For reasons not understood, gender-diverse people are three to six times as likely to be autistic as cisgender people. In Episode 8, Casey and Grace welcome special guest, Dr. Laurie Stephens, to discuss the connection of autism diagnoses among the gender-diverse population. Dr. Stephens is a developmental psychologist who has been working with children, teens, and young adults on the autism spectrum for over 25 years. She currently serves as The Help Group’s Senior Director of Autism and LGBTQ+ Programs.

Why this episode is relevant, especially for parents of transgender and non-binary children and for our fellow mental health clinicians

According to Spectrum, a prominent publisher of news and analysis about autism research, “People who do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth are three to six times as likely to be autistic as cisgender people are, according to the largest study yet to examine the connection. Gender-diverse people are also more likely to report autism traits and to suspect they have undiagnosed autism.” NOTE: Researchers often use “gender diverse” as an umbrella term to describe people whose gender identities — such as transgender, non-binary or gender-queer — differ from the sex they were assigned at birth. Spectrum also reports “Nearly 70 percent of autistic gender-diverse adolescents say they need medical gender-related care, according to a small 2018 study, and 32 percent say their gender identity has been questioned because of their autism diagnosis.” As you watch/listen to Episode 8, you’ll discover more about why Dr. Stephens emphatically states, “If you work with the autistic population, you really need to be familiar with the gender diverse population. And if you work in the gender-diverse world, you need to understand autism.”

More about Dr. Laurie Stephens

Prior to her current position with The Help Group, Dr. Stephens served as the Director of Clinical Services for Education Spectrum for 12 years. She provided diagnostic and psycho-educational evaluations, individual and family therapy, social skills training, educational consultation and professional, academic and parent training. While working with her clients and their families, Dr. Stephens became extremely interested in the overlap between transgender, non-binary and gender-queer identifications among folks on the spectrum, as many of her clients began to reveal their authentic selves to her. Dr. Stephens’ passion led to her current role overseeing all of Kaleidoscope’s programming and events. She has been instrumental in establishing a specialized diagnostic clinic for LGBTQ+ children, teens, and young adults who suspect they have an autism spectrum disorder.

Highly-recommended books / audio books that were referenced during the episode.