Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Rutel.
Hi Megan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started my company, Kids Thrive in January of this year, but it has been several years in the making. To understand how I got here, some backstory is necessary.
I started in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis about 10 years ago. It’s crazy to think that it has been that long. Over time the field began to pivot and shift as we became more and more aware of the potential harms that can be done when we practice poorly.
Around the time of Covid, I was working for a really large multi-state company. My caseload was really high, and I felt so discouraged that no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t provide the level of quality service I felt like my client’s deserved. I was actively adjusting the way I practiced as I attentively listened to the voices of autistic individuals speaking up about their lived experiences. I began implementing what I was learning on my cases, but working for a big corporate machine is challenging in that sometimes, no matter how much you shift what you are doing if the system in which you are working doesn’t support the change, it is hard for the changes to stick over time.
When Covid hit and flipped the world upside down, the stress only compounded, and my mental health took a hard hit. My company issued huge pay cuts, and we were all pivoting to Telehealth. It was a huge mess. (In all fairness, this wasn’t specific to the company I was working with at the time, it was happening everywhere). In addition to working full-time from home doing Telehealth and navigating the pandemic myself, I was also a mom to two very young children who were home with me as well. I suppose this part of my story isn’t much different than anyone else who lived through that exhausting time period but all of what was going on between the neurodiversity movement and my own personal burnout with my high caseload, to what was happening with the pandemic pushed me to really reconsider how I wanted to spend my life.
We only get one shot at life. Each day counts, and I knew I didn’t want to get to the end of it and wish that I had done something more to help shift the way we (in ABA) practice. But I was also so burnt out that I mentally could not handle working at all anymore. It was a tough place to be.
So, with my husband, I decided to take a work hiatus. I quit my job and took 10 steps backwards on purpose. One of my core driving values is family. I will prioritize my family above everything else. In my current situation, my children were consistently getting the short end of the stick mostly because I wasn’t able to be emotionally present for them the way I wanted to be due to the chronic stress I was under.
Quitting my job was the best thing that ever happened to me. Why? Because over the next 18 months, I was able to get really clear on who I was and what I valued. We also added a third (and final) bundle of joy to our family during this time.
Around the time my baby hit 6 months old, I felt the itch to get back to work. By this time, I was clear on my values and the type of clinician I wanted to be. But every job search that I did only left me more and more frustrated. There seemed to be zero options that catered to working women. I wanted to be a mom AND a career women. I wanted a foot in both worlds. But for the life of me, I could not find it. Also, as I searched for jobs, it became more and more clear that in order to practice according to my clinical values, I would have to do something drastic. After experiencing the level of burnout, I had walked through, I was committed to working for a company with realistic caseloads, who prioritized quality of life for their employees, and who made it their mission to engage in neurodiversity-affirming practice. The only problem was this company didn’t exist.
So, one day, mostly out of pure frustration, I logged on to legal zoom and set up my LLC, and I have not looked back since. One step, one day at a time, I am figuring out how to be a business owner. This journey, while challenging, is the most rewarding journey I have ever been on. I get to practice ethically in a neurodiversity-affirming way, prioritizing quality of care of anything else, and I get to be both a mom and a career woman.
The opportunities that this decision has brought me in the few short months I have been walking out this journey are too many to count. I have been able to network with OT and SLP colleagues and establish fantastic relationships with so many providers in various disciplines. Most importantly, I have been able to build fantastic clinical relationships with my clients and am so proud to be able to offer my city and the surrounding areas a quality therapy option for their children.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road to get to this point has not been smooth. I am a clinician through and through, and admittedly I don’t know the first thing about how to run a business. Thankfully, my husband is also a business owner (who launched his business right before covid), so together, we have figured a few things out over the last few years. I truly believe watching him walk out his journey is what gave me the confidence to jump in with both feet and not look back.
One thing I have learned over the last three years is that there is nothing you can’t figure out if you surround yourself with the right resources. You don’t have to know all of the answers, you just have to know how to find that answers that you need to get you one step further along.
Would you believe that the main way I have found many of the answers that I have needed has been through Instagram? Perhaps one of the most interesting ways social media can be used is for networking. On Instagram, I was able to connect with clinicians who are also practicing in a neurodiversity-affirming way and actively implementing compassionate care into their practices. I found my tribe within the Instagram community, and these relationships have turned into lasting friendships. I was able to connect with a phenomenal clinician in Colorado, Meg Solomon, who has her own practice called ABA Across Environments. She has been an amazing resource, mentor, and coach and is one of the many individuals who has helped path the way for me.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a board-certified behavior analyst and am also newly undergoing the long but worthwhile process to obtain a second master’s in speech-language pathology. It will be a really long road as I have to take a series of leveling classes before I can officially apply to a program, but I am really excited about it. Currently, there are only 500 dually certified SLP BCBAs in the world. For some perspective, there are approximately 59,976 BCBAS and 172,760 SLPs in the US alone.
Professionally my special interest area is the intersection of language and behavior. I have worked with a variety of learners over the years but primarily have focused on really early learners from 18months-8years old. My favorite learners to work with are students who have really limited language skills. Witnessing the first time a client says, “momma,” never gets old.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Having an “I can do anything I set my mind to” attitude has definitely been one of the main characteristics that has gotten me to where I am so far. I am not going to lie. It is hard. Some days I question myself and feel like I am chasing my tail. The thing that helps the most on those days is to remember where I started. I see it as a mountain. When you are climbing a mountain and have your eyes on the peak, it’s hard to realize how far up the mountain you have already climbed. But, when you stop to catch your breath and turn around, that’s when you can really admire the view and realize how far up you have already climbed.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kidsthrive.co
- Instagram: @kidsthrivetx
