Erik’s Ranch is a guest retreat where autistic people are concierges, guides, wranglers, cooks and more. Located on 230 acres of pristine pasture and wilderness near Livingston, Montana, the ranch is less than an hour from Yellowstone National Park. It offers horseback riding, fly fishing, nature hikes, history walks and experiences with ranch animals and wildlife — most led or assisted by paid neurodivergent “members,” most of whom also live on the property.
The inspiration for Erik’s Ranch dates back to 2008, when founder Kathryn Nordberg was pondering how her son, Erik, whom she described as “a moderately functioning teenager with autism,” would live as an adult — and particularly what would happen when she was no longer around.
Ranch manager Cameron Porter (in black hat) and member John Rekedal help a visitor from New Jersey mount her steed for a trail ride. Credit: Jodi Hausen
“As someone challenged with expressive language, there weren’t very many opportunities for kids like him,” she said, sitting in the well-appointed kitchen of the ranch’s six-bedroom lodge.
So she established a nonprofit with a boutique-style hotel in Edina, Minnesota, where, even after she’s gone, Erik and others like him can live, work and thrive. There, adults on the autism spectrum work and live independently and are guided by life coaches toward achieving personal goals like interviewing, equine or cooking skills; or setting up an Etsy page to sell their artwork.
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Using a similar model, in 2014 Nordberg opened the Montana ranch, where not only employees on the spectrum benefit: She designed most of the cabins specifically for neurodivergent guests. Though anyone can appreciate the soothing atmosphere, it’s particularly accommodating for those on the spectrum, who sometimes experience sensory overload. The calmingly simple cabins provide awe-inspiring vistas of the surrounding mountains with little to no sign of human activity. Hardware was selected to close drawers, cabinets and doors with hardly a sound. Walls, furnishings and bedding are muted earth tones and lights have dimmers.
Credit: Jodi Hausen
Erik’s Ranch is run primarily by young autistic people, some of whom also live on the property. The ranch has unparalleled views of the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains.
Autistic and other neurodivergent people are often misunderstood and feel out-of-place, experiencing discrimination, social exclusion, bullying and other situations that can lead to low self-esteem. That — and an inexorable need to mask their differences — often results in depression and anxiety. Some studies indicate that people on the spectrum are four times more likely to experience major depression compared with the general population.
“Depression, loneliness, lack of confidence, feeling isolated, rejected, and a lack of community and people who care is what Erik’s Ranch is working to minimize and eliminate,” Nordberg said.
And it’s working.
John Rekedal, 21, lives in Minnesota but just spent his first summer working at the Montana ranch. When he’s home, he works in a large production greenhouse. And though his coworkers there are understanding, he prefers the camaraderie of working with the ranch’s small staff amid the hush of the surrounding mountains.
Jacob Thoresen fetches horses from a pasture in preparation for a trail ride. Thoresen has been working for Erik’s Ranch and Retreats for 10 years. Credit: Jodi Hausen
“I’m a whole lot more inclined to work outside,” he said. “And I know everyone’s name. It’s more relaxed.”
Cornell University autism researcher Leslie Shaw analyzed a national sample of autistic adults who could answer a survey unassisted and found that only about 53 percent were working in 2023. Furthermore, in 2024, people with cognitive disabilities (of which neurodivergence is a subset) were employed at less than half the rate of people without any disability, according to Cornell’s Northeast ADA Center. These low employment rates may be due to neurotypical employers’ lack of experience with and understanding of neurodivergent people leading to misaligned work assignments, confusion and a fraught or untenable work environment.
On a recent late summer day in Montana, Jacob Thoresen, 33, was gearing up to lead a small group of guests on a trail ride. He has been working with the nonprofit for 10 years and splits his time between its two locations. In black cowboy hat and jeans, he walked back and forth across the dirt-floored indoor arena to a tack room, gathering saddles and bridles. He saddled horses while other members dutifully scooped and cleaned areas around the animals.
Credit: Jodi Hausen
Erik’s Ranch & Retreats is part of a growing trend of workplaces designed to integrate people with autism or other disabilities.
Thoresen had other jobs before coming to Erik’s. He was a baggage handler at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport and worked in retail and manufacturing.
He even tried a desk job. “But,” he said with a smile, “that isn’t me.”
Thoresen said he’s gained confidence working with Erik’s Ranch & Retreats.
“If you would have met me 10 years ago, I would have been, like, I couldn’t be able to do anything independent and be trusted to actually get the work done,” he said. “This place is teaching me how to be independent. In this last year, I’ve grown more.” He still gets support, but staff, recognizing his achievements, have loosened the reins. “I’m having to rely more on myself to work on those independent skills,” he added.
Hannah Jacobs (left) helps Zoe Markman put fresh linens on a bed in one of the guest cabins at Erik’s Ranch. Credit: Jodi Hausen
When asked what he finds challenging about working at Erik’s Ranch, Thoresen said workdays can be inconsistent. At the Minnesota retreat, he completes the same tasks daily. On the ranch, daily schedules shift and sometimes he gets overwhelmed.
“But I can move through it,” he said. “I attribute that to the staff that I work with and just practice. They do a good job of seeing [my overwhelm] and being like, okay. And that helps, you know. I’ve had too many employers in the past that have been like, ‘Oh, you’re not having a good day? Well, just go home.’”
Over the years, Erik’s Ranch & Retreats has employed 27 autistic young adults — 19 in the last year. The goal, Nordberg said, is to serve 30 members regularly. The organization is part of a growing trend of workplaces designed to integrate people with autism or other disabilities.
John Rekedal helps clean around the horses in the indoor arena before a trail ride. Credit: Jodi Hausen
Not far from Erik’s Ranch, Special K Ranch in Columbus, Montana, provides living quarters and jobs in farming, ranching and gardening and contracts with area businesses to employ adults with developmental disabilities. Over in Jackson, Wyoming, Vertical Harvest integrates people with a wide array of disabilities into their operations growing lettuces, microgreens, tomatoes and basil. In a fully accessible greenhouse, Vertical Harvest operates on what’s known as the “Grow Well” model of employment: providing opportunities for workers to pursue passions by creating or placing them in positions that correspond to their strengths and aspirations, their likes and dislikes. In other words, adapting the workplace to the employee rather than the other way around.
Although she hadn’t heard of Grow Well, Nordberg embraces its philosophy. It doesn’t always work out as planned, though.
“Not everyone wants to learn hospitality,” she said. In fact, one autistic young man told her he wanted to be a “white hat hacker,” using his computer skills for good. But she didn’t have a role that fit his skills and aspirations. In other instances, however, a member’s passions can be integrated into ranch operations.
Part-time member Zoe Markman shows off a colorful collection of eggs gathered from the hens in the coop behind her. Credit: Jodi Hausen
Zoe Markman, a 21-year-old autistic woman from Bozeman, loves animals — particularly chickens. So when Markman started working part-time at the ranch, Nordberg built a chicken coop and populated it with more than a dozen hens whom Markman gave punny names: Chiquille O’Neal, Princess Layer and Hen Solo. On a recent workday, Markman gathered more than a dozen colorful eggs.
Nordberg also helped Erik start a baking business making cookies, brownies, scones and banana bread. Erik is a visual learner and communicator, so Nordberg created a pictorial cookbook with step-by-step instructions. She marked bins of flour, sugar and other ingredients with pictures so Erik can do most of the work independently.
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The ranch can currently house five members and has five cabins and the lodge for guests on its expansive property. So Nordberg has room to expand, and she’d like to. But finances and land-use regulations present barriers. It’s expensive running a guest ranch, though the costs are partly covered by guest fees and philanthropy. And area permitting will only allow for seven more cabins.
“This will never be a huge operation,” Nordberg said. But she’s gratified knowing there are places for Erik and others like him to live, belong and find meaningful work.
This story was supported in part by the Solutions Journalism Network’s HEAL Fellowship.
