OUR STORY

Why I Started Goliath Advocacy

After 25+ years in IT and cybersecurity, I reached a breaking point. The corporate grind was destroying me. Endless meetings, chronic stress, and burnout. I was building someone else's dream while my own potential remained locked away.

But the real catalyst came through relationships that changed everything. Mentoring a lifelong friend with a disability. Coaching another friend's son navigating autism, depression, ADHD, and anxiety. I saw myself in their struggles, and I saw something troubling: a system that promised support but consistently fell short.

I watched families navigate agency after agency, chasing promises of "individualized care" that rarely materialized. I saw high staff turnover leaving clients with constantly changing faces and inconsistent support. I witnessed organizations more focused on billing codes than building relationships, more concerned with regulatory compliance than real outcomes.

What troubled me most was how participants were being treated - not as people with unique needs and goals, but as commodities. Clients weren't receiving the proper care, direction, or support they deserved. Communication between agencies and the people they served was often minimal or nonexistent. Established policies and procedures were ignored with little accountability, leaving the most vulnerable individuals behind while agencies collected their payments.

Many agencies in this space mean well but lack the lived experience to truly understand neurodivergence. Others are staffed by inexperienced workers paid too little to stay long enough to make a difference. And some are simply chasing funding streams, providing the bare minimum required to keep Medicaid dollars and insurance reimbursements flowing.

The people who suffer? The individuals and families who deserve better.

I founded Goliath Advocacy in 2024 because I knew there had to be a better way.

A way built on authenticity and lived experience, not corporate metrics. A way that prioritizes people over profits. A way where you don't wait months for mediocre help. You get immediate access to personalized support from people who genuinely understand because they've lived it themselves.

As someone living with AuDHD (autism and ADHD) and depression, I don't just study neurodivergence, I live it. I understand the exhaustion of masking, the pain of being misunderstood, and the isolation of navigating a world not designed for minds like ours. But I also know that our differences aren't deficits, they're the very strengths that allow us to see possibilities others miss.

Today, we provide private advocacy, life skills coaching, and respite care to neurodivergent individuals and families across Nebraska, with plans to expand to Florida in Spring 2026.

Sarah, Co-founder and Managing Director, brings her own lived experience as an autistic woman with ADHD, along with strategic leadership expertise and a mother's fierce determination to fix the systems that failed her own sons.

Our mission is simple: Empower people to build independence, develop practical skills, and live authentically, without waitlists, without bureaucracy, without the broken promises that have become all too common in disability services.

Because differences aren't deficits. They're superpowers.

Our Approach

We start with your strengths, not your deficits.

Too many support services treat people like problems to be solved. We don't. We believe everyone has untapped potential, and our job is to help you unlock it.

Here's how we're different:

We Empower, Not Replace
We don't do things for you, we teach you how to do them yourself. Whether it's navigating an IEP meeting, taking the bus independently, or advocating for workplace accommodations, we're here to build your skills and confidence.

We're Practical, Not Theoretical
Life skills aren't learned in offices, they're learned in grocery stores, on buses, at job sites, and in real-world settings. That's where we work with you.

We're Fast and Flexible
Private-pay model = no waitlists, no insurance approval processes, no bureaucracy. You need help? We're available. Often within days, not months.

We're Neurodiversity-Affirming
We don't try to make you "act normal." We celebrate what makes you different and help you navigate a world that doesn't always understand neurodivergent minds.

Our Promise to You

We promise to:

• Show up. When we say we'll be there, we're there.
• Listen first. Your goals matter more than our assumptions.
• Be honest. If we can't help you, we'll tell you, and help you find someone who can.
• Follow through. No disappearing staff, no ignored emails, no broken promises.
• Celebrate you. Not who we think you should be, but who you already are.

We believe every person has untapped potential waiting to be unlocked. We meet you where you are, celebrate what makes you unique, and work alongside you, not above you, to build the skills and confidence you're seeking. No corporate metrics, no assembly-line approaches, no false promises. Just authentic support from people who genuinely understand because they've lived it themselves.