My approach to assessment is collaborative and relational. I am grounded in feminist, anti-racist, trauma-informed and neurodiversity-affirming perspectives. I have zero desire to employ deficit-based, pathologizing models that reduce people to diagnostic criteria or require masking to be “credible”. Instead, I work to help people make sense of their internal world, uncover patterns, and understand their neurotype in a way that feels grounding, liberating, and deeply human.

I specialize in working with adults, particularly women and AFAB people, the queer community, and those who have felt overlooked, misunderstood, or have been misdiagnosed in systems designed around narrow norms. It’s important to acknowledge that racism and white supremacy have shaped who is seen, who is believed, and who is diagnosed with autism and ADHD. Black, Indigenous, and other people of color are often misidentified, underdiagnosed, or labeled with stigmatizing diagnoses instead. I feel it is important to name explicitly that my experiences are grounded in the privilege that my whiteness has afforded me, however, I work intentionally to recognize these patterns, adapt my assessment processes with cultural responsiveness, and avoid reinforcing structural harm. If you are looking for a place that values complexity, honors your lived experience, and approaches the assessment process as one of meaning-making, then we may work well together!

My OWN ASSESSMENT learnings

When I finally decided I wanted to seek a formal autism diagnosis in my late 30’s, I struggled to find a clinician who “saw” me. The few folks who had deep knowledge about autism in people socialized female had waitlists of 18 months or more. While I waited, I did an extensive deep dive into the research and lived experience of autistic women, trans and gender expansive people, and others who have historically been excluded from diagnosis.

I learned about the subtle and complex nuances of masking and social imitation across autistic lives, the wide-ranging variety of special interests that don’t necessarily match traditional stereotypes. I studied the ways in which some autistic folks can have highly developed relational and social analysis skills that often lead simultaneously to presenting with social “skills” and deep overwhelm. I dove into the clinical literature about misdiagnosis and grew in my understanding of the long-standing negligence to incorporate gender, trauma, and systems of oppression into traditional autism assessments.

During the process, I found myself immersed in autistic culture and community. I began the ongoing work of shedding the layers of overperforming, masking, perfectionism, and existential anxiety I had carried for decades, even as I continued moving through spaces shaped by neurotypical expectations. When my assessment was complete, I received a formal Autism diagnosis and an unexpected ADHD diagnosis. What followed was a profound process of integration: grief for my former self and all of the struggles I had without understanding why, validation for the ways I had always experienced relationships, overwhelm, and the noise of the world, and, ultimately, a sense of freedom and liberation. For the first time, I was able to lean into myself, my community, and the possibility of unmasked, authentic connection.

I started Resonant Minds to offer the kind of assessment I needed and couldn’t find: one that is informed by lived experience and grounded in cultural and gender responsiveness and not limited by outdated stereotypes of autism. I aspire to help people navigate the systems that were not built for us, find clarity and understanding about ourselves we deserve, and to enable people to move through the reintegration that can happen when you finally understand yourself on your own terms.