If Therapists, Doctors, and Helpers Were Truly Listening… What Would You Tell Them?

Years ago, a project swept the internet (and later became a book) called I Wish My Teacher Knew… In it, kids filled in the blank with things their teachers didn’t know about them—raw, unfiltered truths that were both heartbreaking and powerful.

Now, I want to bring that same concept to the Autistic community.

Too many Autistic adults have received inadequate, or outright harmful care from professionals who weren’t trained to recognize Autism in high-masking individuals. Many doctors and therapists haven’t been educated on how Autism presents differently in women and gender-diverse people. Others actively gatekeep diagnosis, dismissing the internal, invisible struggles of late-diagnosed adults. We deserve better.

My work beyond the “therapy room” focuses on changing this—through training, writing, speaking, and educating professionals in the therapeutic world and the workplace. But I need your help.

Your experiences matter. If you’re willing to share, your words can help shape how professionals understand and support Autistic adults. Your identity will remain anonymous, but your words and insights will be used in my trainings and on this site to show the real, lived experiences that demand better care.

If you’d like to contribute, join me anonymously below. Let’s make sure they’re listening.

example: “I wish therapists knew… when I shared with my therapist that I was wondering if I was Autistic, she told me that I’m ‘just anxious.’ I thought she knew about Autism and women, and she didn’t. She was wrong, and her invalidation prevented me from getting the right kind of help for an additional 8 years.”