How I Work: Neurodiversity & Mission
About Half the People I See Are Autistic Adults
Clearly, autism symptoms can’t be treated and desensitised in the same way we resolve trauma symptoms. So, in that regard I see myself more as a sounding board and a coach for people on the spectrum.
Many autistic adults have spent years being told, implicitly or explicitly, that the way they think, feel, and communicate is the problem. That’s not how I see it, as I work from the neuro-affirmative perspective.
A Neuro-Affirmative Approach
Many difficulties experienced by neurodiverse people are, in fact, difficulties created by social expectations established and enforced by neurotypical people.
So many of those difficulties are no more or less than a mismatch between two different operating systems trying to understand each other.
I think that’s why I often find that cognitive reframing is a more powerful tool for healing people on the autism spectrum than EMDR.
Regulating the Amygdala
When all is said and done, my work essentially helps people learn to regulate their amygdala – the “Fight, Flight, Freeze or Fawn” centre that operates in everybody’s brain. If our amygdala is mostly settled, and especially if we know how to soothe ourselves, our lives will look and feel pretty calm.
Too many people have chronically dysregulated amygdalas, to a greater or lesser degree:
- Some may "just" feel anxious much of the time
- Some go numb when in conflict
- Others erupt with angry outbursts that frighten others
Once I introduced a somatic approach to my work, in 2021, I suddenly saw why my caseload always included both trauma survivors and people managing symptoms of autism. It’s because both these groups of people often struggle to regulate their amygdalas.