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Coaching

Rabbi Shoshana's
Coaching

I offer neurodivergent-affirming support

to Autistic PDA* people, 

our family members,

and our allies.

"My demand-avoidant child is struggling."
"My child was just diagnosed as PDA."
"I am late-diagnosed Autistic & I'm struggling."
"I think I might be Autistic & want to talk it out."
"I am a clinician & want to better recognize & support Autistic PDA clients."
"I want to learn about PDA from a PDAer."
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A session with Shoshana

is a breath of fresh air.

Kate P.

Late-Diagnosed Autistic PDAer

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As a rabbi,
I show up to you with complete
whole-hearted compassion.

As a coach,
I guide you to neurodivergent-affirming skills & insights that serve your
wellbeing and goals.

As a late-diagnosed PDA Autistic mom to a PDA Autistic child, 
I bring my lived experience & expertise to our sessions.

 

I know how hard it can be, 
& I know how much transformation is possible.
Shoshana brings depth, compassion, and freshness to the world of Autism and PDA, with lived experience and deep research to support her practice. As a coach, she can name the hard things with courage and gentleness in a way that helps me walk away empowered to pursue my own healing, knowing she supports me every step of the way. Shoshana is a rare gem. 

Amanda Diekman

"Low Demand Amanda," author of Low Demand Parenting

Late-diagnosed Autistic & PDA parent & coach

Claire Brooks, MI

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Essays & Podcasts
on Autism & PDA

Essays & Podcasts
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I describe my special interest in trees in this essay, published in The New York Times.

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PublicSpeaking

I bring twenty years of experience in public speaking and group education to my presentations on Autism, PDA, & neurodiversity.

"I'd like my clinical team to learn from
an Autistic/PDA adult."
"My congregation is looking for a speaker on accessibility & neurodiversity."
"Our conference needs a presenter on
PDA or late-diagnosed Autism."
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My Story

From age 10 to 40, I filled over a hundred journals trying to understand myself.

 

Why did I feel fundamentally different from other human beings, like I was sent here from another planet? Why did I have PTSD flashbacks to upsetting scenes in movies that didn't seem to bother anyone else?  Why was I flooded with overwhelming empathy for the suffering of animals, plants, and the natural world that sent me into meltdowns and obsessive thinking? Why did I excel in school, and later every job I ever had, but struggle to feed myself lunch? 

Therapists tried to help, but my underlying struggles remained the same.

Meanwhile, since early childhood I believed I was born to save the world from environmental destruction. Even though I knew the belief made no sense, it had a powerful hold on me. After decades of paralysis in the face of the enormity of the ecological crisis, I decided to ground myself in Judaism, my spiritual tradition, to make activism more sustainable.

 

I became a successful rabbi

Thanks to the interfaith climate movement I found my stride as a climate activist at age 30. As a rabbi. I organized, sang, and led campaigns for climate justice alongside my congregational work. I imagined I had found my calling for the rest of my life.

Then I had a baby.

After my son was born, the facade I’d built around myself as a high-achieving student, activist, and rabbi fell apart. Taking care of my newborn on little sleep, my nervous system collapsed. Clinicians thought I was depressed, but I felt better whenever I could get enough sleep and spend the whole day with my baby. If I couldn't, I could barely function. I didn’t understand what had happened to me. Other parents chuckled about sleep deprivation, but when I was tired, I felt like I was dying.

Why was I struggling so much more than other new mothers?

When I learned my son was Autistic, I knew that Autistic people would help me understand my son more than neurotypical doctors.

So I dove into the neurodiversity movement.

What I learned changed my life.

 

I discovered the transformative power of a positive Autistic identity for my son.

I saw, firsthand, the healing power of special interests, stimming, sensory supports, Autistic community, rest and retreat, and other essential Autistic tools for wellbeing.

 

And I learned that many gifted, undiagnosed Autistic kids develop a deep belief that they are born to fulfill an important mission in order to make sense of their unexplained talents and pervasive sense of difference.

But it wasn't just that.

I clearly fit the diagnostic criteria for Autism. Like my son, I also fit criteria for PDA, a profile of Autism in which an intense drive for autonomy, social equality, and control can get in the way of meeting basic needs.

I wasn’t a misfit from another planet.

I was a perfectly normal PDA Autistic human.

The neurodivergent-affirming strategies that I learned from my son's Occupational Therapist and other Autistic people did more for my mental health in a year than 22 years of psychotherapy ever did, combined.

They also helped my son through a year of acute PDA burnout.

I now bring the full power of my lived experience, rabbinic training, and deep study of Autism & PDA to my work as a coach, writer, influencer, and public speaker.

I envision a world where everyone has access to knowledge about what their brains & bodies need to regulate, learn & thrive.

I envision a world where all neurotypes and bodies are recognized, respected, and supported with affirming care.

I envision a world in which our social systems provide the financial, logistical, and communal support disabled people need.

I believe misunderstood hidden disabilities are at the root of much of the systemic violence, mass incarceration, family strife, and personal suffering in our society.

 

I believe that, at its best, the neurodiversity movement is a human rights movement and a peace movement.

 

I look forward to journeying together.

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BOOKING LINKS

Booking Information

Equity-based Coaching Fees

Neurodivergent-affirming support is often out of financial reach for those in need. To balance my own financial needs with my commitment to equity and access for all, I offer the following fee scale.

 

Please choose the category that most resonates with you, even if you don't fit all the bullet points. If you have questions or concerns, just let me know. Thank you for your partnership in building a more just and accessible world.

$150/session

I am comfortably able to meet my basic needs (i.e. food, housing, transportation). • I may have some debt but it does not prohibit meeting basic needs. • I own my home OR I rent a higher-end property. • I own or lease a car. • I am employed OR do not need to work to meet my needs. • I have expendable income*. • I can afford new items. • I can afford to travel and can take vacations every year.

$75/session

I may have some stress about meeting my basic needs (i.e. food, housing, transportation) but still generally meet them. • I may have some debt but it does not prohibit meeting basic needs. • I have a stable housing situation. • I own or lease a car. • I am employed. • I have some expendable income*. • I can afford to buy some new items or can buy second-hand what I need. • I can take a vacation annually or every few years without significant financial burden.

$35/session - Not available for new clients right now

August 2024 update: I am currently unable to take on new clients at this tier. If you are in a position to subsidize a low-income client, please contact me!

I frequently have stress about paying for my basic needs (i.e. food, housing, transportation) and don’t always meet them. • I have debt and it sometimes prohibits me from meeting my basic needs. • I rent lower-cost housing or have unstable housing. • I do not have a car, have limited access to a car, and/or am not always able to afford gas. • I am unemployed or underemployed. • I have no or very little expendable income*. • I rarely buy new items because I am unable to afford them. • I cannot take a vacation or have limited ability to take time off without financial burden.

*Expendable income refers to having spare money (after meeting basic needs) that could be used to buy coffee or tea at a shop, go to the movies or a concert, purchase new items, or for other recreational/fun activities, etc.

Sliding scale descriptions are based on the work of Alexis J. Cunningfolk, Peak Resilience, and the Califia Collective.

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