GATEWAY TO CHANGE

Meet Andy Laviolette

Founder of BCF Soul

My Story – Why BCF Soul Exists

I was labeled a troubled child from an early age. My hearing loss didn’t help, and at seven, I was diagnosed with ADHD. I was told I would “grow out of it.” Spoiler alert: you don’t grow out of a neurological disability. I spent my life struggling, believing something was wrong with me, trusting what I was told was “best” for me—only to have it eat away inside, creating demons of trauma that added even more complexity to my journey.

Throughout the years, I faced bullying, shame, discrimination, racism, systemic barriers, addictions, anxiety disorders, trauma, grief, progressive hearing loss, and career and relationship breakdowns. The struggle wasn’t just personal—it was systemic.

At BCF Soul, when we talk about grief and trauma, we're not only referring to the loss of loved ones or major life events. For individuals with ADHD and learning disabilities, trauma can take the form of chronic misunderstanding, rejection, shame, or being forced to mask or suppress their true selves. This kind of grief is about the loss of time, missed opportunities, and the struggle to be seen and supported in systems not built for neurodivergent minds.

This is often called neurodivergent grief—a deep emotional response to years of being misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or unsupported. Over time, it can create lasting emotional wounds that mirror trauma responses. Our work acknowledges and validates this lived experience.

Misdiagnoses. An education system that told me I wasn’t college or university material. A world that didn’t know how to fully support neurodivergent minds, leaving me stranded, confused, and frustrated—even after graduation. Despite my deep passion for helping people, I was repeatedly told my dreams weren’t possible. But every roadblock only made me more determined.

🔹 A Turning Point: As an adult, I was diagnosed with learning disabilities—dysgraphia, dyslexia, and dyscalculia—while in university. Suddenly, everything made sense. Or so I thought. The struggles I faced weren’t because I wasn’t trying hard enough; they were because the systems around me weren’t built for minds like mine.

🔹 Academia & Self-Discovery: I pursued a university degree, shifting from psychology and linguistics to a Bachelor’s Specialization in English and Cultural Studies, thinking my passion was writing. But something deeper kept pulling me toward helping people even through my storytelling.

🔹 Breaking the Mold: I spent over 30 years self-studying subjects and topics in psychology, communication, boundaries, neurodiversity, NLP, body language, sexology, relationships, and mental health. I even went back to college for community service work—only to realize that my knowledge and experience far exceeded what was being taught.

🔹 A New Path Emerged: For years, classmates, social circles, professionals, and even employers across different industries encouraged me to become a therapist. I resisted. Traditional psychology didn’t align with me. I knew there had to be a different way to help people—one that wasn’t rigid, clinical, systematic, conventional, or inaccessible.

And that’s why I created BCF Soul.