Past Work

In the summer of 2022, I began to intern with Ashland Special Needs Ministry. I served families with special needs by providing childcare, transportation, church services, support resources, and consultations for IEPs, 504 Plans, and BIP meetings. I learned valuable skills like behavior intervention, time management, grant-writing, and organization while planning and supervising events like respite, summer picnics, Night to Shine, nights in the park, and a talent show fundraiser. At this time, I began traveling alongside my boss, Christina Teevan, to speaking jobs where I grew my confidence in public speaking. That summer, I was blessed to have made an impact on the parents in my community and in the surrounding towns that the ministry asked me to return to work the next summer (2023). I performed mostly the same tasks; however, my focus shifted toward a specialization in autism, my own diagnosis. I pulled from my personal experiences on the spectrum to work and advocate for children with autism, meeting with their parents, advocating in their school meetings, and creating educational resources. During this summer, I spoke publicly often, receiving requests to train volunteers working for special needs church ministries and sports ministries. I have also spoken for colleges. One of my favorite presentations was to prepare nursing students to understand and support autistic patients when they come into a hospital.

In 2024, I graduated from Ashland High School. While I did not work for the ministry in the summer of 2024 as I prepared to attend college at Palm Beach Atlantic University, I continued to volunteer for their respite program year-round as I had been for 8 years, and I still received calls from parents and requests to advocate in IEP meetings. I continued public speaking, visiting many of the same organizations I had trained before while I began to write my handbook Autism By An Autistic. I released this handbook in June of 2024 and held a seminar to mark its release. Shortly afterward, I moved to West Palm Beach, FL to attend PBAU where I am a double major in psychology and history. I plan to graduate in 3 years and I have dreams of holding a special needs ministry job while I work to complete a doctorate of education. (Ed.D.)