Life-Coaching for Adults on the Autism Spectrum - with Mark Hutten, M.A.

Why would you want to consider working with a life-coach?

Research from the International Coaching Federation on the success of life-coaching reveals that:

• 99% of the adults they interviewed saw their experience working with a life-coach as worthwhile
• 96% stated they would do life-coaching again
• 80% said it helped improve their confidence-level and self-esteem
• 65% said working with a life-coach helped them improve their work performance

A good coach with extensive knowledge of autism spectrum disorders will help you cope with:

• Anxiety
• Career set-backs
• Depression
• Executive-function issues
• Mind-blindness issues
• Relationship difficulties
• Sensory sensitivities
• Social skills

…just to name a few.

As your life-coach, we’ll be hyper-focused on growth and capitalizing on your strengths, rather than focusing on your “deficits” – and we’ll reflect on past habits that may be destructive to your life. 

I will be your “accountability partner” and “motivator,” rather than a counselor who scolds you for poor choices you’ve made in the past. I’ll help you to understand why your fears and anxiety have held you back. You'll finally learn how to nurture yourself, honor yourself, and stop the senseless mind-chatter in your brain that constantly tells you that you’re not good enough.

Honestly, it’s the basic things in the little steps of life that you may have overlooked that will greatly improve your quality of living. You have choices in every circumstance. And you have the ability to decide how you will respond to whatever happens in life. Hidden within you is the ability to make new and exciting things happen.

If you have decided that you're going to simply live a joyless life… have come to the conclusion that struggling to cope from day-to-day is the new normal… hate to get out of bed in the morning… are on the brink of divorce or a job loss... (and even had a death-wish from time-to-time), then do yourself a favor and reach out. Let’s talk. You’ll be glad you did!





Do you regularly have these thoughts about yourself?

• It's easier to avoid this problem than to face it.
• Things always go wrong for me.
• This problem shouldn't have happened. You’re to be blamed. 
• To be worthy and have high self-esteem, you have to be competent and victorious in all respects.
• You really need to be dependent on someone stronger than yourself.
• You should be liked and approved of by almost everyone.
• You’re a failure.
• You’re a product of your past. You can't change anything. You’ve always been this way.
• You’re stupid and don't deserve good things in life.
• Your happiness depends on others.

The truth of the matter is this:

• You’re the one who ultimately decides what's best for you. Reliance on others is more like a habit and a state of mind that can be corrected with practice.
• You’re a person who sometimes fails. And that's okay. You’ll try again. 
• You might very well be at fault, but you’re not to be blamed, because we all make mistakes and can improve based on the lesson learned.
• You can't expect to be perfect in every way – it's okay to fail, and then learn from those failures.
• You can accept that things will go wrong sometimes – and that's not a big problem in most cases. 
• What you did may have been stupid, but you can forgive yourself and try again. 
• Things have happened in the past that influenced your behavior, but you can learn to modify how you think and react. People can - and do - change. 
• Nobody is liked by everyone. 
• In the long run, it's better to face this problem and accept your role in it. Then there can be a resolution and improved relationships.

Isn’t it about time to identify – and eliminate –  your negative self-talk?


For example:

1. Polarizing: You see things only as either good or bad, black or white. There is no middle ground. You feel that you have to be perfect or that you're a total failure.
2. Personalizing: When something bad occurs, you automatically blame yourself. For example, you hear that an evening out with friends is canceled, and you assume that the change in plans is because no one wanted to be around you.
3. Filtering: You magnify the negative aspects of a situation and filter-out all of the positive ones. For example, say you had a great day at work. You completed your tasks ahead of time and were complimented for doing a speedy and thorough job. But you forgot one minor step. That evening, you focus only on your oversight and forget about the compliments you received.
4. Catastrophizing: You automatically anticipate the worst. The drive-through coffee shop gets your order wrong and you automatically think that the rest of your day will be a disaster.

Here are a few ideas to get you started with eliminating your negative thinking:

1. It's important to recognize that emotions (just like our thoughts) aren't always based on the facts.
2. Rather than measuring your life against someone else's, commit to focusing on your own path to success.
3. Recognize the shades of gray, rather than putting things in terms of all good or all bad.
4. Remind yourself that you may not be making accurate guesses about other people's perceptions.
5. Take notice of times when an incident may apply to only one specific situation, instead of all other areas of life.
6. When you catch yourself personalizing situations, take time to point out other possible factors that may be influencing the circumstances.
7. When you're predicting doom and gloom, remind yourself of all the other possible outcomes.

Let’s set-up a time to get you started on a path to a better life.  

If you're interested, simply do the following:

1. Create a Skype account, if you haven't done so already -- it's free!
2. Add me to your contacts list. My Skype name is: markbhutten. [After you get into your Skype account, do a search using my Skype name. You'll see my picture and my name: Mark Hutten.]
3. Send me a contact request. I will accept it and add you to my contacts.
4. Email me so we can set-up a day and time to talk: mbhutten@gmail.com [I'm on Indiana Eastern time.]
5. Cost: $109.00 per session. At some point before we meet, you will need to send a PayPal payment to: mbhutten@yahoo.com
6. [Optional] A short summary, sent via email before we meet, of the important issues that need to be addressed would be helpful.

Sessions are 1 hour long (only one session per week, but we can do multiple weeks if needed).

Email me if you have questions: mbhutten@gmail.com