NeuroDiversity Affirming Training and Supervision

09/01/2026

"𝙄𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙢 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜?"

Today, as I was waiting for my family to finish an activity that I had to sit out, I was reading a book called 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘮. An elderly man in our tour group, who was sitting the activity out with me, asked me: “Isn’t autism a male thing?”

His tone wasn't dismissive; he seemed genuinely puzzled. I also know that this is a widely held belief and is still propagated by the misleading and oft-quoted 4:1 figure of male:female autism ratio.

So I gently explained that it only looks like autism appears more in men, because the history of autism is male. Men like Kanner and Asperger, who were instrumental in autism going into the DSM, appropriated the work of female researchers (Grunya Sukhareva and Anni Weiss), so from the beginning, women were written out of the story. Add to this a huge bias in diagnostic criteria and research towards men, making it easier for them to get diagnosed, that most media representations are of Autistic men and that we've only recently really started researching the experiences of Autistic women, it all points to Autistic women being left out of diagnosis rather than not being Autistic.

This means that the 4:1 figure represents not who is actually Autistic, but rather, who has been able to get a medical autism diagnosis.

Sadly, this man represents mainstream views not just among the general public, but also among professionals. Most websites that talk about an autism ratio, will quote the 4:1 ratio without providing any additional comment about what this ratio actually means.

The idea that autism is “a boys’ condition” isn’t biology, it’s systemic. The system was built to see boys, and it's built on biased research, diagnostic tools, and cultural norms rooted in patriarchy and colonialism.

When you only look for autism in boys, you only find it in boys.

If this resonates, I recently ran a workshop on the five most common myths about Autistic people—where they came from, how they harm, and how to counter them in everyday conversations. You can access the on‑demand version (with resources) here:
https://www.ndats.com.au/on-demand-workshops/p/breaking-autism-myths

Also, if you're interested, here is a recent study that found that the autism ratio is closer to 1:1 - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006322325013125

Alt text
4:1. This is the most commonly quoted male:female autism ratio. It is incorrect.

03/01/2026

This is a part 1 of a quick reference for therapists who want to reduce harm and increase clarity with Autistic adults. It helps you move beyond the medical model and build neurodiversity affirming practice with Autistic adults.

It’s designed as a practical scaffold, not a script.

Your goal as a therapist isn't manualised perfection, it's purposeful presence.

***
If you have enjoyed this resource or found something purposeful in it, feel free to share it with your network!

You can also support my work by purchasing the editable PDF workbook on my website for the same price as a cup of coffee.

https://www.ndats.com.au/books/p/neurodiversity-affirming-therapy-with-autistic-adults-therapist-starting-pack

Supporting my work means I can continue to put out free content and offer low cost, high quality products also.

The editable PDF workbook combines three practical resources:

· Part 1 (Medical vs ND‑affirming therapy), which deepens your understanding of neurodiversity affirming therapy

· Part 2 (Theory→practice reflection framework), which gives you a 4 step framework to effect change in your counselling practice

· Replacement Language Handout that standardises affirming wording across your notes, reports, and website.

08/12/2025

Most of the abuse, inappropriate comments, or even just requests for free labour on this page come from men. Interestingly, very few men also engage with this page.

So men of Australia, are you okay?

I know you're probably not. Maybe book in, have a counselling session (www.counsellingautisticadults.com.au or www.canberramobilecounselling.com.au). Or many of the other services that do exist. Menslink in Canberra is a fantastic organisation (also allows you to become a mentor to a young man yourself -and being a mentor has it's own benefits). (Menslink)

I also know there are men that completely buck that trend and who follow this page, and are often amongst the first to like my posts - so thank you - specifically pointing out Ross Dillon Kubala and Dudfield + others.

08/12/2025

*𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽* 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴

𝟮𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 - 𝟮𝗽𝗺 (𝗔𝗘𝗗𝗧) - 𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 $𝟭𝟬
https://www.trybooking.com/DIAPM

𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗺, offering a way to see the Autistic experience not as a collection of deficits but as a distinct attentional style.

This workshop explores how monotropic minds allocate cognitive resources, why intense interests and flow states are central to Autistic wellbeing, and how everyday environments often clash with this attentional pattern. We’ll unpack concepts such as attention tunnels, flow states, monotropic split, and their role in transitions, overwhelm, and burnout.

Designed for therapists supporting Autistic adults, it offers practical strategies for respecting monotropic needs, reducing cognitive overload, and creating conditions that support focus, autonomy, and recovery. Includes lived experience insights, reflective tools, and psychoeducation to help you move beyond deficit-based narratives toward neurodiversity affirming practice.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻:
• 𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩: Understand how monotropism shapes transitions, overwhelm, and burnout; and why respecting this need is essential for wellbeing.

• 𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙚𝙨: Learn how to reduce cognitive overload, support flow states, and how to honour honour Autistic focus in therapy.

• 𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨: Move beyond deficit based narratives by recognising monotropism as a strength and adapting therapeutic models accordingly.

• 𝙇𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨: Includes real world examples and insights from Autistic adults on monotropism and its role in identity and resilience.

• 𝙋𝙋𝙏 𝙎𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙨 (𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦): Resources designed to deepen your learning and to support your practice

𝟮𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 - 𝟮-𝟯:𝟯𝟬𝗽𝗺 (𝗔𝗘𝗗𝗧)
𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 $𝟭𝟬
𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗻𝗼𝘄: https://www.trybooking.com/DIAPM

Monotropism is a powerful lens for understanding autism, offering a way to see Autistic experience not as a collection of deficits but as a...

08/12/2025

I'm running so many great workshops next year, make sure you come along to some!!

05/12/2025

I am so proud to have upgraded to ACA Level 4 (the highest level that you can hold). Last year, I also joined PACFA as a Registered Clinical Counsellor. Both certifications require an extensive number of client contact and supervision hours.

I have spent the last 5 years, working hard on developing a neurodiversity affirming practice working with Autistic adults. I have since also developed training to help other counsellors improve their understanding of autism and how to translate this understanding into better practice.

I have had the support of some amazing clinical supervisors, specifically Tania Rose, who has supervised my practice since the beginning. She is a great Autistic counsellor and supervisor who also specialises in supervising other Autistic counsellors and supervisors.

But now that I have achieved these goals, I need some new ones. I have no desire for limelight or awards, but I do want to work hard to change how counselling is done for Autistic adults so that they can get the support that they need. I suspect that will be a harder goal to achieve than upgrading levels with ACA and PACFA.

After five years of building a neurodiversity affirming practice, I’ve reached two milestones:
• ACA Level 4
• PACFA - Registered Clinical Counsellor
Both represent the highest level of registration with Australia’s professional bodies. These credentials represent thousands of hours of counselling, hundreds of hours of clinical supervision, and completing a lot of professional development. But for me, they also include a commitment to doing therapy differently for Autistic adults.

Along the way, I’ve developed training to help other counsellors translate autism understanding into affirming practice. I’m deeply grateful to my supervisors, especially Tania Rose, an incredible Autistic counsellor and mentor who has guided me from the start.
I want to continue to drive change in this profession so Autistic adults can access support that truly meets their needs. It’s a bigger challenge than upgrading levels—but it’s the one that matters most.

See more about Tania here: https://www.taniarose.net

04/12/2025

When I completed the pilot program training with Fearless Women to become a mentor, I offered some feedback on how they might strengthen the section on autism and ADHD. They welcomed it warmly and invited me to speak at the next group about autism and ADHD in girls.

I chose to speak from a lived experience perspective: sharing what it was like to grow up as an undiagnosed AuDHD child, teenager, and adult. I talked about the challenges I faced, how they shaped my life, and what changed after diagnosis: greater self-understanding, increased authenticity, and a sense of relief. I also spoke about the diagnostic process and the daily minority stress that Autistic people experience.

Within that personal narrative, I gave practical examples of how mentors can support Autistic teens and young adults, and how they can be safe adults in their lives.

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and since then, I’ve been invited back to speak to every new group of mentors. These sessions are always a highlight for me. The women in these programs have big hearts, and even when autism is unfamiliar territory, they approach the conversation with curiosity, openness, and thoughtful questions. I always stay for morning tea because there are inevitably more questions or private conversations that people want to have.

Receiving this acknowledgement meant a lot. I love working with Fearless Women—they’re doing incredible work in the Canberra community for our young girls.

If you’d like to support Fearless Women, you might:
• Become a mentor or volunteer
• Invite them to your school
• Donate
• Purchase merchandise from their online store
• Or even become a business partner

Learn more at: https://fearlesswomen.org.au
Fearless Women

03/12/2025

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀: 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

Too often, therapy for Autistic adults is shaped by outdated assumptions informed by deficit based frameworks that miss what actually matters.

Many Autistic adults have learned that therapy isn’t safe for them. They’ve been told to mask, to “fix” themselves, or to fit into systems that weren’t built for them. This results in ruptures in the therapeutic relationship and leads to burnout and missed opportunities for healing.

This workshop is about changing that story. This live workshop invites you to shift toward a neurodiversity-affirming approach that respects Autistic identity and experience to create therapy spaces that feel affirming, respectful, and genuinely helpful.

You’ll explore leading theories that underpin affirming practice, including monotropism to understand Autistic attention; bottom up processing; and neural connectivity, looking at what research tells us about Autistic brains.

This training bridges the gap between theory and application, giving you practical strategies by combining on evidence-based theory and lived experience to translate these ideas into therapy that feels safe, collaborative, and effective.

Here is what other people thought about this workshop:
“𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙄𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙.”

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮.”

“𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮.”

If you want to work with Autistic adults in a way that honours their lived experience, this workshop is for you. This isn’t just theory. It’s a chance to rebuild trust and make therapy a space where Autistic adults can show up as themselves.

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀
Date: Sunday 15th February 2026
Time: 12-2pm (AEDT)
Location: Online via Zoom
Cost $150
𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘺 5𝘵𝘩, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘈𝘙𝘓𝘠𝘉𝘐𝘙𝘋2026 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦 - 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘺 $𝟭𝟬𝟬

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗻𝗼𝘄: https://www.trybooking.com/DCPLW

28/11/2025

I'm writing a bunch of workshops for next year, including on ADHD, developing a positive Autistic identity, and more.

Facebook is not always reliable to show up in your feed, so to stay informed about when new workshops are coming up sign up to my mailing list (link at the bottom). I will never email you more than once a month, because who needs that?

If there's a workshop topic you've been hoping for, drop me a comment, a message or email me at training@ndats.com.au

The number of topics is limitless, and I would so much rather write about something that you are interested in!

To join my mailing list: https://www.ndats.com.au/mailinglist

27/11/2025

Often, it’s voices that aren’t living the experience that are the loudest. That matters because stories told from the outside rarely capture the truth. from outside, they rarely capture the truth.

Representation changes things. It shifts the lens from pity to possibility, from stereotypes to reality. It gives us role models who’ve navigated burnout, built community, and embraced identity. It reminds us that Autistic lives aren’t defined by deficit. They’re rich, complex, and worth hearing.

If you want to understand Autism, start with Autistic voices. They’re not just part of the conversation—they are the conversation.

Click on the images for more information.

26/11/2025

I’m currently writing a new workshop on how therapist can support positive Autistic identity formation and I had some thoughts that I wanted to share from my readings.

Normal (or neurotypical) is not an objective truth (Wodziński & Gołaska-Ciesielska (2025). Rather it names a position of privilege: being part of the dominant group in society and benefiting from that status.

Acknowledging privilege is not about blame but about acknowledging power imbalances and systemic inequality, so it can be dismantled.

These power imbalances show up in every area of life.

Autistic adults belong to a minority group. And being in a minority can be exhausting. The more intersecting identities they hold, the greater the likelihood of disadvantage within cultural and societal power structures.

As therapists, we need to be aware that this is present with our clients, but also with ourselves. We need to ensure that we have sufficient cultural competency and humility to support clients without causing additional harm.

Not everyone will welcome this message. And I wonder, when people resist inclusion, whether actively fighting it, or through a lack of acknowledgement or through tokenistic efforts, is it because they are consciously or unconsciously protecting their own power and privilege?

Reflective practices play a critical role in uncovering how privilege shapes your professional practice. Privilege is often invisible to those who hold it, so it requires deliberate and critical analysis.

I have developed a couple of reflective questions to help you start identifying privilege in your own practice. I have also given some examples to illustrate what this may look like. If you are having trouble identifying yours, bring it to your clinical supervisor for support.

This is an ongoing piece of work. The work on ourselves is never finished. But doing the work makes us far more effective therapists.

24/11/2025

When does the writing bug strike? When one of my fingers is in a splint and touch typing looks more like an acrobatics performance than typing. Video of what I look like below.