Karla Pretorius: World-wide mentoring for those with neurodivergence
get a message from a mom saying, Oh, you know, this was an amazing connection that you had with my son, he’s never connected with a female therapist, and it was so great to see. And he really trusts you . It is then that you know you’ve changed one person’s life. It might not be 1 000 or a million, but it is one person that is feeling more connected to the world and to his life. To me that represents success.” Parents and parents of autistic children need a support system that makes them feel truly cared for. Karla would like this to be her legacy. “I want to make life a bit easier for those parents. The moment their child is diagnosed, they have options that are expensive and are not sustainable emotionally or financially. I want to create a system that provides a sustainable programme that empowers parents to feel they can engage with a child independently. They must know there are ways and different options to deal with a situation. That is what I strive towards – that they know there are people that want to connect with them in their way. “We don’t want to change autistic children or adults; we truly want them to feel accepted in today’s society. For that to happen, we need to change the environment, we need to change the way that we interact with them. I want them to know that while they are autistic, they are accepted. That would be my main goal in life.” Despite living and working in an international environment, Karla says she remains proudly South African. Karla obtained an Honours degree in Clinical psychology from UJ.
eyes to the possibilities of children diagnosed as neurodivergent. “I couldn’t help but notice that this little girl’s achievements as a human being were so far removed from the limiting beliefs many professionals hold. She is now 18 or 19 years old and she still messages me every day. We have conversations just like old friends. That is pretty remarkable to me. “Meeting Nanette, my business partner, was another defining moment. We decided to change the course of autism treatment by actually speaking to autistic individuals and include them in the conversation. We aimed for greater collaboration and created a support system that is autism-friendly and holistic. This meant a support system that really focuses on the strengths of each individual instead of focusing on all the difficulties they have, or the challenges they still need to work on.” Karla believes, in her field, success can be measured by how one was able to change somebody’s life. She often finds that when she starts working with more and more families, she wants to help more and more families. “But when you
neurodivergent (diagnosed with ASD, ADHD, SPD, and related conditions).
The AIMS Global (AIMS stands for Awareness, Interests, Movement, Sensory) support system offers online or “live in” or “live out” therapists all over the world for children diagnosed with ASD (or related diagnoses) and their families. They also provide practical and functional online courses and workshops to and with parents, professionals and neurodivergent individuals, and assist with placing online and in-home therapists to work with neurodivergent individuals. “We have clients everywhere – in South Africa, in the Middle East and many in Southeast Asia. Fewer in Europe, because it has become quite difficult to place therapists there because of the stricter work visa rules, however, we can work online in Europe,” says Karla. Her first official job was a defining moment in Karla’s life and career. She was working with a little girl of four years old who opened her
A little girl of four years old opened Karla Pretorius’ eyes to the possibilities of children diagnosed as neurodivergent.
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