Looking for my next
opportunity
to make a change.
The neurodivergent way.
This is me
Tye the autism service dog
Found in a garbage bag in a dumpster at 6 months old, Tye was taken to Dog's Nation and trained to be an autism service dog.
He travels with me as I make appearances, and is known throughout the Missouri autism community for his manners (while wearing a service vest), his quirky personality, and his ability to eye-roll with the best. He does side-eye too..
Because of how he acts at home, I believe Tye might be the only autistic autism service dog in existence, though I have no data to back that claim up.
In 2011 I became a late-diagnosed adult with Asperger's (now simply Autism Spectrum Disorder). Since that day in November more than ten years ago I've become an autism and Neurodiversity self-advocate, helping others like me learn that they're perfect just the way they are,
I was out of high school for a decade before autism as we now know it, began being diagnosed in children, and, as I like to say, I, "Grew Up Without a Spectrum To Be On."
Like the majority of us on the spectrum, I bounced around from job to job, then finally decided to strike out on my own and began a 20-year career as a successful freelance writer, having been published in more than 30 national and local magazines, a dozen daily newspapers and scores of websites.
After my diagnosis, I chose to put all that behind me and began focusing my writing on autism, mental health, neurodiversity, and advocacy.
In 2017 I moved from Long Beach, CA to the peace of the Missouri Ozarks, mainly to escape the sensory overload that is Los Angeles & Orange County.
It was in my log cabin in the Ozarks that I began to self-advocate full time for others on the spectrum and with developmental disabilities.
It's been a wild ride, these past eleven years, but something tells me the best is yet to come!
I work with companies, groups. and families to educate, create an accepting culture,
and help those with autism lead happy, fulfilling lives.
In addition to writing for Medium, The Mighty, Different Brains and other publications, I also speak to groups, non-profits, and Fortune 500 companies. Additionally, I mentor the interns of Different Brains on speaking, and writing. If that's not enough, I also advocate at the state level for the rights of the autistic and those with developmental disabilities
I do this work because I know that we aren't broken neurotypicals, but rather, we're perfectly created autistic people. The world needs to hear that message, see what we as people with autism bring to the table, and accept us as the amazing people we are.
To me, autism isn't a disease or a condition, but rather an experience. We see the world through a unique set of lenses, and experience life in a quirky, unique way that others will never experience.
As a Cognitive Behavioral; Therapist, and a Certified Life Coach I know the importance of valuing yourself as a person with autism. I also understand the need to do certain things, and for the need to find ways to adapt, so we can participate in the events we want to.
My goal in coaching families and late diagnosed adults is that we all learn to love ourselves as we are and to help others lead a happier, more fulfilled life. All of us, Neurotypical or Neurodivergent, deserve as much.
Clients &
Collaborations
These are some of the companies and groups I've been able to work with.
Let's add your logo!
