At Stride Forward Counseling, we provide compassionate, affirming therapy for ADHD, Autism, and other neurodivergent experiences. Whether you’re navigating focus challenges, sensory sensitivity, social overwhelm, burnout, or a lifetime of feeling “different,” you deserve support that honors who you are — not who the world expects you to be.

Our goal is simple: to help neurodivergent individuals understand their minds, build confidence, and create a life that truly works for them.

What Is Neurodivergent-Affirming Therapy?

Neurodivergence isn’t something to “fix” — it’s a different way of thinking, processing, and engaging with the world. Our therapists take an affirming, non-pathologizing approach that centers:

• Strengths, not deficits

• Skills-building instead of forced masking

• Validation over judgment

• Collaboration over correction

Whether you’re diagnosed, self-diagnosed, questioning, or exploring your identity, we meet you with acceptance and clarity.

Support for ADHD

Living with ADHD can feel like a mix of creativity, energy, and constant mental juggling. We help clients understand their patterns and build skills around:

• Time management & organization

• Emotional regulation

• Impulsivity & frustration

• Motivation challenges

• Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD)

• Focus, follow-through & executive functioning

• School, work, and everyday routines

ADHD doesn’t mean you’re “too much” — it means your brain works brilliantly in its own way. We help you work with your brain, not against it.

Support for Autism

Autistic individuals often face overwhelm, sensory challenges, or pressure to mask. Our therapy affirms your identity and provides support with:

• Sensory overload & meltdowns

• Autistic burnout

• Social fatigue

• Transitions & change

• Identity exploration

• Self-advocacy & communication skills

• Navigating friendships, dating, or relationships

We embrace the full spectrum of neurodiversity and create a space where you can show up unmasked and understood.

Therapy for Highly Sensitive People & Sensory Sensitivity

Many neurodivergent individuals experience heightened emotional or sensory processing. We support clients with:

• Overstimulation

• Emotional intensity

• Noise/light sensitivity

• Feeling overwhelmed in crowds or busy environments

• Boundary-setting with family, work, or peers

You’re not “too sensitive.” Your system simply processes the world deeply — and we help you manage it without shame.

Therapy for Teens, Young Adults & Adults

We work with individuals across all stages of life:

Teens

Navigating school, friendships, identity, overwhelm, or feeling misunderstood.

Young Adults

Transitions into college, work, relationships, and independence — all with a neurodivergent lens.

Adults

Late-in-life diagnosis, burnout, masking exhaustion, workplace challenges, parenting, or simply wanting to understand yourself better.

There is no age limit to self-discovery or support.

Strengths-Based, Affirming Tools We Use

Our therapists integrate:

• Neurodivergent-affirming counseling

• Executive function skill support

• Emotional regulation tools

• Sensory-informed strategies

• Trauma-informed care

• Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

• CBT & mindfulness strategies — adapted for neurodivergent brains

• Identity-affirming, non-pathologizing practices

Every treatment plan is tailored to your brain, your needs, and your goals.

You Deserve Support That Truly Sees You

Being neurodivergent in a neurotypical world can be overwhelming — but you don’t have to navigate it alone. Our therapists create a space where your mind makes sense, your needs are valid, and you can finally breathe.