Women & Autism Assessments -
About Arielle Thibodeaux, MSW, LCSW
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You thought you were doing "all the right things" and don't understand why you feel like life is harder for you. There are days you think you have it together but most of the time you know you don't. You're confused why you were ghosted by another friend, why your boss said you're "not a team player" or why you can hyper focus on things you're passionate about but feel chaos in your brain about everything else.
Maybe you've begun to wonder if you are experiencing ADHD or are on the spectrum. Maybe you began researching everything you could on the diagnoses and now are pretty sure this is what has been going on with you your whole life. It explains why you always felt "different." Neurodiversity is the neurological diversity and differences that exist between brains. Those who are neurodivergent have a brain that does not operate "typically" and may present with cognitive and behavioral challenges. This article does a great job of explaining neurodiversity. This one outlines some signs. |
I am a later in life diagnosed Autistic woman (in my 30's!) and understand the challenges and relief of learning of this diagnosis. I was doing research and read Women and Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I kept thinking, this sounds oddly familiar to my life. Even as a trained clinician, I had no understanding of Autism and had the stereotypes in my head, so I never suspected myself. I just knew I always felt different but did not know why. I was often criticized for social faux pas. There were also patterns of behavior and sensory issues that I learned others were not typically experiencing. This came as a shock to me because my own bias and lack of knowledge had lead me to believe certain things about ASD that simply were not true.
Once I believed this was likely, per my usual, I went into overdrive to learn everything I could about women on the spectrum (hello special interest deep dives!). I watched every video, listened to every podcast, read the articles, did the online tests, read a bunch of books, completed clinical trainings and came to the conclusion this was very likely.
I'm one of those people that like the facts, so I had to know for sure. I'm not saying professional diagnosis is the only accepted option, but for me, it was important. I then learned how hard and expensive! it was to find someone. Particularly someone competent. I read a lot of horror stories on Reddit of people who spent the $1.5K+ to be told "you do not have Autism because you make eye contact." When I got on the waitlist for one organization, it was over 2 years away. I also did not find it essential to do an entire battery of testing/a full neuropsychological evaluation. From my research, there is not an accepted standard for diagnosing adults, so I did not see a point. I ended up finding another woman on the spectrum, Dr. Lauren Megrew, who did cost-effective and less intense consults. Through this experience, I learned there is a serious access issue for folks. So, I went on to do additional training and research so that I could offer assessments to people who wanted the professional opinion but did not need/want a full psych eval.
I have been a counselor for over a decade and am Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). I am licensed in Indiana and Texas (Indiana License Number: 34007071A and Texas License Number: 68646). I also own and operate my private practice, One Step Forward Counseling. I attended the University of Southern Indiana for my MSW (Master of Social Work) and Southern Illinois University Carbondale for my BSW (Bachelor of Social Work). I offer folks the MIGDAS-2 Adult during appointments and I trained with the creator. My spouse is also neurodiverse (ADHD).
If you would like to explore your own potential neurodiversity, click here to learn more about the process and cost to work with me. If you are needing additional resources or a therapist, click here.
Once I believed this was likely, per my usual, I went into overdrive to learn everything I could about women on the spectrum (hello special interest deep dives!). I watched every video, listened to every podcast, read the articles, did the online tests, read a bunch of books, completed clinical trainings and came to the conclusion this was very likely.
I'm one of those people that like the facts, so I had to know for sure. I'm not saying professional diagnosis is the only accepted option, but for me, it was important. I then learned how hard and expensive! it was to find someone. Particularly someone competent. I read a lot of horror stories on Reddit of people who spent the $1.5K+ to be told "you do not have Autism because you make eye contact." When I got on the waitlist for one organization, it was over 2 years away. I also did not find it essential to do an entire battery of testing/a full neuropsychological evaluation. From my research, there is not an accepted standard for diagnosing adults, so I did not see a point. I ended up finding another woman on the spectrum, Dr. Lauren Megrew, who did cost-effective and less intense consults. Through this experience, I learned there is a serious access issue for folks. So, I went on to do additional training and research so that I could offer assessments to people who wanted the professional opinion but did not need/want a full psych eval.
I have been a counselor for over a decade and am Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). I am licensed in Indiana and Texas (Indiana License Number: 34007071A and Texas License Number: 68646). I also own and operate my private practice, One Step Forward Counseling. I attended the University of Southern Indiana for my MSW (Master of Social Work) and Southern Illinois University Carbondale for my BSW (Bachelor of Social Work). I offer folks the MIGDAS-2 Adult during appointments and I trained with the creator. My spouse is also neurodiverse (ADHD).
If you would like to explore your own potential neurodiversity, click here to learn more about the process and cost to work with me. If you are needing additional resources or a therapist, click here.