My goal is to help autistic individuals with self acceptance as neurodivergent, as well as to help them navigate achieving their goals.

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After years of working with autistic and other neurodivergent individuals people, including those with NLD, I’ve developed a speciality in diagnosing undiagnosed adults, especially women who have been overlooked. Put simply, autistic girls and women (as well as some men) don’t look like the “stereotypical” male autistic. Because of this,  they are often dismissed and they struggle to be taken seriously. I’m working to help those seeking a diagnosis understand themselves better and to validate them as the often gifted, always worthwhile people they are, not simply a label or a set of challenges.

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It’s my goal to spread awareness of understanding autistic children, women and men by bringing actual autistic voices into the conversation. I hope to educate parents, education and mental health professionals and the mainstream community to understand autistics and neurodiversity. To that end, I write and lecture as well as work directly with clients.

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I’ve worked with autistic individuals as a licensed psychologist for 30 years. I was appointed to the CT ASD Advisory Council and serves on the Clinical Advisory Group of the Asperger’s Autism Network (AANE.org), a nationally recognized resource for autism services and education. I’m also on the Board of Directors of NeuroClastic.org, an autistic nonprofit that provides education, opportunities, and resources for autistic individuals. 

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 I’m a prolific writer and lecturer. I’ve written 3 professional journal articles on autism for the Journal of Health Services Psychology (JHSP), one focusing on diagnosing adults and one specifically on diagnosing women. My blog “Divergent Thinkers” was on Psych Central for 2016- 2020, and my current blog on Psychology Today is “Everyday Neurodiversity.”

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I’ve presented many workshops on autism, including the “Learning and the Brain” conference co-sponsored by Harvard, MIT, Johns Hopkins, and Tufts, and an international conference, “Special Kids International Summit” co-sponsored by UNESCO.

 As a result of my focus on autistic women, I’ve has worked with women from all over the United States to provide an autistic diagnosis when they were misunderstood and misdiagnosed by their clinical providers.

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I graduated from Yale University Magna cum laude and with honors, received my Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the City University of NY in 1982 and completed my internship and fellowship at NY Hospital-Cornell Medical Center (now NY Presbyterian Hospital). 

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