Teen and Adult Autism/AuDHD Therapy

Autism and AuDHD therapy is a space to better understand your brain, nervous system, identity, strengths, needs, and patterns. We may work on sensory overload, masking, burnout, executive functioning, communication, relationships, anxiety, emotional regulation, boundaries, or daily life.

The goal is not to cure autism or make you appear less autistic or less ADHD. It is to reduce distress, strengthen self-understanding, and develop support that fits your actual life.

AuDHD is a community term commonly used to describe someone who is both autistic and has ADHD. It is not a separate clinical diagnosis, but it can be a helpful way to name the experience of having both neurotypes.

AuDHD may involve needs that seem to compete with each other, such as wanting predictability while also needing novelty, craving deep focus while struggling to begin, or seeking sensory input while becoming overwhelmed by it. Therapy can help you recognize your particular patterns without forcing them into a one-size-fits-all explanation.

No. My approach is neurodiversity affirming. Therapy is not used to train you to look more typical, suppress harmless traits, make eye contact, or communicate in a way that feels unnatural simply to make others more comfortable.

We can still work on experiences that are painful or make life harder. The difference is that we begin with respect for who you are and look for ways to support access, safety, communication, connection, and quality of life.

I provide neurodiversity-affirming online therapy for autistic and AuDHD teens and adults located in South Carolina and Colorado. I also provide parent support for families who want to better understand and support their neurodivergent teen.

No. You do not need a formal diagnosis to explore autistic or ADHD traits, sensory needs, masking, burnout, executive functioning, relationships, or the possibility that you are neurodivergent. Self-recognition is often an important part of a person's journey, especially when access to assessment has been limited.

Therapy is different from a comprehensive psychological or neuropsychological evaluation. If you need formal diagnostic testing or documentation for school, work, disability services, or another setting, we can discuss what you are looking for and whether a referral to an appropriate evaluator may be helpful.

Yes. Late recognition can bring relief, grief, anger, clarity, and many questions at the same time. You may be reexamining childhood, relationships, work, parenting, trauma, burnout, or the years you spent believing you were simply too sensitive, too much, not enough, or somehow doing life wrong.

Therapy can help you make sense of the past with more compassion while exploring identity, accommodations, boundaries, relationships, and what you want life to look like now.

Therapy can help teens understand their identity, recognize sensory and emotional overload, communicate needs, navigate friendships, prepare for transitions, recover after difficult days, and build self-advocacy and independence without being asked to hide who they are.

Sessions are adapted to the teen's communication style and capacity. They do not have to perform, make eye contact, sit completely still, or always know how to explain what they are feeling.

Yes. Parent support can help you understand what may be happening underneath behavior, recognize overload and reduced capacity, create supportive routines, communicate more clearly, hold boundaries with less shame, and support independence without removing needed help.

The goal is not perfect parenting. It is greater understanding, realistic expectations, repair after hard moments, and a stronger connection with your teen.

Masking can include suppressing natural responses, rehearsing conversations, copying other people, hiding sensory distress, forcing eye contact, or using significant energy to appear as though everything is fine.

Therapy can help you notice when you mask, understand what it has protected you from, and recognize its emotional and physical cost. We can explore safer, more authentic choices without pressuring you to unmask in environments where doing so may not feel safe or possible.

Autistic burnout is a commonly used term for intense exhaustion and reduced capacity that may follow long periods of sensory, social, emotional, or executive functioning demands without enough support or recovery. It may affect communication, daily tasks, tolerance for input, and access to skills that were previously easier to use.

Therapy can help you recognize earlier warning signs, understand the demands contributing to burnout, protect recovery time, communicate limits, and build a more sustainable rhythm. Burnout can overlap with depression or other health concerns, so additional medical or mental health support may sometimes be needed.

Both can be responses to overload. A meltdown may look more outward, such as crying, movement, anger, panic, or an urgent need to escape. A shutdown may look more inward, such as becoming quiet, withdrawing, losing access to speech, feeling frozen, or needing to sleep. Every person's experience is different, and these responses are not manipulation or a character flaw.

We look for the patterns, body cues, demands, and sensory or emotional load surrounding these moments so you can build support before, during, and after overwhelm.

Yes. We can identify sensory patterns, notice early signs of overload, plan for difficult environments, communicate needs, and explore accommodations or recovery strategies. The goal is not to make sensory differences disappear. It is to understand them and create more access, choice, and support.

When more specialized sensory assessment or treatment would be helpful, we can also discuss collaborating with or referring to an occupational therapist or another appropriate provider.

Yes. Relationship work can focus on mutual understanding, direct communication, boundaries, consent, conflict, repair, identifying needs, and making room for different processing styles. The purpose is not to memorize neurotypical social rules or perform connection in one acceptable way.

We look at what helps you feel understood and what can make communication clearer for everyone involved while respecting your authentic way of relating.

Yes. We can work on task initiation, time awareness, working memory, transitions, routines, planning, energy, and follow-through. For AuDHD clients, this may also mean making room for needs that seem to pull in opposite directions, such as predictability and novelty or deep focus and difficulty shifting attention.

We build flexible systems around your real patterns instead of expecting you to maintain an ideal routine through willpower alone.

Autism and AuDHD can exist alongside anxiety, OCD, trauma, depression, and other concerns. Similar-looking experiences can also have different causes. For example, a routine may support autistic predictability, feel driven by an OCD fear, or do both. Sensory overload is not automatically anxiety, and a trauma response is not simply an autistic trait.

We slow down, remain curious, and look at the function, history, and context of a pattern so support can be more accurate and individualized.

Being diagnosed with AuDHD in my 40s gave me language for many of my own experiences and encouraged me to dive more deeply into the many ways autism, ADHD, and AuDHD can present.

My lived experience does not mean I assume your experience will look like mine. Neurodivergence is not one shared experience. My role as your therapist is to remain curious about your strengths, challenges, identities, sensory needs, communication style, relationships, nervous system, and life history.

My approach may draw from mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, DBT skills, trauma-informed and attachment-based care, Polyvagal Theory, nervous system regulation, EMDR principles, and practical strategies for everyday life. I also bring a couples and family systems perspective when relationships are part of the work.

These approaches are adapted to your communication style, sensory needs, goals, and current capacity. Therapy should meet you where you are instead of becoming another place where you are expected to perform perfectly.

I provide fully virtual therapy to clients who are physically located in South Carolina or Colorado at the time of each session. I accept select insurance plans, and self-pay options are available. Because coverage can vary by plan and service, visit the rates and insurance page or contact the practice to confirm current details before beginning.

You can request an appointment through the secure client portal or use the contact page to ask a question. We can talk about what you are looking for, whether online therapy feels like a good fit, and the next step that makes the most sense.