyone.

For Families

You know your child's needs better than anyone. But you haven't walked this path yet — and you shouldn't have to figure out every system, every workaround, every advocacy strategy on your own.

College IS possible — and so is a full college life
Stop learning reactively — get ahead of the barriers
Learn from families who've already navigated this
Know what to ask for before you need to fight for it

For Universities

You want to be inclusive — but the existing solutions are expensive, one-off, and don't scale. We help you build systems that work for students with Duchenne, quadriplegia, complex care needs, and beyond.

Understand the barriers you can't see from the inside
Build affordable, repeatable infrastructure — not one-off fixes
Partner with families instead of guessing what they need
Make inclusion a design principle, not a compliance checkbox

Insights

From the field.

Perspectives on accessibility, higher education, and the systems that need to change.

Universal Design

Inclusion Is Design, Not Charity: Rethinking How Universities Welcome Students with Complex Needs

When we stop treating accessibility as an accommodation and start treating it as design, everything changes — for the student, the institution, and the people who support them.

Families

You Don't Know What You Don't Know: Why Reactive Learning Is Failing Families

Families of students with complex needs shouldn't have to become systems experts overnight. Here's why the current model puts too much on their shoulders — and what needs to change.

Full College Life

Beyond Enrollment: What a Full College Life Actually Looks Like for Students with Complex Needs

Getting to campus is just the beginning. Friends, independence, purpose, career — these aren't extras. They're the whole point. And they're possible.

Full articles coming soon. Subscribe for updates →

College isn't just possible. A full college life is the goal.

Families are reinventing the wheel. Every single time.