Meet Rachel Edwards A L L
A R O U N D
Hello! My name is Rachel Edwards. I am the owner of All Around Indy, a small disability services company in Indianapolis. I was born in 1989 in Huntington, WV, and diagnosed with ADHD at age 4. When I was a child I had issues with safety and senBy Rachel Edwards sory needs, yet struggled to get appropriate accommodations. I initially delved into the disabled community as a peer tutor in high school. I helped other disabled students my age by working one-onone with them to complete homework and enjoy social time. For the first time, I felt comfortable socially and truly motivated to support others. I graduated high school in 2008 in Indiana and set out towards Marshall University in West Virginia to begin my journey learning to help the disabled community. I began with an associate’s degree in American Sign Language and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. While at MU, I worked as a direct care provider for elderly autistic clients and as an American Sign Language interpreter for deaf public school and college students for seven years. I worked hard to support my clients and advocate for their needs. I pushed for classroom accommodations and community supports. After I graduated with my ASL and education degrees, I moved back to Indiana to bring the skills and information I had learned to the Indianapolis disabled community. Once in Indiana, I applied to become an Indiana teacher. I spent two years teaching autistic students with behavioral needs and learning to incorporate academics into behavioral planning. I loved working with my students, however, I found that one-on-one support was absolutely necessary for my students to learn the skills they needed to thrive. I decided to leave teaching to learn more about applied behavior analysis and how ABA providers are able to work with autistic children oneon-one. While working as a registered behavior technician, I began my master’s degree in applied behavior analysis with autism certification. After learning more about autism, I became more aware of my own characteristics and how they compared to my clients’. After my psychiatrist referred me for an official autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, I was assessed and diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD at age 27. I began to analyze my studies and therapeutic practices through the autistic lens. I read through hundreds of posts from the online autism community. I noticed
36 Special Needs Living • January 2022
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