When Your Client Tells You They Are Autistic
Learn how to better support Autistic adult coaching clients.
We’ll look at some ways autism shows up in people’s lives, which can look different than you might be expecting, what's involved in taking the risk of disclosing to you that they're Autistic, and how to be a good ally when they do.
Then we’ll apply that to how it can influence a coaching relationship, and how to be responsive as a coach, with some practical tips and examples to make it useful.
An insider's perspective from an Autistic, ADHD, and multiply-neurodivergent coach, through a trauma-sensitive lens.
We’ll look at some ways autism shows up in people’s lives, which can look different than you might be expecting, what's involved in taking the risk of disclosing to you that they're Autistic, and how to be a good ally when they do.
Then we’ll apply that to how it can influence a coaching relationship, and how to be responsive as a coach, with some practical tips and examples to make it useful.
An insider's perspective from an Autistic, ADHD, and multiply-neurodivergent coach, through a trauma-sensitive lens.
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90 minutes
Self-paced. Available when you want it. -
Recorded
Video, audio, and human edited transcript. -
Available on-demand.
The live workshop took place in April, 2025. -
Bonus content
Topics covered
01
Intro
- My story, in brief.
- How my story relates to your clients.
02
How to be a strong ally
- 3 Common misconceptions that get in the way.
- How autism historically has been perceived.
- About the stereotypes.
- What autism is, and isn’t.
- Autism as medical issue vs. identity.
03
Disclosing their autism to a coach
- The risk they are taking in disclosing.
- Considerations they may have before disclosing.
- How you can be respectful and supportive when they disclose.
04
How autism may show up in coaching
- How it can influence a coaching relationship.
- How can you be responsive as a coach.
- Practical examples of how the Autistic experience might be different from what you're expecting, or the perceived norm, in a coaching setting.
05
Affirming language
- How to talk about autism respectfully.
- Clarifying a few terms.
06
Q&A
- Thoughts on supporting Autistics through career transitions.
- Are open-ended questions harder for a person with autism? How to make it easier?
- How to help when an Autistic person gets disregulated in a coaching session?
- How to help them build self-esteem and rebuild the sense of “I'm good enough”?
- How do we fulfill ICF competencies and still coach impactfully for an Autistic client?
- Thoughts on exploring coaching approaches for Autistics that tap into creativity.
"I think the presentation was SO useful! I felt you got across a lot of very good information, and felt a sense of catharsis in a lot of aspects of what you said (it would've been nice for prior health providers I’ve had to have seen something like this).
I felt like it was understandable in an accessible way to people that wouldn’t know that much about autism, as you expressed and noted a lot of good baseline things and built upon that really well.
I find you have a lot of good information and are very good at conveying things in the way that you do, especially in grounding and connecting things very well!"
I felt like it was understandable in an accessible way to people that wouldn’t know that much about autism, as you expressed and noted a lot of good baseline things and built upon that really well.
I find you have a lot of good information and are very good at conveying things in the way that you do, especially in grounding and connecting things very well!"
Feedback from participant in this workshop
"Really big thank you, this has both affirmed a few things but more importantly informed and created curiosity and further understanding of how to work with clients."
"You did a good job of giving the overview information and then also putting it into practical context/suggestions."
"Great session. Thank you very much Heather! 🙏🏽 🌷"
"You did a good job of giving the overview information and then also putting it into practical context/suggestions."
"Great session. Thank you very much Heather! 🙏🏽 🌷"
Feedback from participants in this workshop
"I found several EXCELLENT ideas. I need this!"
"Thank you for the great class Heather!!!!"
"This was so helpful. Thank you, Heather, for the session."
"This was a fantastic presentation Heather! Thank you so much for sharing this information with us."
"Thank you for the great class Heather!!!!"
"This was so helpful. Thank you, Heather, for the session."
"This was a fantastic presentation Heather! Thank you so much for sharing this information with us."
Feedback from participants in this workshop
"Thank you so much Heather for sharing your story and your experiences! It has been very inspiring and interesting and will be very useful in my work as a coach. 🙏🏻 💕"
"This was an incredibly insightful workshop. It both reaffirmed and challenged my understanding of autism. Thank you so much."
"This was a very insightful session, providing valuable perspectives on coaching autistic clients. The presenter clearly articulated how these competencies can be leveraged to effectively support autistic clients."
"This was an incredibly insightful workshop. It both reaffirmed and challenged my understanding of autism. Thank you so much."
"This was a very insightful session, providing valuable perspectives on coaching autistic clients. The presenter clearly articulated how these competencies can be leveraged to effectively support autistic clients."
Feedback from participants in this workshop
What's included
"I don't think I can fully verbalize how helpful it is but I just wanted to say thank you. I really felt like it came at the right time for me. Even though I'm still sad that the world is so ableist I think its also helpful to consider the steps I can take myself to make things manageable for me."
Previous workshop participant
"I appreciated that Heather started off by acknowledging that ND people learn differently, welcoming us to participate in the way that best suits our needs."
Previous workshop participant
"Useful resources but not overload level. Loved the format of what the issue is + example, then what to do about it + resources. Absolutely Goldilocks level of just-right amount of info and context! "
Previous workshop participant
About me
Heather Cook
I partner with later identified Autistics and AuDHDers to break through a lifetime of neurotypical expectations, figure out who they are without the mask, build healthier relationships that feel good to their Autistic communication style, and recover from burnout. To create a life they love to live.
Patrick Jones - Course author
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