Jessica Penot, LPC-S is the founder of Tree of Life Behavioral Health and the Neuroaffirmative Autism Resource Center (NAARC). She is an autistic therapist, writer, speaker, and unapologetic advocate for embracing the beauty found in human difference.

Long before she knew she was autistic, Jessica always felt like she was living just outside the world everyone else seemed to understand. She found belonging where many people overlooked it—in forgotten places, ghost stories, folklore, fantasy, and the strange corners of history. Those lifelong passions led to bestselling paranormal novels, regional history books for The History Press, and countless late nights chasing stories that made people wonder.

Jessica spent her evenings chasing stories and during the day she worked as a therapist. She started working with Sexual Assault victims at rape crisis centers and then went on to work with children and families in crisis. Eventually, she founded her own practice, Tree of Life Behavioral Health.

Receiving an autism diagnosis in her forties gave a name to a lifetime of feeling different. It also transformed the direction of her work. Today, Jessica writes to help autistic people understand themselves with compassion instead of shame, to unmask safely, honor their disability needs, and build lives that fit who they truly are rather than who the world expects them to be.

She is the author of ten books, including The Unmasking Autism Workbook for Autistic Adults (New Harbinger Publications), writes for Psychology Today, develops therapeutic apps designed specifically for autistic adults, and speaks internationally on neuroaffirmative autism, mental health, and authentic living.

Whether she is writing fiction, developing new tools, counseling clients, or standing behind a podium, Jessica's work is guided by the same belief: the goal isn't to teach autistic people how to fit into the world—it is to help them build lives where they no longer feel they have to hide who they are.