Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Irtz.
Hi Amanda, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My life is defined by a series of beautiful roadblocks that keep leading me in the right direction.
Five years ago, I learned about my son’s diagnosis with autism. While the diagnosis shook my expectations of what I planned to happen in my son’s life, it did not erase any belief that my son could also succeed in life. With his diagnosis, a new “me” also emerged as I found a new passion for creating a more empathic understanding of autism. To date, my book, The Clouds That Chase Us: A Journey into Autism and my podcast, Empathy, Joy & Autism, are dedicated to this very vision. The conversations I engage in and the messages I give to our communities are directly related to creating empathy and understanding in autism.
Coupled with my 20+ years of professional experience in public schools and the joy-filled moments of raising two small humans, I am also deeply committed to creating a healthy, emotionally strong generation of children. My years of being an assistant principal taught me so much about the human spirit. These lessons now feed my work in raising up a strong and emotionally resilient generation. Today, I’m not only the creative innovator of Emocet® (bracelets designed to remind children of their emotions) but also the Founder of Autism Aptitude, LLC. My mission is simple: create more empathy and understanding for the self and for others.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I truly believe that roadblocks are detours in the right direction. With that said, there are certainly some bumps on the road.
When I set out to create my own business, write a book, development and trademark Emocet®, I held absolutely no business experience. In fact, 20+ years of my life were dedicated to public service in education and non of that experience prepared me the nuances of running a business. I learned to embrace business vernacular and study not just the meaning behind these new terms but how they applied to me and my business.
Balancing all of this learning with motherhood and my job as a school administrator taught me how to prioritize my days and my weeks. Part of my obstacles was about my mindset. I worked really hard to shift away from the victim mentality of being a single mom of two kids, working in a high-stress job, and having no social life to one that empowered my daily life. Mindset work was (and still is) the roadblock that sneaks into my life and steals my steps forward in life. Today, I combat these roadblocks through the use of positive mantras and meditation.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My professional life has been dedicated to public education both as a teacher and a school administrator. My experiences during the past 20 years have shown me my deep desire to support kids and teens not only in deeper learning but also in wellness. There is a direct correlation between a child’s wellbeing and their ability to access (and actually engage in) learning. My dedication continues to be supporting the whole child in all schools.
What’s next?
The beautiful part of life is not necessarily knowing what tomorrow brings. With this in mind, continuing to innovate is an important part of my day-to-day. I am a firm believer that if we do things the way we’ve always done them then nothing will ever shift. Also, my big-picture mission is to create more empathy in our world. I truly believe this starts with our youngest generation, so I plan to partner with schools and therapists nationwide to continue this work.
Pricing:
- Emocet® pack = $14.99
- 1 hr coaching = $99
- book = $19.95
Contact Info:
- Email: amanda@autismaptitude.com
- Website: https://emocet.com; https://autismaptitude.com
- Instagram: Amanda Irtz
- Facebook: autismaptitude
Image Credits
Kelly Vann Calaway Photography
