Chris Hanson

I’m Chris, and I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. I moved to the Seattle area in September 2008, and soon after, I met my wife, Lisa. In May 2020, we welcomed our son, Benji, into the world.

I earned my special education teaching degree from Grand Canyon University (online) while working as a paraeducator in the Kent School District. I have over 10 years of classroom experience and 30 years and counting of lived experience with neurodivergency, specifically ADHD.

I started Life Skills Advocate in 2019 because I wanted to create the kind of support I wish I had when I was younger. The reality is, when you don’t get the right support growing up, you don’t just grow out of it. It follows you. The struggles compound. They show up in your work, relationships, self-worth, and mental health. Before you know it, you're spending years untangling the mess in therapy, if you’re lucky enough to have access to it. A lot of what we work on with our clients is about building executive function skills, emotional regulation, self-advocacy, and independence. These are things that, if addressed earlier, could prevent a lot of unnecessary suffering later on.

When I started LSA, my goal was to provide in-home and community-based support to my own clients in and around the greater Seattle region. I wanted to teach the practical life skills needed to navigate one of life’s toughest transitions: independent living. A few years later, while we still provide in-home support locally, LSA is now working remotely with clients across the country and sometimes internationally in a variety of contexts.

Looking ahead, I want to expand our reach to serve more clients, especially those in financial hardship. I’m working hard to grow our product catalog and free content on our website, including our blog and other resources. We also plan to offer additional services that complement our coaching. Everything we do is in service of our greater mission to uplift the neurodivergent community to embrace their strengths and self-advocate with confidence.

Best,