Jennifer Alumbaugh, MS

Hey NeuroKin, I’m Jennifer Alumbaugh, MS (they/she) and I’m a Neuro-affirming Coach and Accommodations Advocate and Consultant supporting neurodivergent adults in their journey to explore their neurodivergent identity, to deconstruct the harms of neurodominant culture*, and to co-create an accessible, neuroinclusive life that works with their brain and body.

*Neurodominant culture is a term I came up with to describe the ways that neuronormativity or neurotypicality has been used to dominate and control people, culture, education, employment, and access to resources in our society. Most of us have been raised within neurodominant culture and have practiced elements of it in order to mask and survive in environments not designed for our thriving. Part of the work I do with clients is to help identify the harmful messaging and practices of neurodominant culture so we can replace them with neuroinclusive practices. For example, neurodominant culture includes ableism and is responsible for the harmful stigma that ADHDers are just lazy, flakey, and uncommitted to anything important.

I am a queer, fat, gender expansive, late-identified (in my 40s!) Autistic-ADHDer+ with dynamic disabilities committed to advancing inclusion, belonging, and liberation through a neurodivergent-affirming and somatic abolitionist anti-racism lens. I spent 15 years practicing as a licensed complex systems trauma therapist before retiring in 2022 and moving fully into consulting and coaching. I love the words neuroqueer and neurodefiant to describe myself.

Ways I love to support clients:

• Identity Exploration – including neurodivergent, gender, sexuality, and relational
• Career Path – helping you identify strengths and areas of interest to assist in finding a career path that works with your brain and body
• Accessibility & Accommodations Advocacy – I help clients with paperwork & documentation for workplace accommodations, attend meetings with clients to advocate for their needs, provide emotional support for the often taxing and frustrating process of accommodations
• “I’m neurodivergent, now what?” – life support for newly identified neurodivergent adults
• Burnout Harm Reduction – through both group and 1:1 sessions I support clients in healing from burnout and building protective practices into life to help reduce recurrence of burnout
• Neurodivergent Entrepreneurship – I support neurodivergent entrepreneurs and business owners in building sustainable business models that are accessible to you, align with your values, and are resourced so you can thrive
• Make Sh*t Happen – helping you do the things you want and need to do providing accountability, hype, and motivation in a style that works for your brain

In addition to working 1:1 with individuals, I’m also a NeuroInclusion Accessibility Consultant working with businesses and organizations to build more accessible and neuroinclusive workplaces.

Some of my strengths as a coach include:

• Thought Partnership – I’m here for a hearty brainstorm session
• Strategic Planning – not sure where to begin? I got you!
• Pattern Recognition & Reflection – sometimes it’s hard to see our own patterns and I help clients notice theirs
• Solidarity & Advocacy – setting boundaries, getting accommodations, and speaking up for ourselves in our personal and professional lives can be exhausting and lonely; I’m here to walk with you through the process, championing your self-advocacy, validating your lived-experience, naming ableism and discrimination as you experience it, and helping you ground in the truth of your inherent value and worthiness
• Creativity & Innovation – I think outside the box…wayyyyyy outside the box so I can come up with some pretty creative ways to approach the challenges you’re facing
• Being a Mirror – reflecting back to you who I see with honesty, empathy, and affirmation of who you are.

Curious and ready to do a vibe check? Click here to schedule a free 15 minute consult call!