Andrea Golden, LCSW
P S Y C H O T H E R A P Y & C O U N S E L I N G
ADHD & Autism
Understanding how your brain works can change the way you understand yourself.
Living with ADHD or autism can sometimes mean navigating a world that doesn’t always fit the way you think, process information, communicate, or experience your surroundings. You may struggle with organization, attention, time management, emotional regulation, sensory overload, social expectations, or feeling overwhelmed by everyday demands.
For some people, receiving a diagnosis—or beginning to wonder whether they may be neurodivergent—can also bring a mixture of relief, questions, and a new understanding of experiences they’ve had throughout their lives.
Sometimes Understanding Yourself Changes Everything
ADHD and autism can affect far more than attention or social interaction. They can influence how you organize your day, manage emotions, respond to sensory input, navigate relationships, communicate your needs, and handle expectations at school, work, or home.
Some people have understood from childhood that they experience the world differently. Others reach adolescence or adulthood having spent years wondering why certain things seem to require so much effort. You may have learned to compensate, mask, overprepare, or push yourself to meet expectations—sometimes so successfully that other people don't recognize how exhausting it has been.
You may struggle with procrastination, time management, transitions, emotional overwhelm, sensory overload, or keeping up with everyday responsibilities. At the same time, you may have areas of intense focus, creativity, curiosity, persistence, or ways of seeing things that others miss.
Understanding how your brain works isn't about finding another reason to criticize yourself. It can provide a framework for recognizing your needs, building on your strengths, and finding strategies that actually work for you.
Experiences That May Accompany ADHD & Autism
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Difficulty with organization or task initiation
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Losing track of time or underestimating how long things take
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Trouble shifting attention or transitioning between activities
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Forgetfulness or difficulty keeping track of responsibilities
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Becoming deeply absorbed in interests or activities
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Emotional overwhelm or difficulty regulating emotions
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Sensitivity to sound, light, textures, crowds, or other sensory input
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Feeling drained after social interaction
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Masking or working hard to meet social expectations
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Difficulty communicating needs or setting boundaries
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Feeling overwhelmed by unexpected changes
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Burnout from continually trying to keep up or fit in
My Approach to ADHD & Autism
Therapy for ADHD and autism shouldn't begin with the assumption that there is something wrong with who you are. I take a neurodiversity-affirming approach that focuses on understanding your individual strengths, challenges, needs, and goals.
Together, we can look at the places where life feels harder than it needs to—whether that's executive functioning, emotional regulation, relationships, communication, sensory overwhelm, transitions, self-esteem, or the accumulated stress of trying to meet expectations that don't always fit the way you function best.
Depending on your needs, I may draw from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), DBT-informed strategies, mindfulness, practical executive-functioning supports, and my training in ADHD coaching, while adapting our work to the way you process information and experience the world. Strategies aren't about forcing you to function like someone else. They're about finding approaches that are realistic and useful for you.
For people who have spent years feeling “lazy,” “too sensitive,” “too much,” or simply different, therapy can also provide an opportunity to reconsider those messages with greater understanding and self-compassion.
The goal is not to change who you are. It's to help you better understand yourself, advocate for what you need, build strategies where they're useful, and create a life that works more effectively for you.
Your Questions About ADHD & Autism, Answered
Can therapy help with ADHD or autism?
Therapy doesn't eliminate ADHD or autism, nor is that the goal. It can help with challenges that may accompany being neurodivergent, including emotional regulation, executive functioning, anxiety, relationships, communication, self-esteem, overwhelm, and burnout. Therapy can also help you better understand your own patterns, needs, and strengths.
What if I wasn't diagnosed until adulthood—or I'm only beginning to wonder if I'm neurodivergent?
Many people begin exploring ADHD or autism later in life, sometimes after years of developing ways to compensate for difficulties that weren't previously recognized. Therapy can provide a place to explore your experiences and what they mean to you. When formal diagnostic evaluation would be useful, we can also discuss appropriate referral options.
Do you treat ADHD and autism the same way?
No. ADHD and autism are distinct neurodevelopmental conditions, although they can overlap and some people have both. More importantly, two people with the same diagnosis may have very different strengths, difficulties, and needs. Our work is individualized rather than based solely on a diagnostic label.
