The Future Deserves Better.
Indie exists to address the ever-growing barriers to equitable and accessible learning opportunities for neurodivergent and disabled children. Beginning as early as two years old, neurodivergent and disabled children are disproportionately excluded from traditional learning environments for reasons such as speech delays, challenges with daily living skills such as toileting, behavioral challenges and even medical complexity.
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As a core aspect of our philosophy, children and families who participate in our programs can expect:
A representative learning environment, where children are met exactly where they are
Multi-sensory engagement and support
Flexible seating to support a variety of learning styles
Accommodations for wheelchair/mobility device users
Zero potty training requirements.
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We operate within a social model of therapy, which means that children do not need a diagnosis of autism to participate in our programs. We welcome and celebrate children of all backgrounds and abilities.
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Indie Learning Co. started as a small initiative to help children and families maintain their learning goals through the Covid-19 pandemic. We noticed that our students, primarily Autistic and disabled children, were left without crucial learning supports as traditional schools and therapeutic services shut down due to the pandemic. We began making adapted home learning kits, filled with hand-made books, activities and visual supports that families could use to build skills at home.
As we transitioned back to the clinic setting in 2021, we grew to recognize the gaps that traditional educational and therapeutic services had in serving children with diverse learning needs. We attempted to make meaningful change within our roles, but ultimately grew to recognize that our values were severely misaligned with the practices of our field. In 2022, we decided to step away from the field and form an independent learning company that embodied our values.
The Indie Way.
The Indie Way means:
Honoring every child’s communication style, regulation needs, and learning pace
Creating inclusive, affirming classrooms where children can show up authentically
Leading with curiosity, kindness, and connection over correction
Supporting development through joyful, meaningful, play-based learning
At Indie, there’s no mold to fit into.
There’s just room to grow.
It’s more than a philosophy. It’s a commitment.
A commitment to seeing, supporting, and celebrating every child exactly as they are.
It’s how we create learning environments that feel like home, possibility, and belonging—all at once.
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Connection and co-regulation are at the heart of our classrooms. We prioritize creating a yes space—where children feel secure, supported, and understood. From cozy corners to low-demand transitions, we meet each child where they are emotionally and physically.
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Whether a child uses spoken language, AAC, gestures, echolalia, sign language, or behavior to communicate—we listen. We model and affirm communication in all its forms and never pressure children to use words or speak in neurotypical ways.n text goes here
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Play isn’t something extra—it’s how children learn. Our environments are filled with open-ended materials, sensory-rich stations, and hands-on projects designed to support executive function, social-emotional growth, communication, and curiosity.
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At Indie, we never assume a child “can’t”—we assume they can, and we work to find the tools, supports, and approaches that honor the intelligence and potential that already exists.
Presuming competence means:Valuing children’s inner worlds, even when they’re not yet visible
Offering rich, meaningful learning opportunities to every child
Avoiding assumptions based on speech, behavior, or diagnoses
Creating space for growth, not limits based on expectations
This belief is at the core of how we build trust, design curriculum, and show up every day with an open heart and an open mind.
Our Core Beliefs.
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We follow children’s interests, spark curiosity, and build trust before expectation.
Educators observe and respond, not direct and demand.
We guide children gently into learning experiences that feel joyful, not pressured.
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Children are always invited, never required, to join activities.
Participation may look like sitting nearby, watching, engaging hands-on, or returning later—and all forms of engagement are valid.
There is no forced eye contact, no behavioral compliance charts, and no token economies.
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Every child brings their own rhythm, brilliance, and way of engaging with the world—and at Indie, we celebrate that. Whether a child is a sensory-seeker, a deep feeler, a creative, a systems-thinker, or anything in between, we honor their unique profile by meeting them with intention, not expectation.
Our team thoughtfully tailors each experience to align with a child’s developmental readiness, communication style, and sensory preferences—not just their age or diagnosis.
Supports are woven seamlessly throughout the day, including:
Visual schedules that promote autonomy and predictability
Movement-rich opportunities for regulation and engagement
Co-regulation tools and calming strategies modeled by trusted adults
Adaptive and affirming communication supports, including AAC
Because when learning feels accessible, safe, and joyful—children can fully show up as themselves.
What Does The Indie Way Look Like in Practice?
How We Partner With Families.
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We co-create goals with families that reflect what’s meaningful—not just what’s measurable. These goals might include:
Increased autonomy during transitions
Using a communication device to express preferences
Participating in sensory play without becoming overwhelmed
Developing friendships or parallel play opportunities
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Families are seen as part of the team. We keep in touch through:
Quarterly goal meetings
Daily notes and visual check-ins through our Lillio app
Open invitations to collaborate on strategies or troubleshoot together
The Outcomes We Care About Most
Children who feel safe and connected
Children who are curious, not compliant
Children who are understood, not corrected
Children who are proud of who they are
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Founder
Jessica began her career as a certified PK-3 educator with a B.S. in Psychology and a B.S. in Early Childhood Education.
She was a founding member of an inclusive preschool program in Hartford, CT where she fell in love with child-led, play-based teaching methods. As an educator, Jessica recalls feeling like she was inadequately prepared to support her neurodivergent and disabled children in their overall development. With a lack of training and support, she felt that even in an “inclusive” program, her neurodivergent students weren’t receiving an equitable educational experience. She pursued her M.S. in Autism & Applied Behavior Analysis and obtained her BCBA certification in an effort to better serve all children in her teaching.
Along her professional and personal growth journey, Jessica discovered that she was neurodivergent herself. She saw many parallels between the barriers her students faced within traditional education + clinic settings and her own experiences as a child within the public education system. Many of her experiences as a child began to finally make sense, as she came to accept and be empowered in her own neurodivergence.
Jessica is a first Gen American to immigrant parents and often references her experience learning English within the public school system. She recalls significant barriers to her own learning and development within the public school system with teachers and administrators who were ill-prepared to identify and support her range of needs.
As an adult, Jessica’s areas of support include her expressive language, sensory regulation, social reciprocity and cognitive flexibility
Her strengths include a deep sense of justice, strong logic + analytic skills, her empathetic nature and her passion for leaving this world a better place for the next generation!
Outside of teaching, she is passionate about animals and advocating for animal rights! In her free time, she volunteers with local dog rescues to foster, exercise and train dogs at shelters and boarding facilities. She has 3 rescue dogs named Mötley Crüe, Ozzy and Hendrix 🐾
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Founder
Bri began her career as an ABA therapist within home, school and clinic settings while obtaining her degree in Psychology. Along her journey, she obtained her RBT certification. Her professional passions include trauma informed care, holistic approaches to teaching, + parent education!
In her 10 years, Bri has continually innovated within the field, with a strong focus on raising the standard of therapy/service delivery and pushing toward truly neurodiversity affirming supports. She has long advocated for and implemented changes in strategies for teaching skills, proactively supporting behavior, respecting ALL modes of expression and meeting the sensory needs of each learner.
Bri’s work in the last 4 years has been dedicated to building the foundation of Indie.
In 2020, Bri began making adapted learning materials for families whose services had been impacted by the pandemic. As schools and clinics shut down, Bri stepped up to make high-quality adapted teaching materials for families in her community. Within a year, she’d served hundreds of families with handmade adapted books, learning supports, visuals and parent guides to help families build skills at home. In 2022, Bri and Jessica utilized this extensive collection of adapted books and materials in their inclusive classes, story times and play groups around the valley! This Spring, much of this collection will serve as core resources in Indie’s adapted curriculum!
As an adult, Bri received an ADHD and SPD diagnosis, which centered and validated a lot of her experiences from childhood to adulthood. Her areas of support as a child — organization and planning, have turned into strengths as she navigates running a business. Bri is responsible for all of Indie’s branding, content, events, operations + anything else behind the scenes! She has an extremely creative and analytic brain, which allows her to hyper focus and learn all that she can to create each of Indie’s systems.
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Lead Speech & Language Pathologist
Meet your child’s new trusted communication partner!
Karissa is a sensory trained SLP and fierce advocate with a true passion for the work that she does!
Her therapeutic approach is child-led, play-based, and sensory supported, fostering an atmosphere where learners can authentically express themselves and feel valued, loved, and heard.
Karissa is a strong advocate for recognizing and validating all communication modalities and collaborates seamlessly with other providers and members of a child’s team to ensure well-rounded and individualized supports.
Karissa is unapologetic about bettering herself in her field through continual professional development. She is inside out sensory trained and most recently, she received training in natural language acquisition to support language development in Gestalt Language Processors.
Our Team
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