What if you have spent your whole life in rooms that were not built for you, wondering why everything costs you so much more than it seems to cost everyone else?
This is therapy for autistic teens and adults who are exhausted from adapting. From masking. From translating their experience into something more acceptable before they can share it. From moving through a world that was not designed with their neurodevelopmental wiring in mind.
At Embodied Therapy, masking is not required. Your identity is not a problem to be fixed. This is a space built for how you actually are.
If you recognized yourself in any of these, you are in the right place.
Autistic people are often told they are doing well because they have learned to appear neurotypical in public. The masking works, to a point. From the outside, things may look fine.
On the inside, the cost of that performance is real. Sensory overload. Social exhaustion. The deep fatigue of spending all day translating yourself into a language that was not made for you. And then coming home and having nothing left.
Autistic burnout is a real, clinically recognized experience. It is not weakness. It is what happens when the gap between who you actually are and what the world requires of you becomes unsustainable.
Therapy here is not about helping you mask better. It is about understanding how you actually work, building a life that fits you, and finding a version of yourself that does not require constant performance to maintain.
Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder, is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how a person processes sensory information, communicates, relates to others, and experiences the world. It is not a disease. It is not a tragedy. It is a different way of processing the world.
Autism is a spectrum, which means it presents very differently from person to person. The spectrum is not a linear scale from less to more autistic. It is a profile of strengths and challenges that looks unique to each individual.
For decades, autism research and diagnostic criteria were built almost entirely around the presentation of autistic boys. The result is that many autistic people, particularly women, girls, AFAB individuals, and people of color, were missed entirely or not diagnosed until well into adulthood.
Late-diagnosed autistic people often describe a lifetime of knowing something was different and not having a name for it. They may have been labeled shy, sensitive, difficult, or eccentric. They may have developed highly effective masking strategies that made them appear neurotypical enough to get through childhood without anyone identifying what was actually happening.
The relief of a late diagnosis is real. So is the grief for all the years that went without support.
Autism frequently co-occurs with ADHD, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and OCD. The combination of autism and ADHD, often called AuDHD, is one of the most common presentations we see. For many people, this overlap can feel confusing, creating a push and pull between different needs, such as craving structure while also seeking novelty, or wanting connection while feeling overwhelmed by it.
Autism also intersects meaningfully with gender diversity and LGBTQIA+ identity. Research and community data consistently show that autistic people are more likely to identify as LGBTQIA+ than the general population. At Embodied Therapy, these experiences are understood as interconnected parts of the whole person, not separate issues to be addressed one at a time.
Autism does not always look like what most people imagine. It can look like:
The experience of autism from the inside is often invisible to the people around the autistic person. That invisibility is its own kind of isolating.
Therapy here is autistic-affirming. That means we do not measure progress by how much closer to neurotypical you appear. We do not work on making eye contact or eliminating stimming. We work on the things you actually want to work on: relationships, burnout, identity, emotional regulation, and building a life that does not require you to disappear inside it.
Our founder is neurodivergent herself. That is not incidental. It shapes the texture of how sessions work, including the pacing, the expectations, and the quality of understanding that is present.
You are not expected to communicate in any particular way. Sessions are virtual. Camera-off is okay. Chat is an option when verbal communication is hard. There is no waiting room, no fluorescent lights, and no performance required.
Autistic teens and adults who do this work often find they are able to:
The foundation of everything here. Autism is a difference, not a disorder to be corrected toward a neurotypical standard. Therapy adapts to fit the client, not the other way around.
Works with the body's sensory and regulatory experience. Helpful for autistic clients navigating sensory overwhelm, interoceptive differences, and nervous system dysregulation.
Helps autistic clients identify their own values and build a life oriented around them, even in a world that often asks them to orient around everyone else's comfort instead.
Explores the parts that developed in response to masking demands. Particularly helpful for autistic identity work and for understanding the internal experience beneath the external presentation.
Practical tools for emotional regulation and interpersonal navigation. Adapted in ways that recognize the neurological basis of emotional intensity in autistic people.
For autistic clients navigating trauma, which is unfortunately common given how often autistic people experience bullying, medical trauma, and systemic harm.
For autistic clients navigating both autism and queer or gender diverse identity. Both identities are held without requiring the client to choose which is more relevant in the room.
This may be a good fit if you are an autistic teen or adult who:
This is also for parents and caregivers who are watching their teenager navigate something that feels bigger than what they know how to hold. You do not have to have the right words to reach out. If you want to learn more about parent support, read more here.
We see clients virtually. Our therapist is licensed in New Mexico, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.
Our founder, Allison VanGordon (they/she), is neurodivergent and has worked with autistic teens and adults across clinical settings since the beginning of their career. Their approach is informed by both clinical training and personal understanding of what it means to navigate a world that was not designed for your neurodevelopmental wiring.
They do not approach autism as something to be fixed or managed toward a neurotypical outcome. Their PhD research includes a focus on marginalized communities and how mental health systems have historically failed to provide affirming, effective care to neurodivergent people, particularly those who are also LGBTQIA+ or from communities of color.
Read more about Embodied Therapy here and read more about Allison here.
Yes. Autistic burnout is a documented experience. Therapy can help with understanding what contributed to it, building recovery strategies that actually fit an autistic nervous system, and making shifts that reduce the likelihood of future burnout cycles.
No. Many autistic adults are diagnosed after spending decades not understanding why the world felt harder for them. Therapy can offer meaningful support in processing that history, building practical tools, and finding a more sustainable way of moving through the world.
Yes. Sessions can include chat, drawing, movement, or other forms of communication. We adapt to what actually works for the person in front of us.
A recent diagnosis can bring up a lot for both the teen and the family. Teen therapy sessions can offer the teen a space to process what the diagnosis means for them. Parent support sessions can help caregivers understand what their teen needs and how to show up for them at home.
The intake session is $250.
Ongoing individual therapy sessions range from $85 to $155, depending on need and availability.
Family and parent support sessions range from $105 to $175.
Sliding scale options are available. You can check your eligibility instantly below — no phone calls, no hassle.
You do not need to have it figured out before you reach out. A free consultation is just a conversation.
