While growing up with her autistic sister, Amanda, Celest Austin grew to appreciate her sister’s way of thinking. Dr. Austin was alarmed how most resources available did not nurture her sister’s unique way of thinking but instead tried to reprogram her with products and services labeled as “cures” and “treatments”. With such limited resources available, Dr. Austin’s family made sure to celebrate whenever Amanda accomplished anything with the cheer, "GoManda! GoManda!'

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From then on, Dr. Austin decided to dedicate her life to autism and studied the uniqueness of autism. After obtaining her MD/PhD from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio in 2016, Dr. Austin knew she wanted to do more and walked away from further medical training to found a company called GoManda, named after her sister Amanda. Inspired by the unique learning style of Dr. Austin’s sister, GoManda is a company dedicated to celebrating the unique mind of autism. GoManda has created a platform that teaches vocabulary using strength-based teaching - a teaching method that works with autism's unique learning style rather than against it.