LearnAbility Celebrates National Accessibility Week

Happy National Accessibility Week! This week, and all summer long, IWSCC is celebrating Canadian Disabled-Owned businesses with our Reach Success project and submissions from our community like this one.

Today we’re honoured to share the perspective, experience, and values of the 2025 Certified Supplier of the Year, Michelle AuCoin: Entrepreneur, educator, and founder of LearnAbility Educational Solutions.

National Accessibility Week is more than a moment of awareness. It’s a call to action. As educators, business owners, and thought leaders, we are often encouraged to share our expertise. For those of us living with disabilities (invisible or visible), our expertise goes far beyond credentials and experience. It is a lived experience. It is navigated daily and it carries a perspective that is still far too underrepresented in professional spaces. 

I am a business owner. I am an educator. I am an individual living with epilepsy. These identities are not separate. They are deeply intertwined. Living with epilepsy has shaped how I lead, how I solve problems, how I support others, and how I build inclusive environments. It has required resilience, adaptability, and a level of self-awareness that directly impacts the way I show up in my work. It even impacted the way I developed my business. I did not encounter any barriers to building my business because in most cases, I did not disclose. For a long time, this part of my identity felt like something to manage quietly rather than something to share openly.

National Accessibility Week challenges that mindset. It reminds us that accessibility is not just about physical spaces. It is about representation, voice, and opportunity. It is about ensuring that people with disabilities are not only included but are seen as leaders, innovators, and experts in their fields. It took years for me to share my disability openly. I was afraid that I would be considered a risk to my students because of seizures. I also worried that clients would not put their faith in me, as a result. 

However, I have since learned the importance of my story. For those of us in education, this is especially important. We are shaping the next generation. When students see educators and leaders who openly navigate disabilities, it expands their understanding of what is possible. It tells them that success is not limited by diagnosis. It shows them that different ways of thinking, learning, and experiencing the world are not necessarily barriers. They can be strengths.

As a business owner, my experience with epilepsy has also influenced how I design services, support families, and lead my team. It has made me more intentional about flexibility, more empathetic in understanding individual needs, and more committed to creating environments where people feel safe to be themselves. This is the kind of perspective that needs to be shared.

The IWSCC community offers a powerful platform for voices like mine and like yours. If you are a thought leader, an educator, or a business owner living with a disability, this is your opportunity. Your experiences are not just personal stories; they are insights that can shape industries, influence policy, and inspire others.

You don’t need to have all the answers. You just need to be willing to share your perspective. When we do, we move accessibility forward, not just as a concept, but as a lived, evolving reality. This National Accessibility Week, I encourage you to step into that space.

– Michelle AuCoin, LearnAbility

Want to read more articles like this? Check out our previous article in the Reach Success Project with the 2026 Disabled-Owned Supplier of the Year: Accessibrand.