Autism Independence Allies
A supportive monthly membership program for parent graduates of Autism Independence Academy
You've Done the Work!
Now you want to keep the momentum going. What better way to do that than with friends you've met along the way?
Our motto is Navigating Together, Growing Together
Parenting neurodivergent teens and adults is the parenting stage no one told you about, and it can be such a lonely journey. While you are supporting, setting boundaries with, and giving loving pushes to your child, who is supporting you? Autism Independence Allies, that's who!
Join us as we build a thriving community of parents supporting parents and working toward greater independence for their adult children.
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What's included?
For one monthly fee per household, you get:
Group Coaching Calls
We have two live group coaching calls per month with one or both of our head coaches. Calls will be recorded and uploaded into the private portal in case you can't attend the calls live. Questions can be submitted in advance, and with the calls recorded, you will always have access to expert advice.
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Discussion Community
To continue the amazing discussions started in Autism Independence Academy, you will have access to a discussion community within a private portal that you can access from your computer or even a phone app for peer interaction and advice.
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Accountability Peers/Pods
No one can relate to your challenges or celebrate the significance of your successes like someone who is actively going through the same things, so to maximize opportunities for support and encouragement, we will help you organize into accountability peers or pods. You will decide how often to meet with these peers, and we will suggest a structure for these calls to help each other continue the momentum created in Autism Independence Academy.
What the future looks like
As we build this membership program, we want to add features that are deeply valuable to you. Some ideas include:
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Resource Library: A repository of resources like articles, e-books, worksheets, and checklists that parents can access to gain further insights and strategies on parenting demand-avoidant autistic teens and adults.
Guest Experts: We will have specialists or guest speakers discuss specific topics to provide new perspectives and expert advice.
Exclusive Content: Members-only webinars, workshops, or content focusing on relevant topics or deep dives into specific challenges.
Exclusive Tools and Templates: Specialized tools and templates that members can utilize to navigate specific scenarios or plan strategies.
Priority Access: Members will have priority access and special discounts to any new courses, workshops, or events that we create or host.
Personalized Coaching Option: Members will have the option to book 1:1 coaching sessions with the head coaches at an exclusive rate for personalized, in-depth support.
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Welcome to the Autism Independence Allies!
Patty Laushman & Blake Baumann
Your Head Coaches
Patty Laushman is a coach, educator, author, and speaker on the topic of neurodiversity. She understands the impact of being neurodivergent in a world built for neurotypicals. She comes from the neurodiversity perspective and also acknowledges the challenges brain-based differences can pose to daily living. In her coaching practice, she helps autistic teens and adults and their parents develop understanding, set and achieve goals, acquire skills, and ultimately live their best lives.
She is a Certified Autism Coach through Asperger/Autism Network (AANE), a 14-year program that has coached 3,000+ teens and adults on the autism spectrum through their LifeMAP (Life Management Assistance) program. She is a Certified Autism Specialist and Board Certified Cognitive Specialist through the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES). She is ACRE-certified in employment services for people with disabilities (basic level). She is also a member of the Asperger/Autism Professional Coaching Association (AAPCA), a professional development resource and support for professionals who coach, guide, and advise older teens and adults with Asperger's/autism and similar neurodivergent profiles.
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Before life coaching, she started and ran a technology services company, which she grew for nine years and sold in 2012. She also worked as a solo sales development consultant for eight years. Coaching is the fourth business she's started, and for neurodivergent clients who are looking to start their own businesses, she is uniquely qualified to be their business coach. Her business background is detailed in her LinkedIn profile.
She is also a home educator to an amazing, profoundly gifted, multi-exceptional, neurodivergent teen who is completely on track for independence.
Blake Baumann is a life and success coach who specializes in working with teens and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder, level 1, formerly known as Asperger's and high-functioning autism. He has personally spent over 10,000 hours studying autism, social communication, executive functioning, psychology, cognitive behavior therapy, neuro-linguistic programming, and all the new cutting-edge tools and strategies.
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What makes Blake unique is that he himself has Asperger's, and he is the parent of three neurodiverse young adults: a 24-year-old son with ASD, a 22-year-old daughter with ASD/social anxiety disorder, and an 18-year-old son with ADHD/dyslexia. Blake has used his tools and strategies not only on himself to become a successful executive leader, an entrepreneur, happily married for 15+ years and counting, and now a life and success coach, but also on ensuring that each of his children launches successfully in life. They are all now living on their own, working in successful careers, driving, in successful dating relationships, involved with groups of friends, and moving toward future goals to continue motivating themselves to even greater achievements.
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Blake also went through in-depth training at the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching where he received his Certified Professional Coach certification. He also went on to receive his Professional Certified Coach certification from the International Coaching Federation (ICF) making him one of the few with this distinct honor. In 2022, Blake was awarded the Most Inspiring Neurodiversity Coach award from the CEO Today magazine and has been nominated for other top coaching honors already in 2023.