Coach’s Corner with Giovanni Fajardo
Hello D.E.S.I family!
Please welcome our next guest and one of our newest team members, Gio! Gio has the voice of a radio announcer and is an expert in Jiu Jitsu. Read how he uses these skills with his clients at D.E.S.I.!
DESI: What brought you to DESI?
Gio: A good friend told me about the company, and I felt like it would be a good fit for me just based on some of the experience I had working with neurodivergent individuals. I come from a Jiu Jitsu background, and I’ve been an instructor for two years now. I met some great individuals with special needs who are part of the Jiu Jitsu program and just had a really good time helping them learn.
DESI: So you’ve always been like a person who’s wanted to help people?
Gio: Yes. It is great to help people grow, and just to see that is very rewarding.
DESI: What tools do you use to help relate to your clients?
Gio: If I feel like a client is experiencing anxiety or stress, typically I like to offer breathing techniques to help them. We both do it together and just kind of help us relax and get back to base. And then from there, if they’re still having an issue, you know, we could work through it by talking. I always try to bring a calm energy. I can definitely relate to certain anxieties. When I get my mind on a topic and just start repeating it over and over, that can be very stressful, and I see that in some of my clients. I try changing the subject to talk about something a little more pleasant so we can calm ourselves before we focus on what is causing them stress. It feels like your personality itself is like what calms them.
DESI: It feels like your personality itself is like what calms them. What successes have you had with your clients?
Gio: I’ve only been with D.E.S.I. for seven months now. I’m a new coach, so I’m sure there was some anxiety associated with getting to know somebody new. With my client PJ, I began building comfort with him. He’s definitely one to overthink and let repetitive thoughts take over. So he and I do a lot of physical activity. He’s very calm after we do a long hike. So it’s definitely helping him relax more, and he says it himself—he feels great after. He used to ask the same questions many times, but now he doesn’t as much, so that feels like a big sign to me that he’s relaxed. He’s not asking the same questions over and over.
Some of the others are opening up with me. Like Calvin—little by little, he started to communicate with me more and more about his interests and about his daily life. And that’s a success for me.
DESI: What have the clients taught you?
Gio: I’ve learned that autism can present itself in many different ways, and you have to tailor the way we work with our clients differently for each one. They’re all great people and willing to work with you, but I’ve learned that they’re all just very different individuals.
