About Us
Modern life can be challenging for anyone. When you're Autistic, the world isn't designed with your unique traits in mind and everyday demands can feel insurmountable. At Autism Personal Coach, we celebrate neurodiversity by empowering adults and teens to be the best version of their authentic selves.
By Autistics, for Autistics
Doug Blecher founded Autism Personal Coach in 2013 in response to the near-total lack of real-life support for Autistic adults.
In 2022, Doug officially confirmed his personal suspicions about his own neurotype. APC is now happy to confirm that we are fully Autistic-led (and have been all along)!
All of our autism life coaches are either Autistic or chosen by Autistics. We choose them based on their commitment to trauma-informed and neurodiversity-affirming strategies. Our Coaches deeply understand burnout, sensory needs, and the importance of special interests. They empower our clients to take the lead, determine their own goals, and choose their own paths.
We know that lived experience makes Autistic people the real experts on autism. We're here to help make their goals a reality!
Who we serve
We believe in the importance of positive Autistic identity. This applies both to people who have been formally diagnosed and those who have identified themselves. Our services are for anyone who resonates with the narrative of lived Autistic experience. If you at all suspect that you may be Autistic, you're welcome here!
We honor the personhood and inherent value of every Autistic person. This includes all levels of support needs and communication styles.
How we coach
Our organization is created and led by actual Autistics. We make decisions based on what we've learned from our own lived experiences and working with hundreds of other Autistics. We've found that common goals of autism therapies, like "social skills" and "independence," oversimplify things.
These targets are often set by individuals who are not part of the neurodivergent community. The goals may have a positive intent, but they don't represent the big-picture needs of Autistic people. Here's why:
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While social skills are important and can be helpful, it's not just about fitting into the typical ways of interacting. Many Autistic individuals use memorization to navigate social situations, and this takes a great deal of mental effort. Our coaching focuses on supporting this effort, instead of adding to it. This means support for mental health, help with sensory needs, and guidance in "translating" between neurodivergent and neurotypical communication styles. Once you're feeling better and managing your daily life more easily, then we can focus on the social stuff!
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While the idea of independence is a good start, we believe that true independence is usually an unrealistic goal. Why? Because people are meant to live in close-knit communities and help each other. We think it's okay when you can't do everything yourself--but if you WANT to be able to do something on your own, we'll help you figure it out!
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Instead of focusing on social skills and independence, we provide guidance in creating Support, Planning, Routines and Community.
Masking (trying to appear non-Autistic to others) is the ultimate source of Autistic stress. We know that not everyone has the privilege to unmask, and it's often not safe to do so. However, the more time you can spend just being yourself, the better you'll feel, and that's the first step toward reaching your goals! We'll help you reconnect with yourself and your needs and find more ways to unmask in your daily life. Your autism life coach will never ask you to change yourself to fit in. We oppose aversive techniques, desensitization, and any other tactic that demands too much masking.
The words we use
We recognize the importance of the words we use to talk within and about our community.
We use identity-first language while respecting the preferences of the people we serve.
We embrace the social model of disability and reject the use of functioning labels:
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When a person is labeled as "low-functioning," others tend to discount their abilities, thoughts, and even their humanity. They are more likely to be excluded from the community.
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Those labeled "high-functioning" are often pushed far beyond their limits and told they "don't look Autistic."
We know that all Autistics' capacities to function change from moment to moment and situation to situation. Besides, someone who seems to be functioning extremely well may be suffering internally. We think it's more important to simply ask you what you need and what you want to accomplish. When extensive masking is involved, this might mean helping you to discover what your own needs even are.
Intersecting identities
We are actively working to elevate voices in marginalized communities. If you identify as part of such a group, we'd love for you to write for us!
We are creating a team of Coaches who reflect the diverse backgrounds of the people we serve. Autistic individuals of all kinds are strongly encouraged to seek a position on our team.
We host monthly support groups for Autists who identify as trans/non-binary and Black/Indigenous/People of Color. Both groups are free and open to non-clients.
Affordability
As fellow Autistics, we know first-hand how limiting financial barriers can be. We strive to uphold our commitment to both accessible pricing and paying Coaches a living wage. Our available Coaching Plans offer support at several pricing options.
To help bridge the gap, we also offer a low-cost Groups Only Coaching Plan. This plan provides access to our monthly group calls and private Facebook group.