Meet Rachel Edwards-ALL AROUND INDY

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 sensory 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

some common problematic practices within the ABA field: targeting eye contact, unnecessary or harmful punishment procedures, boring table trials, long days, and requiring complete compliance. I, myself, have experienced ableism and discrimination within the ABA industry. Once I became a board-certified behavior analyst, I decided to create my own company for disability services that would provide that crucial one-on-one support while incorporating trauma-informed practices and compassionate human-centered services. I am able to provide therapy and consultation services through the autistic and disabled perspective by modeling coping skills for my clients that work for me and bonding with my clients over shared experiences. We are currently

offering in-home, in-community, and in-school ABA therapy and plan to add other services in the future. I want to support my clients in all aspects of life and collaborate with all family members and staff. I will continue to support and advocate for my disabled peers and clients by providing compassionate and effective services, training other providers, and listening to autistic voices.

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"We followed the same path most of the other autism parents do with GFCF, DAN Dr., supplements, HBOT. What really made a difference in our son’s attention span, executive processing skills, and anger management was neurofeedback through INDY Neurofeedback and Leanne O’Neil." ~Maria S. (parent)

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