Neurodivergence expert, Best selling author and Youth Poet Laureate

Alora Y.

ADHD

I have lived my entire life with ADHD, and I have spent my academic career studying how our brains learn, create, and thrive when given the right tools. As an inaugural intern at the Center for Race Research and Justice at Vanderbilt University, I designed what has been described as a “groundbreaking curriculum for neurodivergent teens that will completely transform the way we educate our divergent youth” (Rich Milner, Professor of Education at Vanderbilt). This work builds on my studies at Swarthmore College, where I earned a degree in Spoken Word Pedagogy with a minor in Religion, specializing in creating education that conforms to, rather than merely accommodates, ADHD, autistic, and other neurodivergent minds. My expertise in ADHD coaching and neurodivergent support is rooted in both academic research and lived experience. I hold a degree in Spoken Word Pedagogy from Swarthmore College, where I focused on building educational models for students with ADHD, autism, and learning disabilities through creative writing workshops and spoken word. Beyond research, I have years of practical teaching and mentoring experience, having instructed over 40 students at Interlochen Arts Academy, tutored more than 50 individuals in spoken word performance, and led disability advocacy as a board member of the Swarthmore Disability Association. As a neurodivergent creative myself, I bring not only academic rigor but also deep personal insight into executive dysfunction, ADHD motivation cycles, and the creative strengths of divergent minds. This combination of research, teaching, and lived experience allows me to guide clients with both empathy and evidence-based strategies, equipping them with tools to thrive in writing, learning, and everyday life.I have attended conferences for Special education teachers where we learn from the most cutting-edge educators in the field. I have written two books about adhd and autism that are currently being shopped to publishers. I design tools for kids who have not been properly catered to

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

My qualifications for autism coaching come from a combination of formal study, innovative curriculum design, and personal experience as an autistic creative. At Swarthmore College, I developed a degree in Spoken Word Pedagogy that explored how oral storytelling and creative writing practices can serve as powerful tools for students on the spectrum, fostering both communication and self-expression in ways traditional methods often overlook. I expanded this work at Vanderbilt University, where I am pursuing a PhD in Neurodivergent Creativity alongside an MFA in Creative Writing. There, I have designed educational models that prioritize sensory regulation, alternative communication strategies, and strength-based learning environments tailored to autistic students. My approach emphasizes conforming education to the natural rhythms and processing styles of autistic learners, rather than attempting to force them into neurotypical frameworks. Beyond my academic research, I have significant hands-on teaching experience, including leading poetry and creative nonfiction instruction for over forty students at Interlochen Arts Academy, mentoring peers through the Swarthmore Disability Association, and creating inclusive workshops that welcome participants with a wide range of sensory and social needs. As an autistic educator, I bring firsthand knowledge of masking, executive functioning challenges, and sensory processing differences, which allows me to connect with clients authentically and provide practical strategies that resonate with lived reality. This balance of scholarly innovation, professional teaching, and personal understanding makes my coaching practice deeply responsive to the diverse needs of autistic individuals. I am the 2021 Youth Poet Laureate of the Southern United States and a ninth-generation Tennessean whose work bridges poetry, performance, and education. I am the author of Walking Gentry Home (Hogarth Books, 2022), a memoir-in-verse that became an Amazon bestseller, was nominated for a Goodreads Choi

Creative Writing

When I was two years old, I told my mother I wanted to be a songwriter. I have been chasing stories ever since. That pursuit has carried me from Nashville classrooms to international stages, from quiet nights revising poems to speaking on CNN, CBS, and TIME about the power of words. I am the 2021 Youth Poet Laureate of the Southern United States, a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, and the author of Walking Gentry Home (Hogarth, 2022), which received a starred review from Kirkus, was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award, and became an Amazon bestseller. My work has appeared in the New York Times, Rattle, The Washington Post, National Geographic, and other national publications. I hold a degree in Spoken Word Pedagogy with a minor in Religion from Swarthmore College, where I developed a research-backed method for teaching writing that blends creative practice with neuroscience and education theory. I have been honored with the Lin Arison Excellence in Writing Award, the Spring Robinson Literary Prize, and the International Human Rights Day Rising Advocate Award. My performances and teaching have taken me to TEDx stages, the Parthenon Museum, and classrooms around the world as a United States Arts Envoy. When you work with me, you get more than line edits or grammar tips. You get a teacher who believes that writing is a way of surviving, connecting, and transforming the world around you. Whether you are polishing a college essay, building a portfolio, or discovering your voice for the first time, I will meet you where you are and help you grow. My goal is not just to make you a better writer, but to help you see your own words as something worth believing in.

Dyslexia

As someone who grew up dyslexic, my teaching is shaped by the lived reality of struggling through words and eventually mastering them. I know what it feels like to be told you are behind, because I was once considered a below-average reader. By sixth grade, through persistence and unconventional learning strategies, I was reading at a twelfth-grade level. That turning point led me toward a life in literature, and by the age of twenty-two I became a bestselling, critically acclaimed poet. I now carry that journey into the classroom. Many of my strongest students are dyslexic, and I have witnessed how their creativity flourishes when they are taught to see reading and writing as flexible, imaginative practices instead of rigid drills. I use poetry, storytelling, and performance to give dyslexic learners tools that make language accessible, even joyful. My own path proves that dyslexia does not close doors; it can instead become the foundation of a unique literary voice, and I am committed to helping students discover the same possibility in themselves. As the founder of AboveGround, an organization committed to advancing equity in Nashville schools through creative writing and neurodivergent education, I continue to expand opportunities for young people to connect with language. I have written eighteen books, thousands of poems, and created inclusive workshops that welcome learners of all abilities. My poetry and performances have been featured on CNN, CBS, TIME, NPR, and local Nashville networks. Through my teaching, research, and writing, I help students, especially those with dyslexia, discover that English is not a barrier but a bridge to imagination, confidence, and achievement. I have taught nearly 100 students, and they still keep in touch and say that working with me completely changed their lives. Some of my students went on to be poet laureates themselves! When i was younger, i hated reading, but on my journey to become a better reader, I became the 5th Youth Poet Laureate of the Southern United States.

Essay Writing

I won two scholastic gold medals in essay writing, and I attended the Telluride Association summer program, the most competitive humanities summer program in America, where we wrote multiple essays every week on topics relating to hotly contested laws, Plato's Republic, education, and its evolution, and so many more. I run a very popular blog and Substack where every week, hundreds of people come to read my essays and have impassioned, thoughtful discussions in the comments. I attended Swarthmore College, which is notorious for its extremely competitive English department, and there, I was a writing associate who helped other students to write their essays for class. I wrote essays that appeared in The Tennessean, The Washington Post, The Nashville Scene, and literary magazines all over the country. I wrote a senior thesis that was nearly 40,000 words and received the highest Honors for it. I have written two books of essays that are being shopped by my literary agent for publication. My degree in spoken word pedagogy combines education, theatre, and English to create a new style of teaching pedagogy that leans into the craft of writing as an educational tool. The memoir I published at the world's biggest and most elite publisher, Penguin Random House, is called Walking Gentry Home, and it became a bestseller on Amazon! It was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award, which is a big deal in the reading community, and received a starred review in the most renowned book reviewer, Kirkus Reviews. Additionally, it was named Best Debut by the Nashville Scene. My writing has appeared in so many places! The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, The Tennessean, Rattle, Signal Mountain Review, Rigorous Mag, and Ice Colony Journal. I also contributed to I Know What the Red Clay Looks Like. My literary career is deeply connected to my journey as a dyslexic reader and writer. I began as a struggling student, but I made a point to make a change. That determination and growth shaped my belief in the transfo

Executive Functioning

For most of my life, I have been navigating the beautiful chaos of a neurodivergent brain, balancing creativity with the challenge of organizing time, tasks, and priorities. That journey has shaped my work as both an educator and a scholar. At the Center for Race Research and Justice at Vanderbilt University, I designed a research-backed curriculum for neurodivergent teens that focused on building the very skills that make executive functioning possible: planning, self-monitoring, task initiation, and cognitive flexibility. Academics say it will transform how we teach students who learn differently. I am a scholar, educator, and creative strategist who designs tools to help neurodivergent and gifted students master executive functioning. I am currently earning my PhD in Neurodivergent Creativity at Vanderbilt University, where my research focuses on creating education that conforms to, rather than merely accommodates, the way divergent minds work. My work builds on my time as an inaugural intern at the Center for Race Research and Justice at Vanderbilt, where I created a curriculum for neurodivergent teens that was praised as “groundbreaking” by leading professors. I know what it feels like to be gifted but under-challenged, to drift through school without direction, and to struggle with focus, organization, and motivation. The strategies I developed to manage my own executive functioning became the foundation for my academic and creative success. Those methods took me from a bored student to becoming the 5th Youth Poet Laureate of the Southern United States, a Presidential Scholar of the Arts, and a recipient of national awards such as the Davidson Fellows “Youth Genius Grant,” the Lin Arison Excellence in Writing Award, and the Princeton Prize in Race Relations. I have published work in the New York Times, Rattle, The Washington Post, National Geographic, and more. I am the author of Walking Gentry Home (Penguin Random House, 2022), which received a starred review from Kirkus and was named Best Debut by Ms. Mag

Personal Statements

I was accepted to a remarkable 43 colleges with my personal essay. I was accepted to Ivy League colleges like Brown University and Cornell University, and the admissions staff at cornell was so impressed by my application i received a likely letter, which is when they send you a special notarized letter a full two months before the rest of the acceptances come out telling you that you are very likely to be admitted because you are one of the most outstanding applicants they received in the entire application pool. I received full and half rides from almost every single school I applied to, and at Swarthmore College, my Alma Mater, I received a full ride scholarship and graduated with no debt. Because my essays were so outstanding, I had recruiters from colleges call me and tell me they were very interested in my application and would be willing to match scholarship offers from other institutions. As the founder of AboveGround, an organization committed to advancing equity in Nashville schools through creative writing and neurodivergent education, I continue to expand opportunities for young people to connect with language. I have written eighteen books, thousands of poems, and created inclusive workshops that welcome learners of all abilities. My poetry and performances have been featured on CNN, CBS, TIME, NPR, and local Nashville networks. Through my teaching, research, and writing, I help students discover that English is the great connector; it ties us to other humans and gives a sense of community, confidence, and achievement. I have taught nearly 100 students, and they still keep in touch and say that working with me completely changed their lives. Some of my students went on to be Youth Poet Laureates themselves! I won two scholastic gold medals in essay writing with my college personal essay and response essay. I attended the Telluride Association summer program, the most competitive humanities summer program in America, where we wrote multiple essays every week on topics relating to hotly contested law

Public Speaking

Alora is the 2021 Youth Poet Laureate of the Southern United States. A proud Black, Neurodivergent, 9th generation Tenneseean, She is a presidential scholar of the arts, a two-time TEDx Speaker, a scholastic gold medalist, an Americans for the Arts Round Table fellow, a Young Arts winner in spoken word, a recipient of the Princeton Prize in Race Relations, Spring Robinson literary prize, the Lin Arison excellence in writing award, and the International Human Rights Day rising advocate award. She was also nominated for Best of the Net by Rattle magazine. She is the founder of AboveGround, an organization seeking to create equity in Nashville elementary schools through creative writing and neurodivergent education. She is an inaugural intern at the Center for Race Research and Justice at Vanderbilt University. She has publications in or upcoming in the New York Times, Rattle, Washington Post, Signal Mountain Review, Rigorous Mag, and Ice Colony Jornal. She was a poet in Lyric Fest’s production of Cotton and contributed to the anthology I Know What the Red Clay Looks Like. She won two Best Young Actress awards at the Rome and Madrid International Film Festival. Alora has a degree in Spoken Word Pedagogy with a minor in Religion from Swarthmore College(class of 2025), an actor as well as a poet and she has performed her poetry on CNN, CBS, TIME, and many local channels in Nashville. Her Book Walking Gentry Home was released by Hogarth Books in August of 2022. It received a starred review in the Kirkus review and it was nominated for a Goodreads Choice award. It won best debut in the Nashville Scene magazine and Ms. magazine. It was a best-seller on Amazon. She is planning to pursue a M.F.A in creative writing and a PHD. in neurodivergent creativity. She spends her free time writing and playtesting her two board games Girlboss and Fake Your Own Death. She has written ten books and thousands of poems many of which will be coming out in the following years.