LATER IN LIFE AUTISM DIAGNOSIS – NEURODIVERGENT AFFIRMING PRACTICES

PRESENTER: JAMIE ROBERTS, M.A. LMFT

• Friday, November 15, 2024
•  9:00 AM - 11:00 AM (PST)

• Online

Discovering Autism later in life is a mix of both Relief and Grief for a newly diagnosed person.  In this presentation we will explore the mental health journey of integrating a new identity after years or decades of misdiagnosis. Specifically focusing on the relief of finally understanding your lived experience and the grief of not knowing sooner. Working with neurodivergent clients requires deconstructing neurotypical expectations, unlearning internalized ableism, processing trauma and supporting advocacy. Jamie shares both her clinical insights as well as lived experiences with a later in life diagnosis of Autism and ADHD.

OBJECTIVES:

In successfully completing and attending this presentation, participants will be able to:

1.  Recognize Autistic traits in adults that are commonly over looked.

2. Identify four therapeutic themes experienced by later in life diagnosed Autistics

3. Recall the four types of sensory experiences for neurodivergent people.

4. Demonstrate 3 situations and how to interact as a client integrates the relief and grief of a later in life diagnosis.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER:

Jamie Roberts (she/her) is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist that received a later in life diagnosis of both ADHD and Autism.  As she explored her own identity, her special interest in teen mental health shifted to why teen girls were not receiving ADHD or Autism diagnosis and the long-term effects into adulthood.  Jamie is the founder of Equilibrium Counseling Services, a teen and young adult mental health center in Southern California. In 2024 she opened Expand Clinical Training Corp, to provide additional education for clinicians on Neurodivergent topics. Jamie is the Neurodivergent Therapist across social media and is an active speaker on Neurodivergent and Teen topics. She is also the author of the book Mindfulness for Teen Anxiety.

Event Slides

Event Evals