Counseling Autistic Clients Through a Trauma-Informed Lens

Authors

Ali Cunningham Abbott, Lynn UniversityFollow
Amy Geissler, Lynn University

Document Type

Conference Session

Publication Date

6-13-2025

Abstract

Autistic and neurodivergent people experience sociocultural trauma specific to their lived experience (Peterson et al., 2019). Due to neurodevelopmental differences, neurodivergent children can be relentlessly bullied by peers, teachers, family members and more (Hwang et al., 2019). Adults can be excluded from employment or educational opportunities and loved ones blamed for the kinds of therapies they seek out for their family members (Britto, 2020; Moore, 2020). These identity-based traumas are important for clinicians to understand, assess and treat from an autistic-affirming approach and trauma-informed practices.

Conference/Symposium

Florida Counseling Association's 2025 Virtual Traumatology Symposium

Department

College of Arts and Sciences

Comments

Theme: Healing Fractured Identities: Advancing Mental Health, Social Justice and Self-Empowerment in the Face of Inequity

Ali Cunningham Abbott, PhD, LMHC, QS

Amy Geissler, M.S., '25

Recommended Citation

Cunningham Abbott, A., & Geissler, A. (2025, June 13). Counseling autistic clients through a trauma-informed lens [Conference session]. Florida Counseling Association's 2025 Virtual Traumatology Symposium.