The Breakaway: A Parent's Guide to Transitioning the Autistic and Twice Exceptional Adolescent Into Young Adulthood

Your child is getting older.
But readiness doesn’t always develop on the timeline we expect.

As graduation approaches, parents often hear the same advice:

Encourage independence. Step back. Increase responsibility. Prepare for college or work.

You follow the guidance.

And yet something doesn’t fit.

Your teen may be intelligent, insightful, and full of potential—but still struggle to initiate tasks, manage daily responsibilities, advocate for themselves, or consistently move forward. Progress comes in bursts. Confidence rises and falls. Readiness develops unevenly.

The Breakaway offers a different way of understanding this transition.

Drawing on decades of experience working with neurodivergent adolescents - including autistic, ADHD, and Twice Exceptional (2e) young people - and their families, child and family psychologist Thomas W. Welch, PsyD provides a compassionate framework for helping young people move toward adulthood without confusing age with readiness or pressure with growth.

Rather than asking,

“Why aren’t they more independent?”

this book invites parents to ask a different question:

“What support will help independence emerge?”

Inside, you’ll discover how to:

• Match expectations to developmental readiness rather than chronological age.
• Build executive functioning, self-advocacy, and daily living skills in practical, sustainable ways.
• Support autistic, ADHD, and Twice Exceptional (2e) young people as they prepare for college, work, and adult life.
• Foster confidence, resilience, and meaningful participation without creating unnecessary overwhelm.
• Develop individualized pathways that reflect strengths, challenges, and long-term goals.
• Encourage increasing independence while recognizing that growth is rarely linear.

Filled with practical strategies, relatable examples, and decades of clinical insight, The Breakaway helps families navigate one of life’s most important transitions with greater clarity and confidence.

Because independence is rarely achieved all at once.

It develops through understanding, the right support, and opportunities that match a young person’s readiness to grow.

A neurodivergent individual himself (Dyslexia, ADHD, 2e), Dr. Welch is a child and family clinical psychologist and leading expert in work with neurodiverse young people and their families. He specializes in work with those on the autism spectrum, and those identified as Twice Exceptional (2e). He is an owner of Humanex Academy, in Englewood, CO, a middle and high school dedicated to the growth and development of this population, and co-founder of College Coaching Advantage, an executive functioning coaching service for college age students. Through his additional roles as field instructor at the University of Denver's Graduate School of Professional Psychology, and psychologist in private practice, Dr. Welch is passionate about the training of young professionals who have a specific interest in neurological and behavioral issues.  
Dr. Welch began his education at Texas A&M University with an undergraduate degree in psychology, and a minor in business management. Later, he completed a research focused Masters in Psychology at Mississippi State University, and both a clinically focused Masters of Arts and Doctorate of Psychology, at California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. He completed his internship and post-doctoral fellowship training at Children's Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
He currently lives with his family in the foothills of Denver Colorado where he enjoys skiing, hiking/camping, sailing, and long distance running.