ALL Sessions will take place between November 14th-16th, 2025. For more information about the flow of the conference - check out our Schedule At A Glance!

Registration for the Virtual Conference allows you to attend any of the following sessions! A CE Ticket makes you eligible to receive Continuing Education Certificates for all CE Sessions that you attend live.

Click here to learn more about Continuing Education.

We've broken up our sessions into two categories below: CE Sessions and Non-CE Sessions. 

Please note, that some sessions in the NON-CE Category *MAY* be approved for CEs at a later date! Check back here for updates!

NeuroAbundant, LLC is pleased to present offer following programs. NeuroAbundant, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7589. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. NeuroAbundant, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the following programs.

Peripartum is a common lifespan event, yet the experiences of autistic individuals during pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood are still underexplored. In this discussion, presenters will share insights from both lived experience and professional expertise to help clinicians understand the unique experience of autistic individuals during this transformative period. The session will cover the physical and emotional aspects of peripartum, highlight protective and risk factors, and offer practical guidance for supporting autistic people through this important life stage.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Define the perinatal period and list three considerations working with autistic clients during this time.
• Identify and assess for protective factors and risk factors in the perinatal period for autistic clients.
• Recognize three physiological factors that can impact the perinatal experience for autistic parents.

This presentation will explore the unique challenges and dynamics in relationships across neurotypes, focusing on neurodivergent and neurotypical couples as well as couples where both partners are neurodivergent but may have different diagnoses. Through an integration of research, therapeutic techniques, and case examples, we will address key areas such as communication, attachment, sensory sensitivities, and emotional regulation. The goal is to empower clinicians with tools to support neurodiverse couples, helping them navigate complex dynamics with an accommodation mindset, fostering connection and understanding.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Understand the unique challenges neurodiverse couples face, including communication differences, attachment needs, and sensory sensitivities.
• Learn how to implement therapeutic strategies that foster communication, self-regulation, and emotional connection in neurodiverse relationships.
• Recognize and address common misattributions and biases that clinicians may hold when working with neurodiverse couples.

Get ready to neuroqueer your practice in the most affirming and unapologetically queer way! We’ll dispel myths, dive into how we’ve neuroqueered group spaces, and share activities that embrace youth autonomy and identity. From virtual therapy rooted in disability justice to navigating puberty and dysphoria with compassion, we’ll empower you to uplift neuroqueer teens. We’ll tackle topics like self-harm, harmful laws, and the challenges of growing up in non-affirming homes. Together, we’ll develop techniques to reduce harm and celebrate the fierce representation of neuroqueer culture! Let’s make therapy bold, intuitive, and brilliantly inclusive.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Develop a therapeutic framework that centers youth autonomy and identity development.
• Summarize techniques to reduce harm when working with neuroqueer youth.
• Recognize neuroqueer representation and understand related cultural experiences.

This presentation for mental health clinicians on Autism-affirming diagnostic assessments focuses on essential strategies and tools for enhancing the diagnostic process. It begins by introducing affirming assessment tools, such as the MIGDAS and some of the questionnaires from Embrace Autism, emphasizing their importance in recognizing and validating autistic individuals’ experiences. Given the commonality of ADHD & Autism co-occurrence (40-80 percent) differential and co-occurring lived experiences will also be discussed to prepare clinicians for evaluations that explore both diagnoses/identities. 

Clinicians are guided on how to discuss non-affirming tools with individuals and families, given the limited options available. The presentation stresses the importance of using affirming and strengths-based language in reports, fostering a positive understanding of autism.

Participants learn to identify qualities of affirming testers, highlighting red flags to avoid and green flags to seek. The discussion includes the distinction between self-diagnosis and clinical diagnosis, alongside guidance on when to pursue testing and the types of assessments available, from master’s level evaluations to neuropsychological assessments.

Central to the presentation is the commitment to centering autistic voices throughout the testing process, ensuring that assessments are respectful and inclusive. The importance of creating sensory-friendly testing environments and considering both virtual and in-person options are addressed. Finally, the session concludes with strategies for sharing findings and personalizing recommendations, empowering clinicians to provide tailored support to autistic individuals and their families.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Identify the current standard of affirming assessment tools. 
• Summarize the benefits and differences of varying assessment options. 
• Recognize and utilize affirming language within assessment reports.

Join us for an enlightening presentation that dives into the intersections of neurodiversity and sexuality. Explore cutting-edge research and practical insights from experts with lived experience, who will present on the unique experiences of autistic individuals in regards to sex, kink, and intimacy. Discover what makes sex different for autistic and AuDHD individuals and why these conversations are vital. Learn ways to support your clients, such as adaptations for Sensate Focus and harnessing kink to fulfill neurodivergent needs. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your understanding, challenge assumptions, and gain new strategies for supporting diverse relationships and sexualities in autistic, ADHD, and AuDHD clientele.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Summarize the unique sexual experiences and challenges faced by autistic and AuDHD individuals.
• Sevelop skills to engage in meaningful conversations about sexuality, kink, and intimacy with autistic and AuDHD individuals.
• Apply adaptive techniques for Sensate Focus that cater specifically to the sensory and relational needs of autistic and AuDHD clients, fostering an inclusive therapeutic environment.

As knowledge increases and stigma decreases about mental health diagnoses, the prevalence of individuals engaging in self-diagnosis of autism has become much greater in recent years.  At times, this has led to significant tension between providers and self-diagnosing individuals.  This panel consists of mental health providers (both Masters and Doctoral level) with lived experience with autism.  The purpose of this presentation is to better understand both sides of the table around the topic of self-diagnosis.  We will elucidate the journey an individual takes from exploring self-diagnosis to possibly seeking formal diagnosis.  Challenges and barriers to formal diagnosis will be elaborated, as well as techniques to assist self-diagnosing individuals in how to advocate for themselves when seeking other support, including therapy.  Providers will be instructed on how to be neuro-affirming and to better understand the validity of self-diagnosis, as well as the limitations of formal diagnostic tools and processes.  Providers will be given concrete advice on how to meet self-diagnosing clients where they are at in their journey and how to better navigate possible points of tension.  A detailed discussion of masking will be provided to help clinicians better recognize autism, particularly in individuals with more subtle presentations.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Discuss the autism self-diagnosis journey of individuals.
• Evaluate whether they are approaching clients in a neuro-affirming manner, including better understanding the impact of masking and more subtle presentations of autism.
• Identify barriers to formal diagnosis and how to help self-diagnosing individuals to advocate for their support needs.

A mini symposium on race and autism. A foundational section where definitions and information will be shared (15 minutes) and then each of the three presenters will spend 15 minutes using their lived experience to guide a curated conversation on race and autism. Intersectionality, community, racism, stigma, eurocentrism and more will be on the table. Each of the three presenters has a different relationship to race and will use their unique lens to foster a greater understanding of how this important intersection is experienced, supported, and undervalued. A 15 minute question-and-answer/community chat section will round out the presentation to ensure audience members can feel connected and heard.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Discuss the importance of cultural understanding flowing both ways (improve double empathy)

• Interpret the dual impact of stigma on BBA Autistic folks

• Describe diverse experiences of how racial identity intersects with autistic identity

Take a deep dive into delivering a diagnosis of autism in a neurodiversity-affirming away.  This presentation includes both lived experience (highlighting the voices of autistic children and stories from the presenters) and research-based best practices.  Our professional experience includes both mental health (Masters and Doctoral level) and medical (Psychiatry).  We explore the harms of a deficit-based approach to assessment and the benefits of a neurodiversity-affirming approach using a variety of rich metaphors and concrete skills. Detailed tools for a strengths-based approach focus on techniques for collaborative exploration and Therapeutic Assessment (TA) as a healing modality.  The importance of intersectionality and cultural factors is integrated throughout this discussion.  To provide assistance to clinicians following diagnosis, we describe in depth how to explain a new diagnosis in an affirming manner, how to respond to differing reactions (including disagreement over self-diagnosis or prior misdiagnosis), and suggested accommodations for adults and children. We also guide clinicians on how to identify affirming resources and provide a detailed document of our favorites.  Finally, we acknowledge how our views of autism have changed over the years and invite other clinicians and medical professionals to be open to a growth mindset to better identify and serve autistic individuals.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Identify the harms of deficit-based approaches to evaluations and the benefits of neurodiversity-affirming evaluation approaches.
• Provide concrete tools for engaging with evaluation clients in a collaborative, strengths-based manner.
• Implement concrete approaches to deliver a diagnosis of autism in an affirming manner and will be prepared to address common challenges, such as disagreement over self-diagnosis or a prior misdiagnosis.

This panel presentation includes five members (three Masters-level clinicians, one Doctoral level clinician, and one Psychiatrist), all of whom have lived experience with a late diagnosis of Autism.  This panel will share their lived experience with late diagnosis.  The exultation of late diagnosis, in terms of autistic joy and community connection, will be discussed.  However, a less accessible area for support is the grief surrounding late diagnosis.  Topics about the grief of late diagnosis will include what support panelists wish they had received from therapists or other providers following a late diagnosis of autism, feelings of grief that the diagnosis had not been received sooner, implications for their future, trauma/micro-traumas, masking challenges, self-acceptance of limitations due to disability, and questions about identity and imposter syndrome.  In addition, current data from the qualitative literature on late diagnosis will be presented.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Describe the potentially mixed emotional experience that individuals have following a late diagnosis of autism, including both positive feelings and aspects of grief.
• Identify specific supports that individuals with a late diagnosis of autism may need in terms of mental health and practical support for life challenges.
• Summarize the current qualitative research on late diagnosis of autism.

If you need accommodations or have questions, please contact us.

contact@neuroabundant.com

70 Woodfin Place, Suite 409

Asheville, NC, 28801

www.neuroabundant.com 

These sessions will be offered during the conference, but do not currently count for CE Certificates. Check back at a later date for additional information and changes!