About Focus on Freedom
Empowering independence. Enabling freedom. Transforming lives.
Who We Are & Who We Serve
Focus on Freedom LLC provides support and guidance for children and adults with diverse abilities (ages 8 and up) and their families. We offer a variety of customized, person-centered services, including:
- Daily Living Skills Training
- Personal Futures Planning
- Add-On Respite Care
- Caregiver Seminars
- Personalized Family Support Plan
- Demystifying Schools & Services
Through individualized, one-on-one training and collaborative planning, we focus on building self-confidence and helping individuals with diverse abilities reach their goals and live as independently and meaningfully as possible.
Headquartered in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Focus on Freedom proudly serves families throughout Winnebago, Outagamie, and Fond du Lac counties, including Oshkosh, Omro, Neenah, Winneconne, and parts of Appleton.
How We Got Started
Throughout 20 years of working with people with diverse abilities in a variety of settings, founder Marla Kopecky Penney saw a missing link between community, home, and school support systems. For families supporting individuals with diverse abilities, limited time, resources, and understanding often meant they were left without the support they truly needed.
In an effort to help bridge that gap, Marla started Focus on Freedom LLC in 2019 and hasn’t looked back. Even during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marla and her team have continued to walk alongside families, offering meaningful support and helping individuals build a path toward long-term success.
Company Mission
Focus on Freedom exists to support individuals with diverse abilities and their families by building meaningful skills, strengthening relationships, and creating bridges between home, school, and community. We believe all people are capable, valuable, and deserving of a life filled with purpose and connection. Through personalized services, practical tools, and a strengths-based approach, we help families go from surviving to thriving.
Our Values
At Focus on Freedom, we believe:
- All people are valuable
- Everyone has something meaningful to contribute
- With the right support, individuals with diverse abilities can live as independently and confidently as possible
Our work is guided by these core values:
- Ability Over Labels
We start by seeing strengths. We believe all individuals are capable, and we focus on what they can do—not what they can’t. - Family-Centered Support
We support the whole family, not just the individual. We walk alongside caregivers to reduce overwhelm, strengthen routines, and create lasting connection at home. - Progress Through Practice
We embrace mistakes as part of the process. Trial, error, and repetition are how growth happens. Independence is built one real-life step at a time. - Relationships First
Trust matters. Whether working with caregivers, individuals, or community partners, we prioritize relationships as the foundation of meaningful, lasting change. - Bridging the Gaps
We help families connect the dots between home, school, and community. Our support makes complex systems feel more understandable and less overwhelming.
With personalized training and consistent support, we help families go from surviving to thriving; one small, powerful step at a time.
Meet Founder Marla Kopecky Penney
Marla Kopecky Penney has been working with children and adults with diverse abilities for more than two decades. She’s done and seen it all through her roles as an in-home therapist, respite care provider, special education teacher, evaluator, and founder of a diverse abilities services and skills training organization.
Marla’s career began in college, working as an in-home therapist for children with autism.
“Through this experience, I learned the value of understanding a family’s perspective and their desires when developing lifelong independent living skills for their child or care-dependent adult with diverse abilities,” she said.
For the last 17 years, Marla has continued her work as an in-home therapist for autism. She also launched her teaching career, specializing in intellectual and developmental needs. For the past 15 years, she has advocated for students of all abilities as a special education teacher with the Oshkosh Area School District.
“I’ve worked with children and adults with diverse abilities across all spectrums, but what fuels me most is supporting the whole family. This journey has shown me that true progress doesn’t come from focusing on the individual alone. It comes from walking alongside families, building trust, and creating supports that strengthen everyone involved.”
Marla Kopecky Penney, Focus on Freedom Founder
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have any questions about Focus on Freedom and the services we offer, check out our FAQs. You’ll find answers to common questions and learn more about our approach to supporting individuals with diverse abilities and the families who care for them.
