Unlearning Normal

Changing Minds About Autistic People, Human Illness, and Integrated Intelligence

We are UNLEARNING assumed fallacies about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and examining how environmental factors contribute to the dysregulation and dysfunctional symptoms in children and adults on the spectrum. We are finding holistic and individualized solutions by examining alternative theories to medicalized deficiency. We are thinking critically about supporting integrated learning in ALL children and adults, while preserving the acceptance of diversity and the inclusion of everyone.

Subject Matter Expertise

  • Public Funding Incentives and Consequences

  • The Administrative Burden of Special Education

  • Medicalized Deficiency and Devaluation of Hidden Disabilities

  • Adaptive vs. Assistive Technologies and Why it Matters

  • The Future of Artificial Intelligence and Workforce Development

  • Autism and Gestalt vs Analytic Processing

  • Political, Economic, and Financial Systems and Modeling

  • Behavioral Finance and the Psychology of Incentives

I am an UNLEARNING facilitator. I am a canary in the coal mine. I am observant of patterns. I have developed my skillsets for examining how environmental factors contribute to the dysregulation of individuals and group dynamics. I have spent the last 4 years researching autism internationally and seeking holistic and individualized solutions by examining alternative theories to medicalized deficiency. I am starting this collective integrated learning platform to promote acceptance of diversity and the inclusion of everyone.

Andrea $ue Johnson

Founder and Chief Troublemaker

During my first Board financial report as a Chief Financial Officer, a supportive colleague from a related regulatory agency, credited the overwhelming improvements in governance and financial results to something she termed the "Andrea Factor". I had arrived about 6 months earlier to a relative mess. Within a short year, the network of public charter schools had completed a drastic turnaround. As an accounting professional, you get to see how people spend money, and simply by altering their incentives, we collectively delivered radical transformation. I got a nickname, but everyone participated in the changes.

When the world changed in 2020, I found myself unemployed, unable to mask discomfort, and struggling to support my family. I did not know that I was autistic until a family member received a diagnosis of ASD in 2021. Nobody ever suspected that I was autistic. My family and friends just always thought it was a little extra sensitive. Needless to say, it has been an educational experience.

I accept the uniqueness of my autistic brain, and I would like to share that acceptance with the rest of the world. Challenge and struggle are not the same. I would not be who I am, where I am, and able to assist others without fully embracing the marvelous diversity that biology brings to our lives. We made that radical transformation not because everyone followed my lead, but because they followed their hearts.

Instead of budget expectations and reports to file with the business office, they were given trust to think for themselves, empowerment to find the resources they needed, and a partner for pulling it all together. We delivered individualized support in purchasing, grant reporting, and delivery logistics for each location.

At first, the uncomfortable uncertainty was a difficult adjustment. But, as the school year progressed, our collective trust grew. Change is something human beings resist. Our natural inclination is to preserve status quo. We either overreact to proposed changes coming too soon or underperform on desired changes that linger.


Sometimes, a catalyst is needed to convince people that the time is right. I call that moment the Change Factor. What makes this the right time for change? What factor will convince everyone else?

Moral Character

How Decisions are Made

When we provide a foundation of moral decision-making, our framework of human cognition more easily and quickly integrates new information accurately.

Critical Thinking

How Assumptions are Built

When we critically understand our standard assumptions, our cognitive understanding can build complex models without bias that successfully predict outcomes.

Radical Candor

How Truth is Communicated

When we receive information through a genuine connection, our cognitive framework assigns credibility to the source and a level of confidence to the facts presented.

Genuine Authenticity

How Self is Realized

When we are included for our genuine cognitive strengths and accepted despite our weaknesses, we more fully realize our individual personality and expand our learning potential.

Professional Resume

Personal Resume

The Power of Holistic Integrated Health and Learning

Centering Moral Spirituality

Realigning our inner self with practices that ground and center our spirituality, building habits based on moral character, for the benefit of all humans, while allowing each person to find peace and clarity in the moment.

Promoting Integrated Health

Utilizing a comprehensive holistic approach to health that combines modern medical science related to physical ailments with ancient wisdom and mindfulness to treat the body as an interconnected whole.

Balancing Mindful Nutrition

Transforming our relationship with food, medicine, and mother nature by discovering how mindful eating provides nourishment to body and soul, improves overall health, promotes emotional regulation, and supports integrated learning.

Harmonizing Emotional Sensations

Achieving emotional and sensational harmony by learning techniques grounded in daily practice that manage stress, cultivate calm, and foster a resilient mindset.

Call us: (317) 513-6334

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