Today we’d like to introduce you to Olivia Martens.
Hi Olivia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I suppose my story starts when my sister and I began elementary school. She was diagnosed with Global Developmental Delay and Autism at the time, and I remember always having one eye on my teacher and one eye on my sister even though she was in the adjoining classroom (only a short bookshelf for a wall). I was able to experience her therapies, my own siblings of disabled individuals support group, and advocacy. I wanted nothing more than for all of my questions to be answered and to understand and know my sister better.
We grew up with different communication styles, and we built connection with our shared activities and interests: competitive swimming, biking, art and sewing… the list goes on. Eventually I moved on to study cognitive neuroscience at University of California San Diego and then ABA at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology during my career in ABA. I found the neuroaffirming, sensory-informed community of practitioners I wanted and needed to learn from in order to offer as supportive a therapeutic service I could, and I eventually saw another niche that needed to be filled: Special Education Advocacy was a service to families that I felt could be benefitted with a behavior analyst lens.
Bringing both special education advocacy and applied behavior analysis therapies to Central Oregon has been a momentous shift, and I’m so looking forward to serving families and their children in these areas!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Basecamp Advocacy & Autism Services is the next stage of Basecamp Advocacy. In San Diego, when working with an incredible colleague and mentor at their ABA practice, I started Basecamp Advocacy as a special education advocacy and consulting business. “After-hours,” I supported families in navigating their child’s IEPs or 504 Plans and joined them in school meetings ensuring their concerns and questions were heard.
Since moving to Oregon, I’ve expanded advocacy services to also include applied behavior analysis (ABA), social recreation peer groups, sexed and feeding therapies. Bringing neuroaffirming and trauma-informed care to Central Oregon has been a dedicated part of my journey since opening here. I’m really grateful for my background in cognitive science as well as learning sensory-informed care from some of the best OTs and SLPs in California. What I can offer with ABA, then, becomes so much more than “the function of behavior.” Without connection and co-regulation, children cannot learn. My goals are to fully embrace the double empathy problem with curiosity and connection, and I encourage families to learn as much as possible about the autistic experience. Part of this means that I’ve also taken my experience in connecting with my sister through sports to heart! Movement is one of our most powerful tools for regulation and connection, and it’s only fitting that so much of my practice incorporates play through movement-based learning. Community-based sessions are some of my favorite for this reason: move your body, access regulation, access communication and relationship building tools! Only from a place of complete acceptance can we build a network of advocacy and support for an individual that helps them build lasting, meaningful relationships, independence, and community.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
For those who are thinking about partnering with state or commercial insurances to support families, I’d say do it. Start sooner rather than later. Especially if you are a private practice clinician and not part of a private-equity firm. We need more clinicians in charge of their own standards of care!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.basecampadvocacy.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/basecampadvocacy/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/basecampadvocacy/
