Guest: Rachel Greenberg, founder of Life Unlimited: Unleash Your Potential, LLC
Host: Frances Shefter, Stress-Free IEP
Rachel Greenberg has spent 16+ years supporting individuals with disabilities across school, home, and community settings. On this episode, she and host Frances Shefter dig into what social growth really looks like beyond the IEP—especially during the messy, important transition to adulthood. The conversation feels equal parts practical and hopeful: skills can be taught, confidence can be built, and independence is the goal.
What Life Unlimited Actually Does
Rachel offers three core services designed for neurodivergent clients (and useful to just about everyone):
- Social Skills Tutoring (mostly virtual): How to start and sustain conversations, make and keep friends, read boundaries, practice social safety, text appropriately, make plans, and build confidence. She adapts eye-contact expectations, teaching alternatives that still show attention and respect.
- Dating & Relationships Coaching (18+): Clarifying what kind of relationship you want, the difference between dating and exclusivity, safety in online and in-person contexts, healthy communication, and how to handle rejection and ghosting without losing momentum.
- “Wingwoman” Sessions (in person, 18+): Rachel accompanies clients to real events—meet-and-greets, concerts, a casino night, even a reggae party—to model and scaffold interactions on the spot. She’s introduced as a friend, not a clinician, so clients can lean on her support without stigma.
She also mentors tweens and teens (roughly 11–18) on goals, kindness, handling bullying, and showing up as the person they want to be—with that crucial “adult-who-isn’t-your-parent” to talk things through.
Typical ages: ~12+ for social skills, 18+ for dating/wingwoman, 11–18 for tween/teen mentoring. One-to-one is the norm right now.
“Beach Ball” Conversations and Other Practical Tools
Rachel’s teaching style is clear, concrete, and repeatable. A few standout strategies:
- The Beach Ball Analogy: Conversations should bounce—introduce, respond, ask, and return. If only one person holds the “ball,” things get awkward fast.
- Avoiding Stale Bread: When a chat goes flat, you can’t “rescue” it by wishing. Rachel preps clients with small-talk topics that safely re-spark momentum with new people.
- Context Matters: Politics and religion can be risky, but situational mentions are fine (“I went to church on Sunday,” “I went to a rally”). The key is reading the room and knowing when to pivot.
- Eye Contact Alternatives: For clients who find eye contact uncomfortable, she teaches other ways to signal engagement—body orientation, short verbal acknowledgments, and turn-taking cues.
- From Rehearsal to Real Life: Rachel likes pairing virtual social skills sessions with wingwoman outings. Role-play first (How do you know someone is open to talk? How do you end a conversation gracefully?), then transfer to the wild—so gains stick.
One recent parent texted to say a school had noticed their child’s social growth. That feedback loop—practice, application, validation—keeps clients progressing.
Building Confidence While Respecting Limits
Both Frances and Rachel emphasize something we all feel: crowds, lines, and noisy rooms can overload anyone—neurodivergent or not. Rachel teaches clients to monitor their “social battery.” At 100%, you can mingle. As the charge drops, you may need to step out, take a lap, or call it a night. Learning to notice those signals prevents meltdowns and puts clients in charge of their own regulation.
Equally important: asking for a break. Rachel helps clients script what to say and when to say it. Self-advocacy is a skill—and it’s essential for independence.
Finding (and Creating) the Right Spaces
Where do you go to practice? Rachel often sources events from local meetups (think “neurodiverse district” style groups). She also values mixed community spaces—not every event has to be disability-specific. Everyone has “stuff,” and inclusive social rooms can be great places to stretch.
She’s experimenting with event creation too (she piloted “Let’s Get Together: Activities for Adults with ID”) and keeps an eye on community partners like Slush & Krush—a social scene Frances has recommended to older clients for years. The vision: more options, more often, for more people.
Parents, Caregivers, and the Transition Cliff
Frances names what many families know: school years come with IEP teams and built-in community. At 18, the support scaffolding can drop off. Rachel’s model helps bridge that gap in two ways:
- Client-Centered Growth: Coaching that targets the real skills of adult life—introducing yourself, reading interest, handling rejection, making plans, and leaving when you need to.
- Caregiver Breathing Room: Wingwoman sessions give parents a break and give young adults a chance to practice without mom or dad. That matters for dignity and motivation.
And no—clients aren’t meant to rely on Rachel forever. Independence is the point. The plan is to fade support as skills solidify.
Safety Without Fear
Dating safety and general social safety run through everything Rachel does: how to vet plans, what to share (and not) online, how to meet in public, how to notice red flags, and what to do if someone crosses a boundary. Confidence grows when you feel prepared and protected.
The Bigger Idea: This Isn’t Just “a Neurodivergent Thing”
A theme both guest and host return to: most people—neurotypical included—struggle with crowds, first impressions, awkward silences, and “What do I say next?” Rachel’s work normalizes those realities while giving clients a concrete playbook. The message is freeing: you’re not broken; you’re learning.
How to Work With Rachel
If you or your young adult could use structured practice and real-world reps:
- Website: www.lifeunlimitedallc.com
Final Takeaways
- Practice the bounce. Keep that conversational beach ball moving with short, reciprocal turns.
- Pack “starter topics.” When talk goes stale, have neutral, shared-interest prompts ready.
- Know your battery. Leave or reset before you hit the red zone.
- Rehearse, then transfer. Role-play at home; apply at an event with scaffolding; repeat.
- Aim for independence. Support should fade as confidence and skill rise.
Life Unlimited sits exactly where so many families need support: after the goals are written and the services end, when real life begins. With structure, compassion, and a friendly wingwoman by your side, the path to social confidence is not only possible—it’s genuinely fun.
