Intervention & Social Strategies for the Real World.

• Traditional Therapy
• The Project ISS Model
• About Me
• Testimonials
• Book a Consultation

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Traditional Therapy

Sitting in a quiet office doesn't fix a meltdown in the cafeteria.
If your teenager has an IEP for an Emotional Disability, is navigating an Autism diagnosis, or struggles with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), traditional therapy can often feel like just another authority figure making demands.The hardest subjects aren't on the syllabus—they are the unspoken, unwritten rules of surviving high school and young adulthood. When a teenager is actively dysregulated or defensive, forcing them to sit still and talk only creates more friction. They don't need another administrator with a clipboard. They need a project manager for their nervous system.

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The Project ISS Model

Building Intelligence in the Wild
We bypass the clinical standoff through side-by-side engagement. By giving a teenager a shared, real-world task, the defensive walls drop.
Proprioceptive Regulation: Drawing on military training, we utilize weighted walks (rucking) along Austin's urban trails. This physical "heavy work" burns off the fight-or-flight response, naturally regulating a hyperactive or angry nervous system so the student can actually open up.
Executive Strategy: We meet in local coffee shops or game stores to play complex tabletop strategy games. This is a real-time test of the hidden curriculum: practicing executive functioning, losing gracefully, and managing volume and behavior in a public space.
Task Sequencing: For students paralyzed by ADHD or executive dysfunction, we tackle hands-on mechanical tinkering. By taking apart broken equipment and organizing the pieces, we practice the exact cognitive skills required to break overwhelming school projects into micro-steps.
Non-Verbal Boundary Training: We utilize animal-assisted interactions—including working alongside a blind Alaskan Malamute and a senior Border Collie—to force a highly intense teen to lower their physical volume, read non-verbal cues, and practice outward empathy.

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About Me

On paper, ISS stands for Intervention & Social Strategies. But the teens I work with know exactly what it really means: In-School Suspension.
I built Project ISS because I was the kid the system wrote off. I know what it looks like when a teenager is spiraling and the traditional school environment has no idea what to do with them. I found my own structure operating heavy equipment in the U.S. Air Force, which gave me the discipline to return to the system that failed me—this time as a licensed Special Education teacher and school counseling professional.
I combine the rigorous, data-driven background of special education with an unfiltered, authentic approach that instantly builds rapport with guarded teens. I don't judge your teen's behavior; I decode it, and I teach them how to harness it.

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Testimonials

"After being expelled from school, my family was ready to give up on me. They called Mr.Vela for guidance and he saw that my path wasn't meant to be traditional. Two years later, I got my GED and work for TXDOT."
- Yahir C., Land Surveyor

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- Jennifer V., College Sophomore

"While I always did well in school, Mr. Vela helped me find my passion for media and arts. He showed me that my strengths were more than just grades. I have now created short-films, choreographed actors in events, and will be taking my skills to the University of Pennsylvania"
- Dustin W., Ivy League Freshman

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- Itzel I., College Junior/Business Owner

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- Diego T., Linemen

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Book a Consultation

Ready to Start the Project?
Project ISS operates exclusively outside of traditional school hours—late afternoons, evenings, and weekends—to provide support exactly when behavioral crises peak.Because of the intensive, one-on-one nature of this coaching, caseloads in the Austin area are strictly limited. We only partner with families who are ready to actively participate in the behavioral systems we build.