Janicia

Founder & CEO, LEAP Program

"I noticed it's a huge gap for kids with IEPs. They don't have activities to do during the summer."

As a parent of a child with an IEP, Janicia experienced firsthand the frustration that so many Florida families face every single summer. When she tried to enroll her daughter in summer camps and daycares, she hit wall after wall — limited options, horrific waiting lists, and programs that simply weren't equipped to support kids who learn differently.

"I didn't get contacted until the end of summer, right when school was about to start," she recalls. "And I was like, man, it's such a shortage." She watched what happens when kids with IEPs spend the summer at home with limited stimulation — regression, frustration, and setbacks that affect them well into the new school year.

But Janicia didn't just see the problem — she built the solution. She created LEAP with a structure rooted in familiarity and trust: programs held right inside the schools kids already attend, with the teachers and staff they already know. That way, the transition is gentle, the environment is safe, and the growth is real.

Her vision goes beyond summer camps. By including neurotypical kids alongside neurodiverse ones, LEAP teaches all children how to coexist, collaborate, and lift each other up — skills they'll carry into middle school, high school, and eventually out into the world. "In a way," she says, "they're just preparing each other for the next level."

LEAP currently serves elementary schools across Florida, with plans to expand to middle and high school — where the focus will increasingly shift to life skills and independence. And the mission doesn't stop at Florida's borders. Janicia is committed to spreading LEAP nationwide, one state at a time.