About me short
I'm a hypermobile, late realized AuDHDer, list loving, thrift store scouring southerner turned Coloradan.
When I'm not working, you can find me exploring the beautiful mountains in my backyard (via hiking or hammock depending on the day), tending to my ever growing collection of plants, diving into the research on chronic pain/nervous system regulation/neurodivergence, or immersed in one of my many new and ever rotating hobbies!
about me
APPROACH
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You know your body best. Healthcare providers are there to come alongside you and provide guidance, but ultimately you are in charge of you!
All of my recommendations are just that—recommendations. If you try something and it doesn’t work for you, great! That’s information we can use to find a better solution.
Our bodies heal best when we remove the shame around how we show up in the world. Chronically ill/neurodivergent folks have often been shamed for being “high maintenance” and are therefore often hesitant to implement any changes in their life that might worsen that perception. I am here to remind you that you DESERVE to be accommodated.
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I celebrate neurodivergence, am disability and LGBTQIA+ affirming, and uphold body liberation/HAES.
I’m committed to practicing from a foundation of anti-racism and cultural responsiveness and seek to continuously learn and grow.
about me long
Growing up I was constantly in pain. But as the age old EDS story goes, I was gaslit by medical professionals who confidently stated there was "nothing wrong with me." I eventually got an hEDS diagnosis at age 19, but was frustrated with how little knowledge there was among medical professionals to help me adapt my life to my new diagnosis. As I gained more associated diagnoses through my 20's (MCAS, POTS, ME/CFS, etc) I continued to attempt to live a "normal" life, trying to ignore my chronically ill body so I could work and play at the pace of everyone around me.
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I worked my way through school, eventually graduating with my master's degree in Occupational Therapy from University of Oklahoma in 2015. Driven by my deep desire to offer understanding and compassionate care to people with invisible disabilities who were falling through the cracks of the medical system, I spent 8 years working in mainstream healthcare. But as I entered my early 30's I burnt out. My life was feeling deeply unmanageable and my diagnosed chronic illnesses weren't explaining the whole picture. All I knew was that I couldn't keep living this way.
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As many late diagnosed neurodivergent folks do, I stumbled upon neurodivergent social media creators and began to see my life experience mirrored in a way I had never seen before. I knew I had found the missing piece. Armed with this new knowledge, I quickly realized that despite the fact that my day job was helping people adapt their lives to their disability, internalized ableism had kept me from applying any of this knowledge to my own life. My deep burnout was a clear sign from my body that attempting to live as a neurotypical, able bodied person was NOT working and things had to change. So I set out on a mission to use my experience as an OT to completely overhaul my life, and over time I slowly started to heal. I made countless changes to my everyday life, big and small. I left my mainstream healthcare job and began to create a work life that both utilized my strengths and accommodated my body and brain's needs.
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That brings me to what I hope to offer you. Sadly, for folks living with disability in this highly ableist world, the only way to survive is to craft a life that looks very different than the "norm." As I have experienced myself, this process can come with a significant amount of shame and grief (both internal and external), but I promise there is freedom and aliveness on the other side! It's exceedingly difficult to do all this alone, so I hope to be your partner in some of the practical aspects of building your joyful and sustainable life!
I acknowledge that most folks living in disabled bodies have experienced trauma. Trauma from interacting with the medical system, education system, relationships, or simply from existing in our ableist world.
I have received training in trauma informed care and continue to deepen my knowledge and skills.
While direct trauma processing is not a primary focus of our work together, I am always sensitive to the ways that trauma might show up for you as we work to adapt your life to your body. I can also help point you to other professionals that could assist if you are wanting to dive more deeply into trauma work.
