Behavior is data — not character.
Coaching at Rooted Pathways is built on one core idea: every behavior is doing something for the person doing it. When we look at the conditions around a behavior — what comes before it, what follows it, what reinforces it — we can change the conditions instead of fighting the person.
What “ABA-informed coaching” actually means
I hold a Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis. I am not a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), and I do not provide clinical ABA services. Coaching at Rooted Pathways uses the principles of behavior science — reinforcement, antecedent design, shaping, generalization — as an educational and coaching framework.
Think of it like this: a strength coach with a degree in exercise science uses the principles of physiology to design a workout plan. They aren’t doing physical therapy, and they don’t need to be a PT to be effective. The science informs the practice; the practice is coaching.
I do not diagnose, assess, treat, or prevent any condition. I do not write behavior plans for medical or educational records. I do not bill insurance. Coaching is future-focused, education-based, and entirely chosen by you.
The four operating principles
1. We start with what’s already working
Before we change anything, we map your existing routines, energy patterns, and natural reinforcers. The hardest thing about behavior change is replicating wins you can’t see. Once we name what’s working — even if it’s small — we can build on it.
2. We design for the brain you have
I work with a lot of neurodivergent adults: ADHD, Autistic, AuDHD. The cookie-cutter productivity advice has usually failed you, and not because you didn’t try hard enough. The advice was built for a brain that isn’t yours. Coaching changes the environment, the cues, and the timing so that the thing you want to do becomes the easiest thing to do.
3. Small reps, not heroic effort
Big change comes from small repeatable actions, not heroic Sunday-night planning sessions that fall apart by Tuesday. Two-minute starters. One sentence in a tracker. A weekly five-minute review. The system has to be smaller than your bad day.
Miss once: nothing happened. Miss twice in a row: examine the system.
4. Affirming, never compliance-based
I do not coach toward neurotypical behavior. I do not believe stimming, special interests, or non-linear thinking need to be fixed. The goal of our work is a life that feels like yours and that runs — not one that looks normal to someone else.
What this looks like in a session
- You bring a stuck point. We narrow it to a specific behavior or routine.
- We map what’s currently happening: the cue, the action, the reinforcer (or lack of one), the friction.
- We pick one variable to change and one experiment to run.
- You leave with a written one-page plan and a way to track it.
- Next session, we look at the data — not at how you feel about it — and adjust.
Who this works for
If you’ve been told to “just make a schedule,” “set better goals,” or “build discipline” and it has not worked, you are not the problem. The advice was incomplete. Coaching here works well for:
- Adults whose brains don’t respond to standard productivity advice
- Caregivers of neurodivergent kids who want practical, affirming strategies for daily life
- Late-diagnosed adults rebuilding routines around how they actually work
- Burnt-out professionals whose systems are not the right shape for their lives
Who this is not for
Coaching is not the right tool for everything. I will refer you to a licensed professional — and we will pause coaching — if what you need is therapy, diagnostic assessment, medication management, crisis intervention, custody or legal support, or clinical ABA services. Coaching also pairs well with those things; it doesn’t replace them.
Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, US), call 911, or go to your nearest emergency room. I am not an emergency service.