Ashley Prentiss on Autism Advocacy, Survival, and Turning Pain Into Purpose

Meet Ashley Prentiss — autism advocate, single mother of four, writer, coach, and a woman whose life has been shaped by survival, faith, and an unshakable sense of purpose. Through trauma-informed parenting, honest storytelling, and a deep commitment to helping other families feel less alone, Ashley has turned her hardest chapters into a blueprint for hope. Her work lives at the intersection of resilience and service, where lived experience becomes wisdom and advocacy becomes calling.

On Being a Savant

What Does Being a Savant Mean to You?

To me, a savant isn’t just someone with exceptional knowledge — it’s someone who has been forged by their circumstances into something deeper. My expertise didn’t come from a classroom. It came from raising four children alone, including a child on the autism spectrum, while simultaneously unlearning the survival patterns my own childhood handed me.

That’s where my savant lives — in the intersection of autism advocacy, trauma-informed parenting, and the relentless refusal to make excuses. When you’re doing all of that without a roadmap, without a partner, and without the luxury of falling apart, you develop a kind of knowledge that can’t be taught. It can only be earned.

I live by three words: Push. Rise. Unlock. Push through what’s hard. Rise above what tried to break you. And unlock — not just doors for yourself, but possibilities for your children and for every parent who feels as alone as I once did.

Being a savant means I turned my hardest chapters into my greatest expertise. And I’m just getting started.

The Moment You Knew You Were Unique

How Did It Shape You?

I knew I was different as a little girl. Even in the middle of a childhood filled with every kind of abuse you can imagine — no parents, no safety net, no one telling me I was loved — there was still a quiet voice in the back of my mind that said: you’re going to be okay.

I couldn’t explain it then. I just knew.

When I was two years old, I watched my mother get stabbed 32 times. As I got older and understood what that really meant — the depth of hatred it takes to do something like that — I realized something else too. They didn’t touch me. They could have. But they didn’t.

I think about that often. God spared me. And when God spares you, that’s not an accident — that’s an assignment.

That knowing shaped everything. It’s why I survived two abusive marriages. It’s why I’m raising four children alone without making excuses. It’s why, when I was diagnosed with ADHD three years ago, I didn’t fall apart — I finally had language for what I’d always felt, and I chose to embrace it. So much of my life suddenly made sense.

I’ve come to believe that maybe the reason I went through everything I did is because I was meant to help people who are living inside those same storms. That purpose has never left me. It’s been there since I was a little girl who felt like no one loved her — but somehow knew she was meant for something big.

Daily Rituals

What’s Your Daily Ritual for Tapping into Your Genius?

I wouldn’t call it a ritual — I’d call it a lifeline.

Every single day, I spend time with God. I read my Bible, I study it, and I pray. That’s where everything comes from. My strength, my grace, my ability to show up for my children and for the people I’m called to help — none of it is mine alone. It flows through a connection that I protect and prioritize every day.

He’s the reason I’m still here. He’s the reason I can share my story without bitterness, pour into others without running empty, and face hard days without breaking. When people see grace in the way I navigate life, I want to be clear about where that comes from — it’s not me. It’s Him working through me.

That time I spend with God isn’t just how I tap into my genius. It’s how I remember who I am and why I’m here.

On Identity

In a World Obsessed with Labels, How Do You Define Yourself?

The world will hand you labels whether you ask for it or not. Single mom. Trauma survivor. ADHD. Abused. Struggling. And for a long time, I looked to the world to tell me who I was — and every time I did, I crumbled. Because the world’s definitions are always shifting, and they were never built to hold me.

My identity is in Christ. Full stop.

That’s not a cliché — that’s the thing that saved my life. When I stopped searching for myself in relationships, in validation, in what people thought of me, and anchored myself in who God says I am — that’s when everything changed. That’s where I found strength that doesn’t run out. Freedom that no circumstance can take. A definition of myself that no label can contain.

I am not my trauma. I am not my diagnoses. I am not my hardest seasons. I am who God created me to be — and that is more than enough.

So in a world obsessed with categories, I only belong to one. And that’s the only one that has ever made me feel truly free.

Misconceptions

What’s the Most Misunderstood Aspect of Your Identity or Life/Work?

People assume I have regrets. I don’t.

I used to. But the older I get and the more I heal, the clearer it becomes — everything I went through was shaping me for something. I wouldn’t want to relive any of it. But I can’t regret what made me who I am.

Here’s what people don’t expect: my greatest fear was having a child on the autism spectrum. And that fear became the very thing that unlocked the superwoman in me. I didn’t know I had that kind of strength until I had no choice but to find it. And once I found it, I couldn’t keep it to myself.

Because of the trauma I’ve survived, I love harder. Because of how broken I once was, I have a deep passion to help fix things — not just for myself, but for others. And because there was a time when I genuinely didn’t think I could do this — raise an autistic child, alone, without falling apart — now that I’ve mastered it, all I want to do is reach back and help every family who is standing where I once stood.

That’s not a regret. That’s a redemption story.

Creative Resonance

Which Piece of Music, Art, or Literature Speaks to Your Soul — and Why?

There’s something about contemporary classical piano that does something to my soul that words can’t fully explain. I discovered Camden Stewart, and his music became the soundtrack to my stillness. It quiets everything around me and opens something up inside me — that’s usually when my most creative ideas for teaching about autism come through. Some of my best content was born in those quiet moments with piano playing in the background.

Writing is my other sanctuary. It’s where I disappear — in the best way. It’s where every thought, every feeling, every experience that doesn’t have a place anywhere else finally finds one. Writing has never let me down. It’s my safe place.

And then there’s fasting and prayer. Because at the core of everything, I believe what God says — that we were created in His image. And God is the ultimate Creator. That means creativity isn’t just something I do, it’s something I was made for. When I’m building something with my hands, writing, designing, teaching — that’s where I thrive. Not out of arrogance, but out of alignment. That’s me operating exactly as I was designed to.

I am creative at everything I touch. And I’ve stopped apologizing for that.

Legacy

What’s Your Legacy in the Making?

When I think about the mark I want to leave on this world, it’s not complicated — but it is intentional.

I want people to see a woman who decided that making a way wasn’t optional. It was the only choice. Not because life was easy, but because giving up was never on the table.

I didn’t have a mother or a father growing up. No blueprint, no safety net, no one to model what it looked like to push through and still show up with love. So I made a decision — I was going to be better than the parents I needed. For my children, and eventually, for the world.

That’s the legacy I’m building. Not just as a mother who never gave up, but as a voice for the voiceless. A woman who took every reason she had to quit and turned it into a reason to keep going — and then turned that into a roadmap for others to do the same.

I want to hand people the blueprint. Men, women, parents, survivors — anyone who feels like their circumstances are too heavy to carry. I want them to look at my life and know that no matter where you started, no matter what was done to you or taken from you, there is still a way forward.

That’s my legacy. Still being written. Every single day.

Radical Truths

What’s the Most Radical Thing You’ve Ever Done in the Name of Passion?

I said earlier that I don’t have regrets — and I meant it. But I’ll be honest about one thing that sits with me: staying in situations that put my children in harm’s way. Going back to relationships I should have left sooner. That’s the one place where I wish I had moved differently. Not to punish myself — but because my kids deserved better, and so did I.

But the most radical thing I’ve ever done in the name of passion? I opened my entire life to the world.

I put it all on a public platform. The trauma, the healing, the autism journey, the hard days, the breakthroughs — all of it. Knowing full well that people would judge me, misunderstand me, and come for me when they didn’t agree. And I posted anyway.

That takes a different kind of courage than people realize. Because it’s not just vulnerability — it’s choosing to stay visible even when visibility is painful. It’s deciding that the one person who needs to hear your story is worth every critic who doesn’t.

My passion for helping people was bigger than my fear of being judged. So I showed up.

Publicly, unapologetically, and completely — and I haven’t looked back.

Balancing Chaos & Calm

How Do You Balance the Chaos and the Calm in Your Life?

Life with four children, one on the autism spectrum, running on purpose and passion — chaos is just part of the package. I’ve stopped pretending otherwise. But I’ve also learned that peace isn’t something that just happens. You have to protect it.

For me, it starts with God. My time with Him every day is non-negotiable. That’s where I get reset. That’s where the noise quiets and I remember what actually matters.

But I also take care of my body and my mind in ways that are just for me. I hike. I walk. I roller skate. There’s something about movement — being outside, feeling alive in my body — that brings me back to myself in a way nothing else can. Those aren’t just hobbies. They’re medicine.

And I have a therapist. I say that without hesitation because I spent too many years thinking I had to carry everything alone. Therapy isn’t weakness — especially when you’re doing the kind of deep work I’ve had to do. It’s one of the most radical acts of self-respect I’ve ever committed to.

Balance for me isn’t about having it all perfectly together. It’s about knowing what fills me up and refusing to let life talk me out of it.

Role Models

Who’s Your Ultimate Role Model — And What Have They Taught You?

I don’t have just one. I have three — and each one speaks to a different part of who I am.

Harriet Tubman. No excuses. No surrender. She freed enslaved people on foot, sometimes without shoes, in the dark, against impossible odds — and she did it on her knees in prayer. She trusted God when trusting God looked like insanity to everyone around her. That’s the kind of faith and resilience I aspire to every single day. When I think about the challenges I’ve faced, I think about Harriet and I keep moving.

Wendy Williams. She was bullied as a child. She survived rape. And instead of shrinking, she built a platform and made sure her voice was so loud that no one could ever make her feel small again. There’s something about that kind of reclamation that speaks directly to my soul. You take what tried to silence you and you turn up the volume.

Joseph from the Bible. Betrayed by his own family. Imprisoned for something he didn’t do. And yet — he rose. He became a leader, and when the people who wronged him were at his mercy, he chose forgiveness. That’s the story I come back to when bitterness tries to creep in. Forgiveness isn’t weakness. It’s power. And promotion comes to those who trust God in the pit.

Three very different people. One common thread — resilience, faith, and refusing to let their circumstances write the final chapter.

Wisdom to the Younger Self

If You Could Speak to Your Younger Self, What Advice Would You Give?

I would find that little girl — the one who felt weird, unloved, and invisible — and I would sit down with her and say:

You are not too much. You are not broken. And the fact that no one chose you does not mean you aren’t worth choosing.

I would tell her that the pain she’s carrying right now is not the end of her story — it’s the material God is using to build something extraordinary. That the very things that make her feel different are the things that will one day make her dangerous in the best possible way. Don’t shrink. Don’t perform. Don’t spend years looking for love in places that were never built to hold you.

I would tell her to stop waiting for someone to save her and trust the God who already has.

I would tell her that her ADHD is not a flaw — it’s a superpower she just hasn’t learned to use yet. That her mind works the way it does for a reason, and one day she’ll be grateful for it.

And I would tell her this — because now I have a son who needs to see it lived out loud: embrace who you are, fully and without apology. Not just for yourself, but because there is a little boy watching you. He needs to see his mother own every part of herself — the hard parts, the different parts, the beautiful parts — so that he knows he has permission to do the same. My healing isn’t just mine. It’s his inheritance.

You’re going to make it, little girl. And you’re going to take a whole lot of people with you.

The Power of Words

What’s Your Favorite Curse Word or Expletive, and Why?

Honestly? I don’t have one.

And that’s not me being self-righteous — I’ve said them before, I’m human. But I grew up being called names that cut deep. Words used as weapons against me before I was old enough to defend myself. So I developed a sensitivity to language that I don’t think will ever fully go away.

Words matter to me. They always have. Maybe because I know firsthand what the wrong ones can do to a person’s spirit — especially a child’s.

So while I don’t judge anyone who has a favorite expletive — that’s your business and I respect it — I just never landed on one of my own. I’d rather reach for words that build something. That’s where my power lives.

Looking Forward

What Are You Looking Forward To?

So much. And for the first time in my life, I can say that without fear.

I am currently writing two books. The first one begins at age two — the earliest memory I carry — and takes you through my childhood up until I entered foster care. The second picks up there and walks through my entire experience in the system until I aged out. These aren’t just memoirs. They are survival maps for anyone who has ever felt like their beginning disqualified them from a great ending.

I’m also building a six-week coaching course specifically for the autism community. Every single day people reach out to me with the same desperate questions — parents who are lost, exhausted, and feeling alone in this journey. I can’t answer every message individually, but I can build something that gives them access to everything I know, everything I’ve learned, and everything that has worked. That course is going to change families’ lives. I believe that fully.

And beyond that — I’m planning a tour. Workshops, panels, real conversations in real rooms with real families all over the world. Because some things you can’t get from a screen. Sometimes you need to be in a space where someone looks you in the eye and says — I see you, and there is a way through this.

I also recently became active on YouTube, where I’ll be posting long-form content — deeper dives, real conversations, and more of the teaching and storytelling that I can’t always fit into short clips. That platform feels like the next level, and I’m excited about what’s coming there.

I’ve also created resources that are already helping families right now — including my Autism Potty Training Guide and my Autism Discipline and Behavior Guide. These came straight from my own experience and the countless questions I receive from parents who are desperate for real, practical answers. They’re available now and they’re just the beginning of what I’m building for this community.

I recognize God’s hand in all of it. This isn’t ambition for the sake of ambition. This is calling.

And I am just getting started.

Connect With Ashley Prentiss

Stan Store: https://stan.store/ashleyprentiss
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AshleyPrentiss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleyprentiss/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AshleyPrentiss
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamashleyprentiss