Finn Gratton, MA, LMFT, LPCC

Finn Gratton (they/them), LMFT, LPCC, is a somatic psychotherapist and consultant working in the San Francisco Bay Area. Finn’s work is focused on the intersections of somatics, neurodiversity, and sexual and gender minorities. They are the author of Supporting Transgender Autistic Youth and Adults: A Guide for Professionals and Families. In addition to their private practice with adults and teens, Finn provides neurodiversity-affirming consultation groups in the U.S. and internationally. Finn identifies as white, autistic, queer and non-binary.

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Diversity-affirming Approaches for Working with Neurodivergent and Trans/Non-binary Adults and Youth
Friday | May 2, 2025
8:30 am – 10:30 am
(2 CEs)

Session Description:

Many therapists are realizing that they have neurodivergent people in their practices, and that these clients often have a more expansive experience of sexuality and gender. Others are recognizing the high prevalence of autistic and VAST(ADHD) people among their transgender and non-binary clients. Often therapists feel unprepared to meet people with these intersectional identities.

This workshop will familiarize attendees with neurodiversity honoring and gender-affirming approaches to working with autistic, VAST, and otherwise neurodivergent youth and adults who are also transgender, non-binary or gender expansive. We will develop understanding of universal access strategies and the double-empathy model. Participants will gain understanding of the developmental impact of implicit and explicit biases upon neurodivergent, trans/non-binary individuals, and those with additional intersectional identities. Applying this understanding to practice, we will look at therapist practices to build better relationship and more effective treatment for neurodivergent trans and non-binary youth and adults.

Learning Objectives:

Attendees will be able to:

1. Identify two universal access strategies that support autistic & VAST people.
2. Identify three aspects of human experience and how they may differ between neurotypical and autistic people and VAST people.
3. Explain three ways that stigmatization and pathologization of autism and VAST can impact social and medical gender journeys.
4. Plan to integrate a change into their practice to better meet clients with different neurological and gender experiences than their own.