Autistic-Informed, Autism Assessment
Advanced Training Series and Consultation
My training series and consultation offerings *center* the experiences of autistic people, NOT the view of autistic people through a neuro-normative lens. Both offer an opportunity to divest from ableism masquerading as professionalism, critically analyze the ways that neuro-normativity shows up in assessment processes for both clients and evaluators, and discover the possibilities for something different.
The Assessment Training Series shares insight into assessment with people of all ages, and in all stages of self-knowledge or self-identification, including children, adolescents, and adults, as well as templates and information on building an ethical and affirming assessment process.
Consultation offerings provide an individualized opportunity to reassess and adapt your evaluation process to (re)align with your values and access needs, as well as respond to client feedback and community needs. Currently I offer 1:1 and group/organizational consultation, as well as feedback on written documents (evaluation reports and summaries of all kinds).
The basic premise of autistic-informed autism assessment is that we *actively seek out the perspectives of autistic people and we listen*. This means we accept that our "gold standards" need to change.
CLINICAL INTEGRITY AND AUTISTIC-AFFIRMING PRACTICES CAN CO-EXIST!
Autism Assessment Training
The series aims to help clinicians design or adapt assessment processes that are aligned with their practice values and goals, as well as the access needs of their clients and themselves as providers and people.
Currently, I offer two pathways in this workshop training series - Pathway 1 for providers new to autism assessment, and Pathway 2 for providers experienced in autism assessment.
Both workshop pathways will cover considerations for neuro-affirming practice in all parts of assessment including assessment structure, selection of instruments, intake processes, evaluation interviews, reports and recommendations, as well as delivery of evaluation outcomes and feedback sessions.
Both pathways will also offer considerations for provider access needs and sustainable practices for autistic/multiply neurodivergent providers.
From identifying personal and practice values, to choosing assessment measures and tools, to formatting the assessment process, to writing and sharing evaluation feedback and diagnostic reports - this training offers participants all of the “what, why, when, how” involved in building my own assessment process and services, how they have adapted over time, and shares the resources, forms, and report templates I have built along my way.
Areas of focus for assessment training workshops:
considerations for building an assessment practice that aligns with your values, goals, and access needs, and explores the tension between liberatory practice and harm reduction frameworks as they apply to autism assessment
balancing clinical integrity of diagnosis with exploring ways for assessment process to be more accurate, affirming, and inclusive of intersectional identities of gender, race, ethnicity, and disability, as well as “giftedness”/2e folks, and differential diagnosis with folks with history of trauma, and/or co-occurring mental illness
critical reflection of ableism within systems and medical model of disability, and what a paradigm shift means for all parts of assessment process
challenging stereotypes about autism that have led to generations of missed and misdiagnosis of People of Global Majority (PGM)/Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and Women, Girls, Queer, Transgender, Non-binary and Gender Non-Conforming folks
understanding normative development for autistic people, and learning non-pathologizing ways of conceptualizing, identifying, and describing the diversity of autistic experiences
FOR PROVIDERS NEW TO AUTISM ASSESSMENT: Pathway 1
LIVE OPTION - Small Group Cohorts (Virtual)
NEXT COHORT IS MONDAYS BEGINNING MAY 12th!! (Please note - space in live cohorts is very limited for Rachel’s accessibility, and spots tend to fill quickly! )
Mondays, 7-8pm EST May 12th - July 7th (8 weeks)
Included with the live small group training offering:
A minimum of 8 total hours of live zoom time in a small group setting (typically 4-8), with recordings available for 2 weeks after each session.
Access to my templates for full diagnostic reports, informed consent process, communication and scheduling.
Access to private Facebook group for connecting with value aligned peer support/consultation/resources/referrals.
Option to be included in our directory of providers (shared with our waitlist, and with new folks seeking assessment).
Option to continue individualized training and support in designing and implementing an ethical and affirming assessment process through 1:1 consultation with The Properties of Light’s Trampoline Project (subject to availability).
LIVE SMALL GROUP TRAINING INVESTMENT
Cost for live small group training offering:
The total cost for the workshop is $1,000, with the option to pay in weekly installments of $125.
As of April 1, 2024, each cohort has at least 2 equity spots available to BIPOC/PGM clinicians at no cost. (Additional spots may be available based on mutual aid funding).
Pathway 1 is NOW ALSO AVAILABLE ON DEMAND!!
The recorded training offering is an opportunity to explore this training content independently, and at your own pace. There are NO live meetings included with this offering (though individualized consultation is available at sliding scale rates following completion of training series).
Included with the recording training offering:
- 5 hours of recorded sessions, available for a period of 6 weeks.
- Access to my templates for full diagnostic reports, informed consent process, communication and scheduling.
- Access to private Facebook group for connecting with peer support/consultation/resources/referrals.
- Option to be included in our directory of providers (shared with our waitlist, and with new folks seeking assessment).
- Option to continue individualized training and support in designing and implementing an ethical and affirming assessment process through 1:1 consultation with The Properties of Light’s Trampoline Project (subject to availability).
Investment in Recorded Training Series
(Includes access to templates for full diagnostic reports, informed consent process, communication, and scheduling.)
**NOTE: The development and evolution of this training series, which includes the continuous quest for increased accessibility for ND/Disabled/LGTBQIA+/BIPOC folks, has been possible only because of the investment of community.
Providers who chose to invest in autism assessment workshops, trainings, and consultation with me from 2021-2024, folks who purchased books through our bookshop affiliate link, contributed to our lending library, and/or generously contributed to our mutual aid fund - all those in community who are leveraging their personal and professional powers and redistributing their resources to help dismantle barriers to inclusive, intersectional, and affirming autism assessment - are making this possible.
equitable rate: $800
Please consider choosing the equitable rate ($800) if:
Your fee for service rate exceeds $125, and/or you intend to set your fees for assessment above $1,000.
You have the option of full or partial reimbursement for professional development
You are an allistic clinician (perhaps neurodivergent, but not autistic)
You hold other privileged social identities (race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, size)
Your practice is fee for service/self-pay only
You have access to paid time off
sustainable rate: $600
Please consider choosing the sustainable rate ($600) if:
Your practice provides 25-50% of services at sliding scale/low-cost rates
Your fee for service rate exceeds $100, and/or you intend to set your fees for assessment at or above $800.
You are an allistic clinician (perhaps neurodivergent, but not autistic)
You hold other privileged social identities (race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, size)
accessible rate: $400
Please consider choosing the accessible rate ($400) if:
Your practice provides at least 50% of services at sliding scale/low-cost rates
Your fee for service rate is below $75, and/or you intend to set your fees for assessment at or below $600.
Your practice centers the needs of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color/People of Global Majority clients and communities, and more than 50% of clients served are BIPOC/PGM.
You experience the systemic barriers of the helping professions including BIPOC/PGM, 2SLGBTQIA+, and/or disabled clinicians.
FOR PROVIDERS EXPERIENCED IN AUTISM ASSESSMENT: PATHWAY 2
INTEGRATING AUTISTIC-INFORMED PRACTICE INTO YOUR EXISTING ASSESSMENT PROCESS
This advanced workshop series is designed for licensed psychologists and clinicians who are already providing assessment services, and are interested in building neuro-affirming practices into their existing assessment process. This workshop series is a total of 4 hours, structured as two 2-hour sessions. This pathway is a good fit for clinicians who are already practicing autism assessment.
4 Hour Live Virtual Workshop
Included with the live small group workshop offering:
One 4 hour live zoom session in a small group setting (typically 6-10), with recording available for 2 weeks after workshop date.
Access to my templates for affirming reframes and language for reports, informed consent process, communication and scheduling.
Access to private Facebook group for connecting with peer support/consultation/resources/referrals.
Option to be included in our directory of providers (shared with our waitlist, and with new folks seeking assessment).
Option to continue individualized training and support in designing and implementing an ethical and affirming assessment process through 1:1 consultation with The Properties of Light’s Trampoline Project (subject to availability).
LIVE SMALL GROUP TRAINING INVESTMENT
Cost for live small group training offering:
The total cost for the workshop is $500.
As of April 1, 2024, each cohort has at least 2 equity spots available to BIPOC/PGM clinicians at no cost. (Additional spots may be available based on mutual aid funding).
Assessment Consultation and Evaluation Report Feedback Sessions
When capacity allows, I offer 1:1 and group practice/organizational consultation in my areas of focused interest, including all things related(even tangentially!) to autism assessment.
In addition to consultation focused on clinical aspects of assessment, I also collaborate with evaluators who are building or refining their assessment practices. Together we work through any pieces that feel “sticky” or misaligned, and fine tune their process to be best aligned with their values, goals, and needs.
I also offer an opportunity for feedback on written portions of assessment processes including evaluation reports, summaries and letters, and other related pieces of documentation. This can be provided in an asynchronous, written format (providing feedback via review and written suggestions without meeting live), in a live, verbal format (discussing suggestions in a live virtual meeting), or some combination of the two!
For professional consultation, I use an equitable exchange model - folks are asked to pay their clinical or consultative rate per consultation session.
For example, a consultant who charges clients $150 per session is asked to pay $150 per session; a clinician who has a clinical rate of $200 per 50 minute session, is asked to pay $200 per consultation session; a clinician who accepts medicaid and has a reimbursement rate of $95 per session is asked to pay $95 per consultation session, and so forth.
(If this is confusing, or you have any questions - please let me know at scheduling and we can figure it out together!)
CLICK HERE TO REQUEST PROFESSIONAL CONSULTATION AND/OR FEEDBACK ON WRITTEN WORK!
Important Note: My goal in offering this training IS NOT to build an exclusive, commercialized training program.
My goal is to offer all that I have experienced, learned, and built to increase accessibility of affirming assessment for autistic folks of all ages, genders, races, ethnicities, and abilities by increasing the number of knowledgeable providers doing this work in inclusive and affirming ways in communities everywhere.
My hope is for a world where no one has to choose between a pathologizing, harmful, and/or gaslighting evaluation process and validation + access to supports for themselves or their loved one.
My hope is for a world where no one has to wait months to years for an appointment to explore their questions about autistic experience with someone who listens with cultural humility.
My hope is for a world where people of all genders, races, ethnicities, disabilities, sizes, and neurotypes are able to work with a clinician that shares their identities and/or experiences if they choose to.
And my hope is for a world where clinicians of all genders, races, ethnicities, disabilities, sizes, and neurotypes have access to the training and resources needed to develop their own autonomous assessment process that allows both clinician and client to show up authentically.
This training was born of my own struggle with community needs that far exceed my capacities, recognition of the unique internal and external challenges and resources that have brought me to this place, and the common barriers that I found were preventing other clinicians from offering autism assessment services.
So this training is an invitation and opportunity for providers to join me in resistance of the status quo, and an offer of support for clinicians who are already leaning into neurodiversity-affirming practice and finding that much of their previous training and experience is wrought with ableism and unintentional harm.
This training is also an invitation and opportunity for autistic and neurodivergent providers to join me in building visibility and belonging in “professional” spaces where autistic people often experience othering and alienation.