Hidden Gems: Meet Shana Boutté

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shana Boutté.

Hi Shana, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Awareness of working with those with intellectual, developmental, and trauma disabilities started at age five. A neighbor friend I had was intellectually delayed, and she was in a special school and work program. She loved music and dancing and had a boyfriend for many years. Kindergarten is when I was placed in resource classes with significantly disabled students, spending a half day there and a half day in a regular class, so meeting her and being in resource around the same time was not coincidental.

Anyhow, I would visit her, bring my books, read to her, and teach her what I was learning. This was shared with a lot of playtime. We were close. At age eight, I saw there was fundraising for her population, so I started collecting donations and dropping those off at a donation center. This is the same year I received my first learning disability diagnosis. By intermediate school, I was volunteering as a peer counselor through the school counseling center.

My senior year of high school was in upstate New York, and there I was in resource. Remedial classes and resources were a theme throughout all of K-12 education. Some classes were regular, others were remedial. Special school programs were selected by the school for some years. During my senior year of high school, I was removed from an art class for not drawing what I saw, when I drew exactly what I saw, and sent to resource during the art class hour. An amazing teacher from Ireland was there, and she became an angel for me. She had a way of teaching what I was not learning and could help me with homework in her space.

What would take hours to complete at home I could accomplish in her care in one hour. She saw something in me no one saw ever and asked if I would mind speaking to intermediate school students with disabilities about transitioning to high school. This was life-changing. A miracle happened that year.

Starting in kindergarten, and through all my school years, my parents and I were told I would never finish high school or attend college. I graduated from high school on time and then started my college experience that autumn. At this time, I still only had one learning disability diagnosis. This is the background of my career, which crosses over into many aspects of my life. Human rights, animal rights, and justice for the planet are all foundations of who I am and what I do in my career and spare time. This is what I began at age nine. Some kids played ball in seventh grade, and I wrote Amnesty International letters to be delivered to prisoners.

The home I built is in a net zero community, and my first job was at the Greenpeace headquarters in New York with I was 15. It is very interesting to be silent about the work done to make life better for all beings, and THEN find out people are paying attention! It’s not until now I learn I have been on the radar of people who make a difference in the world. This is why I am one of the recipients of the National Presidential Humanitarian Lifetime Achievement Award this year.

What I hope comes from this award is our society noticing disabled people can contribute to global and local change. I hope people with labels, which can minimize a sense of self, will see this award and know they are more than a label and can do more than what is expected. Receiving such a high national honor is not about me. Instead, it is about anyone who has been marginalized overcoming. I cannot stress the word overcoming enough. Edify is another good word for those who overcome and achieve beyond difficult situations.

We can all lift and build each other, particularly lift and build those who struggle to have a quality of life and many experiences as daily life. In my free time, I volunteer at a ranch in Louisville, working with equine supportive care in mental health. Also, I volunteer with rescues, work on environmental causes, teach sustainable living, hike, attend art shows and cultural events, and dance or see live music when possible.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being in a public school in Texas with disabilities was so difficult. The school district was not truthful with my parents about disability laws. I was slipping through the cracks and had no support other than occasional tutors and two years of “eye therapy” for visual perception disorder. I would see a school counselor once in a while, and one caused awful harm by planting false memories in several students.

Homework took more than 12 hours a night. There was no time for fun or play or many friendships. Everything in school was about passing tests, yet nothing was relevant to life. Free time was working for the greater good of humanity or the planet or animals or fighting for social justice for various populations.

At this time, going to concerts rarely happened, as there were not many friends to join. I was too young to go to clubs and dance, and dance is my big outlet. So, I did what I would do if I had more friends, which is find ways to make the world better.

As you know, we’re big fans of Shana Boutté. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Having autism and more than 13 disabilities allows an insight into helping others many professionals in this field do not have. I specialize in intellectual, developmental, and trauma disabilities and focus on sexuality with disabilities. I have been advocating for the queer community since 1983, and this ties in very closely to a lot of my work.

Living most of my life in Houston, which is a very culturally diverse city, with the second largest queer population in the country, I have an abundance of experience bridging multicultural needs with a religious perspective, creating cohesion in regards to disability and sexuality both. There are tender and mindful ways of meeting others where they are with delicate topics and personal needs, and I have more than 20 years of experience with this.

Many clients in Colorado are victims of trafficking, and people with disabilities are the easiest targets for this form of abuse. Truly, I am blessed and grateful to do the work I am doing. Because there are many modalities in which I work, I encourage you to visit my website and see what is available in mental health, life coaching, nutrition, and healing arts.

Who else deserves credit for your story?
My parents deserve the most credit of anyone on this journey. They had to witness a kid who did not learn in school come home and teach herself what others learned in class. They tried to get answers and diagnoses, without any help.

At age 22, I was diagnosed with five disabilities at a center in Austin. This was the first set of diagnoses since kindergarten. At 23, I received another, and then at 26 came the autism diagnosis by a psychologist friend, who is a mentor. There are also a few close friends who stand by me and who stood by me, one since the first day of school kindergarten. She was my only peer friend growing up.

It’s funny with disabilities in that some people in your family support and embrace you and others run the other way. My uncle, who is my godfather, along with one of his sons, also deserve credit. A couple of other cousins also really stand by no matter what. Some family who were a big support have passed to new life, and I still feel their love and encouragement. Memories of them help when I need comfort.

Having a support system, no matter what size keeps many of us moving one step at a time. It is so easy to show up for each other, particularly in marginalized communities.

Pricing:

• Love donations are accepted each session
• Because everyone deserves services
• Disability & Mental Health Services $130/hour
• Life Coaching $130/hour
• Reiki $130/session

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shanaboutte.com
• Instagram: @shanaboutte
• Facebook: ShanaDisability
• Linkedin: Shana Boutte
• Twitter: @boutte_shana
• Youtube: shanaboutte63

Image Credits
Todd Farr and Alex Santiago