Workshops & Experiences
Hey Love.
Your heart was meant to find this.
Your body has needed this.
Your mind is wondering how you will escape all the things you do.
This isn’t an escape.
This is a homecoming.
Welcome Home.
An immersive educational experience designed to empower mothers of autistic humans through learning, reflection, and connection. This program strengthens caregiving capacity, deepens understanding of neurodiversity, and nurtures peaceful family rhythms through autistic-affirming education, action-oriented practice, and restorative community experiences.
What if we created a moment away from all the noise, away from our endless to-do lists.
What if we created a place where we laughed, talked, played and created the world that we are dreaming of.
A world that celebrates your autistic child as worthy of love and belonging. We can do just that, together.
You & Me.
-Jenny Palmiotto
This Retreat is for the Mom Who Is...
♥ A mother of an amazing autistic human (of any age or stage)
♥ Tired of ableist systems and judgment
♥ Craving community with other neurodiversity-affirming moms
♥In need of rest, sisterhood, and soul-level connection
♥Ready for real joy because things are heavy right now
♥ Longing to let everything go and be fully taken care of
Why Join Us?
Not just another powerpoint presentation..
But even when you know the truth — that being autistic is not the problem — Life can be full of hurdles and heartache. You’ve probably had to translate, explain, and advocate more times than you can count. You carry both the deepest love and exhaustion.
That’s why this work matters — because you matter. Because your capacity to keep showing up as the best version of yourself can get depleted in a world that doesn’t get it, get you and certainly doesn’t get your child.
You know that you need to nourish yourself, take care of you. It’s not just you that knows this…it’s well researched too. When moms gather in strength based, community oriented settings good things happen: greater confidence, wellbeing, and a sense of belonging, great capacity to provide care.
You don’t need more lectures about what’s wrong — you need learning that serves your soul and honors your purpose in life, to be the very best mom to your beautiful autistic child(ren).
Love & Autism Workshops & Experiences are built for you: the mother who has already done the hard work of unlearning, and is now ready to expand — to learn in ways that restore, deepen, and sustain the love that’s always been your compass.
You will be provided:
1: 1 Coaching
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Small group workshops by neurodiversity affirming professionals
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Customize curriculum and educational materials to extend learning at home
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Experience-based, reflection and restorative practices designed for intentional and measurable growth
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Community-building and personal time to process and consolidate gains
Where?
A Sacred Space to Come Home to Yourself
Gaia Villa in Joshua Tree is a purpose-built oasis.
This is not another workshop on how to parent — it’s a space designed entirely for you.
True growth can’t come from furiously writing notes while listening to another presentation on powerpoint, to just throw that conference notebook in one of the piles.
Love & Autism seminars and workshops are meant to experience and embody the change that you will take into your life. This experience is designed with intentionality.
With individual and small group curated content, learning seeps into the bones and lives in your heart well beyond our time together.
Where?
A Sacred Space to Come Home to Yourself
Each of us carries unique needs in our bodies and nervous systems. To feel fully alive, we sometimes require different kinds of support.
As part of your experience, you will be invited to stay at Gaia Villa.
Pricing & Structure of Comprehensive Learning Experience: $2,000 Total
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Up to 4 hours of Individual Coaching Services during event
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10 Small-Group Educational Seminars (1–2 hours each)
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Pre-event 1:1 meeting to customize (2.25 hours)
- Post-event 1:1 meeting 1 month out of event (1 hour)
- Healthy meals during workshops and beautifully appointed seminar spaces
- Post event documentation for your participation
Workshops and individual coaching can also be billed individually per spending plan requirements as follows:
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Individual Coaching: $250/hour
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Small-Group Workshops: $75/hour
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Purchased Separately
- 3-nights shared lodging (includes breakfast, snacks, dinner, and beverages) — $800–$1700 depending on room type, pending availability
- Access to pool, yoga studio, meditation labyrinth, and retreat amenities included with lodging
- Optional self-care services (massage, reiki, sound bath)
- Transportation to and from event
- Incidentals and personal affects
- Coaching or educational service outside of curriculum
Third-Party Payment & Participation Agreement
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All participants are accepted by application only and must meet the following requirements for participation and funding approval:
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IPP Goals: Participants must share current Individual Program Plan (IPP) goals to ensure alignment with individualized educational and learning outcomes.
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Pre- and Post-Meetings: Attendance is required for all scheduled preparation and follow-up meetings.
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Attendance Commitment: Billing applies only to attended sessions. Participants are responsible for any difference in cost if attendance varies from the agreed-upon learning series.
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Credit Card on File: A valid credit card must be on file prior to the retreat for cancellation or no-show fees.
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Funding Responsibility: Participants are responsible for ensuring that funding and goals are approved and in place prior to April 1, 2026. No-shows are considered cancellations and will require payment of the participant portion of retreat costs.
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Retreat
Details
Time & Place
Arrival: Thursday, May 14, 2026 4:00PM
Departure: Sunday, May 17, 2026 10:00AM
Location: Gaia Villa, Joshau Tree, Southern California
Time & Place
Love & Autism’s Moms retreat is created with love by Love & Autism founder, Jenny Palmiotto.
Jenny is not a go it alone type of human and always intentionally gathers alongside people who are as determined as her to create an autistic affirming world.
Autistic Affirming mom, Heather Anderson, is co-hosting this gathering of woman.
With intentionality seeped into every detail, you’ll share space with likeminded humans.
About Love & Autism:
Click here to learn more about this organization.
Donate to L&A. Donations to this organization help fund diagnosis and counseling for ND individuals as well as training for clinicians who support them.
If your heart is saying YES, reserve your spot by scheduling a Connection Call
Retreat
Schedule
Thursday
4:00 Arrival & Settle In
Set your things down and wonder around. There is beauty everywhere, including within. You are probably in disbelief that you made this all happen. Give yourself a hug. You deserve this.
6:00 Gather & Nurish
Great things are starting. In your cozies, we’ll connect with a menu meant to awaken your senses and fuel this journey.
8:00 Music & Merriment
Our magic begins when we all gather. With the gorgeous desert backdrop, our joy is just getting started.
Friday
8:00 Breathe & Be Still
Mornings are for movement and inner peace. Join our gentle and restorative yoga or stay cozy in your bed.
9:00 Power & Purpose
A Love & Autism guided learning experience to
11:00 Unstuck & Unburdened
A Love & Autism guided learning experience to get you unstuck to a place of calm and clarity.
12:00 Lunch
2:00 Play & Rest
Late afternoons are for laughter and connection. Gaia Villa is ready to make our hearts so happy. We’ll swim, lounge, hike, mediate, play games, and connect. Both structured and unstructured experiences will be available.
7:00 Dinner
8:00 Stargazing & Sisterhood
After a full day of restoration, we’ll take in the beauty of the night. The night is yours to chat by the fire or retreat to your room.
Saturday
8:00 Breathe & Be Still
Mornings are for movement and inner peace. Join our gentle and restorative yoga or stay cozy in your bed.
9:00 Strength & Beauty
Guided hike in Joshua National Forest. All fitness levels are welcome.
12:00 Lunch
2:00 Sound & Soul
Soulful soothing sound bath for renewal of body and mind
3:00+ Personalize your experience
Rest & Renew
Take care of your body and soul with a custom massage
Passion & Presence
30 minute coaching session with Jenny. We are our best selves when we are in each moment, living fully with passion and presence.
Reset & Discover
A Love & Autism individualized guided journaling experience
7:00 Dinner & Unwind
A special dinner with wine pairing to unwind in our final night together.
Friday
Good 8:00 Breathe & Be Still
Mornings are for movement and inner peace. Join our gentle and restorative yoga or stay cozy in your bed.
9:00 Goodbye & Hello
You’ll exit this space to re-enter your life with your heart full, body rested and soul in full alignment with who you are meant to be.
Saying goodbye is always better with a great cup of coffee, a full belly and one last guided gathering.
10:00 Departure
Thoughtful Accessibility
Thoughtful accessibility is the practice of creating environments, resources, and experiences that embrace equality and invite each of us to tailor our experiences to serve us.
We approach accessibility in a humanistic way, intentionally created a beautiful and cohesive event space. Each Love & Autism experience serves to nurture your emotional regulatory, sensory and nervous systems.
Thoughtful accessibility is a moving construct and we continue to reflect, revise, and improve to better serve each guest with the intention that you can be Unmasked & Authentic.
Hi, I'm Jenny
I’ve spent decades dismantling ableism and reshaping the narrative of what it means to live and love autistically. What I know for sure: mothers are the anchor.
Autistic-affirming moms don’t need convincing their child isn’t a tragedy. They’ve rejected the pathology paradigm and keep challenging stereotypes and fighting for autistic human rights every single day. These mothers are redefining what it means to parent authentically autistic children.
The truth is, the world can be harsh, discriminatory, and painful—and these moms feel it deeply.
My answer is love, joy, rest, and belonging. This retreat exists because these mothers know they deserve this.
Love & Gratitude,
Founder of Love & Autism
If you’ve ever Love & Autism’ed or Never Love & Autism’ed….this retreat is for you.
You belong here.
Love & Autism is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization • ein#: 45-3267742 • privacy policy • what we stand for • © 2025 • website: alfordcreative