Therapy that gets the AuDHD experience.
AuDHD — being both Autistic and ADHD — is its own thing. It's not autism plus a side of ADHD, and it's not ADHD with autistic flavor. The internal contradictions (a brain that craves novelty AND routine, hyperfocuses AND can't transition, masks brilliantly AND burns out completely) require care designed for the combined profile, not pieces of two separate ones.
Book a free 30-min consultationWhat is AuDHD?
AuDHD is the term the community uses for the co-occurring Autistic + ADHD profile. Recent research suggests that a substantial percentage of Autistic people also meet ADHD criteria, and vice versa — the two used to be considered mutually exclusive in the DSM, which delayed diagnosis for entire generations of AuDHD adults.
What makes AuDHD distinct is the constant internal contradiction: the part of you that needs routine and predictability is at war with the part that craves novelty and stimulation. Hyperfocus and impulsivity coexist. The need for deep specialized interests fights the dopamine-seeking pull toward new things. Masking burns more energy than for either profile alone, and burnout often hits earlier and harder.
For AuDHD kids, school often looks "fine" until it suddenly doesn't. For AuDHD adults, late-diagnosis is the norm — and it usually arrives after a long history of "high functioning until I wasn't."
Why generic ADHD or autism strategies often don't work
Standard ADHD coaching assumes a brain that thrives on novelty and external stimulation. Standard autism support assumes a brain that thrives on predictability and reduction of input. AuDHD brains need both, often within the same hour, and strategies built for one profile will undermine the other.
The same is true clinically: traditional therapy that pushes social skills training, eye contact, and structured behavior compliance often deepens autistic burnout and worsens ADHD-related shame in AuDHDers. We've seen it repeatedly: AuDHD clients arrive having tried "everything," when actually they've tried interventions designed for either-or brains.
How AuDHD-aware OT works
Our approach for AuDHD clients respects the contradictions instead of trying to resolve them. The goal is a life that works around how your specific nervous system actually operates, not one that fights it.
Both / and, not either / or
Routines that have novelty built in. Special interests treated as fuel rather than restrictions. Body-doubling and external structure for ADHD energy paired with sensory regulation and downtime for autistic recovery. We build systems for both sides of the brain.
Burnout-first thinking
AuDHD burnout is real, common, and frequently misread as depression. We screen for it, name it, and structure therapy around recovery — not productivity. Energy management and pacing are core to the work.
Masking unmasking, on your terms
For many AuDHD adults, the work is partly about safely unmasking — figuring out what's really yours versus what you've been performing. We support this carefully, with no agenda about how unmasked you should become.
Executive function the AuDHD way
Generic EF coaching often fails AuDHDers. We build EF systems that account for autistic rigidity around setup, ADHD novelty needs, sensory load, and the very real fact that your strategies will need to be rebuilt every few months.
What you won't see in our sessions
- × Pretend you only have one diagnosis to make therapy "simpler"
- × Use compliance-based approaches for either profile
- × Push productivity or "high-functioning" framing
- × Suggest masking is a coping skill to develop
- × Rely on social skills protocols designed to make you appear neurotypical
- × Treat burnout as laziness, depression-only, or something to "push through"
- × Recommend restrictive dopamine-control plans that ignore autistic nervous system needs
If you've spent years feeling like every therapy or coaching approach was "almost right but missing something," the missing piece may be that your brain is both — and the support you need has to be built for that.
Common questions
Do you work with adults who suspect they might be AuDHD but aren't formally diagnosed?
Yes. Many of our adult clients are in some stage of self-identification — sometimes with one diagnosis already, sometimes with neither. We don't require formal diagnosis to start working together. Self-identification is valid, and OT support is helpful regardless of where you are in that journey.
My kid has an ADHD diagnosis but I think autism is also there. Can OT help us figure that out?
OT doesn't diagnose, but we can absolutely help you understand sensory profile, executive function patterns, and nervous system regulation in detail. Many families use the OT process to gather observations that inform a later neuropsych evaluation. We can also refer to affirming evaluators in your area.
Will medication management come up?
Medication is a medical decision between you and your prescriber. We don't recommend specific medications, but we will absolutely talk about how medication affects sensory regulation, executive function, and your daily routines — and coordinate with your prescriber when helpful.
How is AuDHD different from "high-functioning autism" or "inattentive ADHD"?
Both of those labels often miss the combined profile. "High-functioning" autism frequently masks the ADHD piece, leaving people undersupported in executive function. "Inattentive ADHD" frequently masks the autism piece, leaving people undersupported in sensory and social processing. AuDHD as a frame surfaces both.
Want to talk about whether this is the right fit?
Book a free 30-minute consultation. No commitment, no pressure — just a real conversation.
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