Therapy that does not make neurotypical performance the goal.

You may have spent years translating yourself.

Many autistic and AuDHD adults arrive in therapy after becoming exceptionally good at appearing fine. They read the room, suppress sensory distress, rehearse conversations, over-prepare, and keep the visible machinery running. The cost shows up later through shutdown, exhaustion, resentment, lost functioning, or the sense that there is no self underneath the performance.

Therapy needs to distinguish autistic neurology from the shame and protective strategies that formed around it. If the nervous system itself is treated as the problem, treatment becomes another demand to mask more convincingly.

What we can work on

• Masking, social translation, and exhaustion after sustained performance
• Autistic burnout, reduced capacity, and loss of previously available skills
• Sensory overwhelm, shutdown, and difficulty recovering from ordinary demands
• Shame about directness, intensity, special interests, or support needs
• AuDHD conflict between structure and novelty, sameness and stimulation
• Identity changes following late diagnosis, self-identification, or unmasking

How I work

I use Internal Family Systems to work with the parts that formed around masking, rejection, correction, overload, and shame. Autism and AuDHD are not treated as parts to heal. They are the nervous system the parts operate through.

Some experiences need clinical attention. Others require accommodation, load reduction, sensory honesty, clearer boundaries, or a less punishing environment. Good treatment has to know the difference. During active burnout, reducing demand may matter more than pushing activation or deep emotional work.

For the deeper theory behind this approach, read How IFS Works with Autism & AuDHD. The article covers autistic Self-energy, masking coalitions, burnout, AuDHD polarization, unmasking, and the distinction between neurology and protection.

Who this tends to fit

I work with autistic and AuDHD adults who are formally diagnosed, late-diagnosed, self-identified, still exploring, or recognize the lived pattern without a settled label. A formal diagnosis is not required.

Therapy is available by telehealth to adults physically located in Washington State. A free consultation is the simplest way to determine whether the clinical fit is right.