Have Questions or Concerns? Ask Autism Family Coach!
Our Mission
Our Coach
Our Approach
At Autism Family Coach, our mission is to provide compassionate and effective coaching, training, and advocacy services to families looking for autism or social-emotional related guidance. We strive to create a safe and supportive environment where families can learn and grow.
In this, our aim is to provide solutions, resources, and fami
At Autism Family Coach, our mission is to provide compassionate and effective coaching, training, and advocacy services to families looking for autism or social-emotional related guidance. We strive to create a safe and supportive environment where families can learn and grow.
In this, our aim is to provide solutions, resources, and family-based strategies that are individualized to each family's needs and preferences. The hope is that our support will create a meaningful and positive impact on the family experience, while also considering factors of feasibility and ease of implementation, in order to achieve best family outcomes.
Our Approach
Our Coach
Our Approach
Instruction is performed through methods of:
- Autism Parent Coaching
- Autism Screenings and Observations
- General Social-Emotional Training and Lessons (no diagnosis required)
- Support and Resource Assistance
- Behavioral Plans and Strategies
- Special Education & IEP Guidance
- Adult Self-Advocate Neurodivergent Coaching for Copings Skills
Autism Family
Instruction is performed through methods of:
- Autism Parent Coaching
- Autism Screenings and Observations
- General Social-Emotional Training and Lessons (no diagnosis required)
- Support and Resource Assistance
- Behavioral Plans and Strategies
- Special Education & IEP Guidance
- Adult Self-Advocate Neurodivergent Coaching for Copings Skills
Autism Family Coach approaches autism and social-emotional support through a Neurodiversity lens. Neurodiversity is an international approach that views autism, as well as other brain differences (e.g., ADHD, Mental Health), as unique brain types that give variation to how individuals process the human experience.
Our practice uses a non-clinical, psychoeducational approach with the focus on teaching parents Evidence-Based (EBPs) strategies that can be used in the home and community. These strategies have been proven by research to make improvements in a person with autism's life, as well as others.
We primarily use a Parent Training Model for instruction, which we further supplement with social skills lessons for kids, parent support and coaching, autism advocacy, and special education support. Many of these strategies are also appropriate for students with other unspecified social-emotional challenges as well (no diagnosis required).
The strategies our practice instructs on are those recommended by the National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence & Practice and include:
Antecedent-Based Intervention
Behavioral Science-Based problem solving
Differential Reinforcement
Functional Communication Training methods
Modeling
Naturalistic Intervention
Parent-Implemented Intervention
Prompting
Redirection
Social Narratives
Video Modeling
Visual Supports
And more!
See the FAQ section at the top of this site for further clarification and additional information.
Our Coach
Our Coach
Our Coach
Dr. Emily Roff, Ed.D., CCC-SLP is specialized in the therapeutic and educational support of individuals with autism, as well as other children with social-emotional and special education needs. Her Doctoral education at Nova Southeastern University was concentrated in Special Education and Autism.
Her Masters education at the University
Dr. Emily Roff, Ed.D., CCC-SLP is specialized in the therapeutic and educational support of individuals with autism, as well as other children with social-emotional and special education needs. Her Doctoral education at Nova Southeastern University was concentrated in Special Education and Autism.
Her Masters education at the University of Texas-Dallas was in Speech and Language Pathology, with an emphasis on Autism Therapy. She is also a Behavior Specialist with a Graduate Certificate for Applied Behavior Analysis from the University of West Florida. She has accrued over 2,000 hours of Applied Behavioral Analysis practice with the School District of Manatee County.
Dr. Roff has practiced in Texas, New York, and Florida. She also has experience in many settings, such as non-profit clinics, parent education support centers, and public schools. As such, her varied experience in autism-centered and behavioral settings has given her a unique skill set to help assist families in navigating the complex world of autism, social-emotional, and special education support services.
Empowering Families for a Better Tomorrow
Autism Coaching Sessions
Autism coaching sessions can include a variety of topics that are tailored to the most pressing needs of the family at the time of service.
Topics can include:
-A parent wellness and support check-in.
-A review of immediate or long-term challenges and goals related to an autism diagnosis, or other social-emotional concerns.
-An identification of parent training areas that will help to support daily life, at home, in the community, and at school (e.g., behavior, learning, communication, development, sensory).
-A provision of parent training instruction on skills parents would like to learn for working with their child in the home and community setting; this may help to build independence and enhanced care for their child, as a supplement to other strategies already in place.
-A discussion of available community resources that may help to work toward the parent/caregiver's goals for their child.
-A provision of on-hand resources, as well as a follow-up email for additional resources discussed in the meeting, if needed. Materials and Strategy Development Sessions are also available.
-A discussion reviewing your IEP and educational goals for prospective, or current Special Education programming for your child’s school.
-A discussion of general barriers and frustrations related to the diagnosis, followed by a team-work approach on next steps for how to begin to overcome them.
-An identification and celebration of wins and progress, no matter how big or small!
-And more!
IEP, Special Education, and Behavior Coaching
IEP, Special Education, and Behavior Coaching are designed to help ALL FAMILIES with a child who may need specialized support with academics and/or behavior. Regardless of the child's diagnosis, our practice can help to demystify the word of school-based special education services, as well as behavior intervention strategies.
Topics can include:
-Understanding the IEP.
-Reviewing many of the school services and options that may be available/appropriate for your student.
-Learning how to request school-based evaluations and services.
-Providing guidance on how to work with school-based diagnostic and problem solving teams.
-Navigating challenging conversations and fostering communication with schools and service providers.
-Reviewing existing documentation and creating a "game plan".
-Attending school-based team meetings in support of the family.
-Reviewing the various services available in the school setting for different areas of need.
-Reviewing common school and/or home-based behavior strategies for social-emotional challenges.
-And more!
Screenings and Assessments
Wondering if a child has autism can be a long, scary, and isolating time. Our practice helps to connect with you at the beginning of the identification journey. We strive to answer questions and guide you in the direction of important next steps. Our practice offers screenings and written reports that help to get families started on the autism evaluation path. Screening for Autism, Pragmatic, and Social-Emotional Concerns include a final written report, as well as recommendations for Autism Family Coach and community-based sites that families can connect with to get additional services and formal diagnosis, if needed. Families may also request a Behavior Assessment and Behavior Intervention Plan to help address challenging behaviors in the home (no diagnosis required).
Additionally, once screened, parents may sign up for additional coaching sessions to start receiving instruction on various therapeutic strategies, which can then be tried in the home, IMMEDIATELY. We will also provide additional learning resources to help orient the family to a new way of looking at their child's individual learning style. This will enable families to have a starter tool kit for their child's unique presentation, while they wait for evaluation services and therapies. No diagnosis is required for this service!
Coming Soon: Let's Build a Community!
Autism Family Coaching strongly believes in the importance of connectedness and community, when parenting and supporting a child with (or suspected of having) autism or other social-emotional challenges. As such, our practice is in the process of creating a variety of community events to help bring families with similar experiences together! Please reach out to our practice to indicate your interest in these programs, as we continue building these events. Note that any family wanting to participate will be included, regardless of child diagnosis. If you would like to join our parent community, please reach out!