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Art Therapy for Late-Identified Autism
I provide art therapy for late-identified autistics and those who suspect they might be autistic.
Many autistic individuals go unseen and undiagnosed for years.
Why?
The standards for recognizing and diagnosing autism are largely based on studies and observations of white cis-heteronormative boys. Furthermore, they focus on the external behaviors.
Turns out, autism presents itself differently in adults, women, and non-gender conforming folx.
My Recent Articles About Autism
People who are raised and socialized as girls frequently learn how to mask and camouflage autism. As a result, autism is more of an internal experience than external behaviors that others can observe.
I hold a neurodivergent view of autism that classifies autism as a difference in brain neurotype.
Autism does not mean you are broken. It is a lived reality that has incredible benefits, as well as challenges.
I know because I am autistic. My life is better because I am autistic. I love the way my autistic mind works. I didn't always know how to work with it though - because I didn't know I was autistic. My late-identification as autistic liberated me to understand who I am and learn to work with my autistic mind.
Through art therapy, I now help clients to explore if they are autistic and how their autism uniquely impacts them, including their strengths, challenges, and all the messy middle. Some of the topics we'll untangle include:
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Masking and Camouflaging
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Sensory Sensitivity
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Executive Functioning
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Overload and Shutdown
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Sensorimotor Impacts (gut, hyper vigilance, etc.)
We develop strategies and coping skills, heal old wounds (autistic people frequently experience shame, alienation, and trauma), and discuss how to thrive as an autistic person in a neurotypical world.