Kendra Pittman Smith, BSc is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, who has always had a passion to help others. She graduated from Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. Kendra developed her own non-profit, Heartfelt Connections Inc., that services the needs of individuals with children who have been diagnosed with autism, ADHD, OCD, and other exceptionalities.
She launched Heartfelt Conversations to create a platform for parents to be transparent about their journey with children who have special needs.
As an advocate for people, Kendra has committed to serving seniors in the home health field for over 20 years. A member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Kendra focuses on key initiatives to support others in her community. She is also the Health Advisor for Empowered by Pink, a non-profit that supports and empowers women with breast cancer. She shares her journey with empathy and transparency from
her own experiences with her daughters, who have exceptionalities. Kendra is a Certified Life Coach and a licensed insurance agent for the State of Georgia. She is also the Business Development Director for Canopy Lifestyles.
Friendships can form at all stages of life, but the process of making friends can be challenging for children with autism. Unfortunately, because of their social skills challenges, a lot of autistic children have no friends. All friendships are defined differently in every stage of life. Toddlers and preschool-age friends have less requirements and less
My youngest daughter, who is autistic, has struggled with social anxiety from a young age. Because autism affects social skills, I thought the characteristics she was exhibiting were a part of her diagnosis, not realizing that they were signs of something deeper. As she grew, we explored various therapies, including occupational, physical, and music therapy,
Transitioning to Adulthood
As parents, we are naturally protective of our children at every stage of their life, but some of the toughest years are when a child reaches adolescence, and in my opinion, this is particularly challenging for parents of young girls. It is likely a preteen/teenage girl on the autism spectrum may have a more difficult
