The Neurodiversity Symposium-Session 1: Neurodiversity and Relationships

6 CEs (all six can be used for Cultural Competency CEs) Recorded: Spring, 2024

Being Neurodivergent doesn’t happen in a vacuum; in fact, one of the ways that ND differences show up most strikingly is in a relational setting. Sessions scheduled for the “Neurodiversity and Relationships” day of the Symposium offer ways to dive deeper into topics around sex and intimacy, the impact of neurodivergent grief on relationships, and the lived experience of PDA and how it impacts connections with loved ones.

Session One: ADHD and Autism – and the Relationship to Sex
Session Two: What is PDA and How is it Impacting My Life?
Session Three: How Unmasking Exposes Grief

EPDC CE Hours: 6

Presenter: B. Lourenco, LMHC

B Lourenco is a licensed mental health counselor, educator, advocate, and activist. B has been working in community support for 15 years and is committed to social change on all system levels. Seeing mental health as a way to serve the community, she earned a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology, with a Systems Emphasis, in 2015 and began her private practice in 2017. B has also worked in the public school system, providing support to students with behavioral issues that made attending school challenging for them. Highly trained in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), B became a district-wide expert in supporting neurodivergent students. It was during this work that she began to be critical of the current models of support for neurodivergence, including ABA. Making the shift from the medical to the affirming model has allowed her to finally identify her own neurodivergence, including Autism and ADHD. Combining her lived experience of neurodivergence, along with years of anti-oppression work, B is passionate about helping others untangle themselves from harmful practices and align themselves with those that instead support marginalized communities. In addition to her work in neurodiversity, B is also a sex and relationship therapist, specializing in ethical non-monogamy and kink exploration. She has been a speaker on panels and podcasts, as well as facilitating therapeutic workshops in her area of Washington State.