-
Unmasking
There is a concept within the Autistic Community called ‘masking’, but it applies to many people across many different diversity axes. That’s because masking is basically the work we do to try to blend in with those around us – to try to pretend that we are someone that we are not – less autistic,… Continue reading
-
On Waiting
So many things have been put on hold recently, haven’t they? Birthday parties, potlucks, gatherings of any sort have joined ranks with graduation celebrations, sports and even shopping. It’s not something to celebrate, really, but I’ve been ‘waiting’ for a long time now, and I think the following 5 things about waiting are pretty universally… Continue reading
-
Hope
Hope is a tricky thing. Sometimes it feels like hope will just lead to disappointment – like not only is there ‘no point’ but there is almost an ‘anti-point’ – like it will be net negative to hope for something. When I first got sick people really wanted me to ‘hope’ that I would get Continue reading
-
Natural Light
The front of the house is beginning to take shape! This includes a LOT of natural light in the front bedrooms – especially when you remember that these are south facing! And that was no mistake. One of our guiding design constraints was to maximize the amount of natural light and ventilation we brought into Continue reading
-
Tools for Life in Physical Isolation
After three years of living mostly in physical isolation, I’ve learned a fair amount about this way of doing life. As such I figured I’d put out some resources over the coming days to share some of what I’ve learned. Tool #1 – Rhythm, Ritual and Rest *Create rhythms to your day, marked by when Continue reading
-
Emotional Regulation in Hard Times
Some suggestions for emotional self regulation during hard times: Create intentional PLANS and SCHEDULES to help organise your day and increase your sense of AGENCY and CONTROL. Don’t be afraid to Make these plans VISUAL in a notebook or on a board. Use MOVEMENT and CREATIVITY to allow your body to process stress as it Continue reading
-
Preventing Trauma for Complex Care Patients
I first entered the new wing of the Hospital for Sick Children in February 1993 – just over 27 years ago. Since that time I have had operations, birthed babies, spent time in the NICU, attended outpatient appointments, spent time in the ER, spent time with my kids as inpatients all in this building. I Continue reading
-
Let’s Talk About (Disability &) Sex!
Had an incredible time today as I was interviewed on a podcast about disability, where I got to talk about not only being disabled, but being part of a disabled family, and the highs and the lows of that. One of the questions I was asked was, How do your different disabilities play a role Continue reading
-
How I Can Help
Sometimes it’s hard to describe what I do as a coach – and why you might need a coach – because it can vary so greatly. So here are a few thoughts: If you are the parent of an LGBTQ child, struggling to know how to support your child, I can help. If you are Continue reading
About the program
In 2017 I was newly self-diagnosed with atypical autism, struggling with burnout, and striking out when it came to therapists who could address the issues I was facing. At the same time, I was building skills around life coaching, shame reduction, and trauma-informed therapy for work. Gradually I realized that what I needed – an embodied, autonomous, agency-driven coaching approach to unmasking – was not something I was going to find “out there”, but something I was going to need to create if I wanted to recover my life. This was the moment the Values Based Integration Process was born.
Having developed the program for myself – and having seen the incredible results it brought in my own life – I began to use it with coaching clients. The results were out of this world!
After conversations with Dr. Devon Price, the technique was featured in his book Unmasking Autism. With it, came interest in the technique and the decision was made to begin training coaches and therapists to help make this toolkit more readily available.









