Our Vision

PIE exists to support neurodivergent individuals across the lifespan through education, creativity, meaningful work, and community.

At its core, PIE was created from the belief that every person has inherent value, purpose, and the capacity to grow when given the right environment. We believe people thrive when they are understood, respected, and given real opportunities to participate meaningfully in their communities.

Our work is grounded in Neuro-Semantic Learning Language Theory (NsLLT), a neuroscience-based approach that prioritizes meaning, language, and conceptual development over compliance or surface-level skill training. Rather than focusing on rote behaviors or short-term outcomes, we focus on building understanding, communication, and agency that can support individuals throughout their lives.

As PIE grows, we do so intentionally, strengthening our foundation before expanding, and building community before scale. Growth, for us, is not about speed. It is about depth, alignment, and sustainability.
We believe true empowerment happens when people are given real opportunities, not just support.

What We Are Creating

The PIE Inclusive Village is designed to grow with individuals across their lifespan, from childhood through adulthood and beyond. It is a connected ecosystem where learning, creativity, work, and daily life are not separated, but woven together.

This vision includes:

  • A Creative Arts Center for visual art, design, and hands-on learning

  • A Performing Arts Center for music, theater, movement, and expression

  • The Unified Art Studio, offering low-cost and free art activities for the broader community

  • A PIE Café & Bakery, providing meaningful job training and paid employment

  • A connected Business & Learning Center for skill-building, mentoring, and small business development

  • Supported and independent apartments, creating safe, inclusive housing

  • Outdoor green spaces that support connection, wellness, and community life

Each part of the village works together to support independence, dignity, and belonging.

A Near-Term Pivot:

Café + Unified Art Studio

As PIE looks ahead, we are entering an important transition point. Our current lease ends in January 2028, and rather than simply relocating, we are intentionally pivoting toward a multifunctional model that more fully reflects our mission.

Within the next 2.5 years, PIE aims to open a combined café and Unified Art Studio space. This will be a creative, community-centered environment that serves multiple purposes at once:

  • A welcoming café open to the public

  • A creative art studio for classes, workshops, and community gatherings

  • A real employment pathway for people with disabilities

  • A work environment designed by and for neurodivergent individuals

This café will exclusively employ people with disabilities, offering not just jobs, but dignity, skill development, consistency, and pride in meaningful work. It will function as both a creative hub and a workplace, modeling what inclusive employment can truly look like.

This build is a critical step toward the larger Inclusive Village vision.

Why This Matters

Too often, individuals with disabilities are required to move between disconnected services — school in one place, work in another, social life somewhere else. This fragmentation creates barriers, burnout, and isolation for individuals and families alike.

The Inclusive Village and the café/art studio model in the near term removes those barriers.

Here:

  • Learning connects to work

  • Art connects to communication

  • Community connects to daily life

This is not a campus that isolates.
It is a village that belongs.

Growing Forward

This vision is not built overnight.
It is built with community, over time.

Through partnership, support, and shared belief, PIE continues to expand programs, employment pathways, creative spaces, and future housing options all rooted in the belief that individuals with disabilities deserve full, rich, connected lives.

The Inclusive Village is our commitment to the future.

Our Philosophy

PIE is grounded in neuroscience, conceptual development, and human dignity.

We believe:

  • Communication should be meaningful, not prompted

  • Learning should build thinking, not compliance

  • Art is a bridge to confidence, language, and connection

  • Every person deserves access to purpose not just care

Inclusion is not an add-on.
It is the foundation.