Nuerodivergent Superwoman
- Mar 6
- 2 min read
By Allison Bruning
Autism.
What does that word bring to your mind? It is a word that can damage the image of a person. Many people with autism are afraid to speak out into the world. They know the damage it can bring because modern day society doesn’t quite understand or accept a person with it. I have lived with autism my entire life. It has made me into the woman I am today but I am not afraid to speak out. In fact, I am a business woman whose mission it is to speak out for the entire neurodivergent community autistic and all.
My journey as a businesswoman started after I became a teacher. I worked in the public school system and found despite having special needs programs the schools still weren’t teaching the right way to reach the neurodivergent students. So I left the public school system and started my own online school called Academic Warriors. It was for autistic, gifted and special needs students. My husband and I ran the school for six years while we fulltime RVed around the Southwest telling homeschoolers about the school. I understood my students well because not only do I have autism but I also have dyscalculia, a learning disability in math that is just like dyslexia only in math.
Most neurodivergent are what we call twice exceptionals meaning we have a high IQ. Mine is 140. So you have to teach them differently. You need to teach them where they excel and where they are having problems.
My husband died from Covid in 2021. I closed Academic Warriors but I wasn’t done yet. I couldn’t give up on helping the community. While I was an international teacher in Bahrain, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, I was still helping parents and students who were special needs. I came back to the United States and more parents were asking me to go back into Special Needs. They told me that while I was gone, the educational system had become worse for the neurodivergent community and they needed my help. So I did what only I could. I went back to tutoring these kids and opened an art studio.
The goal of Allison Bruning Studios is to help the community by donating a portion of all sales to organizations that help the neurodivergent community. Later I plan to open a gallery where neurodivergent artists can show their work. I also plan to have art therapy and art classes.
Let your dreams shine and never give up on your passions. Life won’t always be smooth. There will always be obstacles in your path but if you are truly passionate about what you want to do with your life then nothing can ever steal that from you. You just need to stay on that path and let that passion grow.
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