An opportunity to understand your own experiences through a neurodivergent affirming lens.

Autistic Experiences Exploration is an interactive interview that is designed to thoroughly explore the different aspects of the Autistic Experience. It covers:

• communication differences (verbal and nonverbal)
• relationship differences
• stimming
• need for routine/sameness
• special interests or passions
• sensory system differences.

It focuses on a person’s internal experience of being in our world.

This opportunity is designed specifically for two types of people:

1. Autistics who want to better understand what Autism specifically means for them and their way of being in the world. It is designed for people who know nothing about Autism or who know everything about Autism, but want to better explore their own experience of being Autistic.
2. People who are questioning if they are A
4. utistic and want to learn more about how their experiences align or don’t align with other Autistic experiences. This can support people who are deeply curious about their neurotype, but are not seeking professional confirmation from a psychologist.

As humans, we want to understand ourselves. We want to know why we do things. Why something is hard and why something is easy. When we don’t have an answer, we often at a very young age start to conclude that there must be something wrong with us. This conclusion is a reflection of our efforts to understand what is happening when we do not have all the information we need to make sense of our differences. The intention of this exploration process is to help you make sense of these differences. The goal is to offer yourself more information and possibly make a healing shift toward understanding yourself with greater clarity, compassion, and openness.

It takes place (usually) over 4 separate 50 minute sessions, each session scheduled weekly. However, it is recommended that if you do not have additional neurodiversity affirming supports in your life, that after the exploration is completed, you continue counseling or seeking support in some way to help your system process the new insights.

Each 50 minute session costs $200. (We do not accept insurance.)

At the end of the process, you will NOT  receive a report with a diagnosis from your counselor, but you will have an opportunity to document along the way with your counselor, some of the major insights. This is like a cheat sheet for you to come back to when you question what you learned about yourself. Or you might use it to share your new insights with a friend or other professional.

This is NOT a comprehensive psychological evaluation, and you will not receive a formal diagnosis with a written report. If you are interested in a more in-depth and comprehensive assessment or a formal diagnosis with a detailed report, you will want to pursue assessment with a psychologist. We can offer you referrals if you are interested in a psychological evaluation or pursuing formal diagnosis. There are many reasons why a person might seek services from a psychologist. For example, receiving a formal diagnosis from a doctor or a psychologist is sometimes necessary if you are seeking government services. It can also be validating for many people who have family members that prefer the confirmation from a doctor. And sometimes no matter how much a person knows they are Autistic, they just want it confirmed by a psychologist.