Problems with therapists who 'specialise' in autism

Okay, so as I am reviewing research papers for my final master’s dissertation, I am coming across a lot of papers which land on the issue of therapist’s knowledge on autism and how sometimes that can cause a barrier to clients accessing the therapy they think they are signing up for.

There is evidence out there that some therapists are claiming to ‘specialise’ in autism, when actually their knowledge of autism is very limited, outdated or shrouded in misconceptions.

We al know that ‘expert’ whose neighbours, sister’s five-year-old is autistic and that’s where the extent of their knowledge lies.

But the problem arises when that is the extent of the knowledge of the therapist you are paying to see.

You could find at best it be unhelpful, at worst harmful.

So, I just wanted to let you all know that even though I would never call myself an autism expert (each and every client I see is individual and to claim I am an expert in every single one feels incredibly rude!) I do specialise in counselling with autistic clients…and my background confirms this comes from a wide range of experience…

• I have worked with clients ranging in age, from teenagers to people over 60

• I have worked with people who have had a late diagnosis

• I have worked with people who have had a diagnosis from childhood

• I have worked with people who are self-diagnosed

• I have worked with people of all genders and identities

• I have worked with families of autistic individuals of all ages (from children to adults)

• I have worked with autistic people in employment, in university and in school

• I have studied under Luke Beardon at Sheffield Hallam university (Luke is passionate about autistic people, the social model of disability and very neuro-affirming)

• I am currently studying at the New School of Counselling and Psychotherapy, another fantastically neuro-affirming institution

• I try to keep up to date on the latest autism research

• I have nearly 10yrs worth of experience working with autistic clients with several different autism specific charities around the Northwest

• And I, myself was diagnosed autistic at a late stage

I can’t (and never would ) say I know everything about autism and the part it plays in people’s lives and mental health …But I can definitely say my experience and training goes further than one particular setting, with one particular type of clientele or one particular age range.

So if you are looking for a counsellor who specialises in autism, my advice would be to check where their experience and knowledge comes from and make sure you are happy with it.

Any therapist should be happy to answer questions about experience and background, I know I would!