We create and implement strategies for:

Communication skills: navigating conflict, phone and email etiquette, and conversation skills

Relationships skills: romantic relationships, sexual health, and strategies for maintaining friendships

Social Skills: reading body language and social cues, asking for help or directions, and who to trust

Why is this important?

Cultivating strong and healthy social connections allows Autistic people to unmask, which can reduce anxiety and depression. It also helps prevent them from being taken advantage of, learn who should be trusted, having opportunities to get feedback on social interactions, and understanding what is appropriate for the situation. Strong, healthy relationships alsa llow people with ADHD to have a safety net of people who can be supportive of wise decisions, as those with ADHD can be impulsive and make decisions that are not in their best interest as a result of social pressure.

Emotional

We review how to identify and manage stress, express spirituality, if desired, promote healthy emotional awareness, and learn self-advocacy skills.

Physical

This includes managing medical care and medications, hygiene and grooming, nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle management

Safety skills

Safety skills support both physical and emotional health. It is important to identify common risks and how to avoid them, learn how to practice safety (locking doors, turning off the stove, following safety signs), and identify appropriate responses to emergencies.

Sometimes managing life is complicated. It can be extremely complicated for people who are neurodivergent. We help create strategies that are tailored for you in order to:

Navigate the grocery store, doctor’s office, and other frequently visited locations

Wash, organize, and buy clothing

Shop for groceries and other items

Take care of a home by cleaning, cooking, shopping, and performing other chores

Manage money through budgeting, financial planning, bank accounts, and credit cards and manage impulsivity related to money

Participate in leisure, hobby, and recreational activities

Travel on various forms of transportation, read a map and road signs and plan a trip

Find information via the internet, newspapers, books, and other sources

There are many aspects of executive functioning, which you can read about here, but at its most basic level, this skill allows you to adapt, prioritize, transition, plan, and manage time. Tasks such as making decisions, adopting flexible thinking, transitioning between skills, planning the day, creating a to-do list, and prioritizing tasks, also fall under the executive function umbrella.

Executive function is often impacted in people who are neurodivergent. People with ADHD often have "time blindness", which allows them to get into a flow state of hyperfocus, but also makes it more difficult to plan how long things should take. The singular focus of Autistic people allows for out-of-the-box problem-solving in their area of special interest, but can also lead to difficulty with flexible thinking.

Other aspects we address are:

Task management

Time management

Organization strategies

Wise Decision-Making

Success with employment is a key area in enabling independent living. We review and give strategies for the process of identifying jobs that may fit your interests and talents, obtaining training, searching for a job, and interviewing. We also teach how to communicate with a manager and co-workers, how to understand the unspoken demands of your employer, and how to advocate for yourself appropriately. While we are not career or job coaches, we assist with self-understanding and learning the process skills and soft skills to be successful.