About Me.
I began this work long before I had a name for it.
Early in my career, I worked with a college student who was bright, capable, and motivated, and still struggling to succeed. Not because he lacked intelligence or effort, but because he didn’t yet have the systems, support, and understanding he needed.
That experience stayed with me.
Over the years, as a special educator, case manager, and coach, I saw the same pattern again and again:
Highly capable, creative, neurodivergent students struggling, not so much with content, but with the invisible demands of school and life.
They needed:
-
Executive functioning skills
-
Emotional regulation strategies
-
Social navigation tools
-
Explicit guidance on how to plan, start, prioritize, and persist
Sometimes they received that support.
Often, they didn’t.
Education
1992-1995
Bachelors in Psychology
Minor Communications
Clemson University is where I learned that I needed a LOT of help organizing my life. I was there, out of state, on a wing and a prayer. I still talk to my professor friend Elizabeth Boleman Herring, because guidance is golden.
1997-1998
English Bachelor's Equivalent
The University of Tennessee was a place for me to focus on what I had learned to do when the work world seemed overwhelming. This lead to my adding English education to my licensure, something I had always wanted to do.
1998-2000
Masters of Arts
Special Education
Appalachian State University Reich College of Education was a place to begin really considering how to apply myself professionally. It was this year when I began to work with the people I had such an interest in working with, those on the autism spectrum.
My Professional Journey
My teaching, direct care work, teaching self contained classroom, teaching preschool, teacher adults with special needs in college, teaching middle schoolers with reading and writing needs, serving as a case manager for local Arc of NC, working to support people who were I/DD and more, High school inclusion, high school English. Along the way, I mentored and gave parents consultation for free. This, because I had something of value to share.
My Personal Journey
When my son was in 3rd grade, the psychologist who evaluated him said,
“It is unlikely that he will be successful in public school.”
I remember welling up… and saying nothing. Yes he will, I thought.
What followed were years of advocacy, IEP meetings, therapy, sensory supports, and an ocean of patience. By high school, he had finally begun to adjust… but I knew there was more beneath the surface. Then one day, he said, “Mom, living inside my head is like living with a toddler. I keep doing things I don't want to.”
As both an educator and a mom with ADHD, I recognized that struggle… the brilliance wrapped in chaos, the deep potential just waiting for tools and understanding. He was entering adolescence and he needed executive functioning skills. A few short years later he is navigating college with more skills, self awareness, and grit.
Now, I help neurodivergent teens, young adults, and their families bridge that same gap between dependence and independence through executive function coaching, parent guidance, and transition support.
With over two decades of experience in education and specialized training in neurodiversity-informed instruction, I bring compassion, structure, and a deep understanding of how learning and living uniquely intertwine.
I am in awe of the uniquely brilliant young people who I work with. I have amassed countless tools, not just accommodations or bypasses, but practices that enable resilience and growth. By modeling for my clients how radical acceptance works, I serve to clear a path for a lifetime of developing their capacity for connecting with their world in a way that honors their unique talents and needs and enables a joyful life.
“Have customers review you and share what they had to say. Click to edit and add their testimonial.”
Alexa Young, CA