Book Contributor
“The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy” – Steph Jones
I began following Steph Jones and her work as *The Autistic Therapist* on Instagram in 2021, increasingly relating to her reflections, advocacy, and lived experience perspectives around neurodivergence and therapy.
When Steph later invited contributors to share experiences of autistic people navigating therapy — particularly experiences shaped by deficit-based or non-affirming approaches — I immediately recognised how deeply this resonated with both my personal and professional experiences.
Through both lived and professional experience, I had often witnessed how overwhelming, invalidating, and at times harmful some traditional approaches and systems could feel. Experiences were frequently framed through deficit, compliance, or pathology, often accompanied by ableist assumptions and broader societal expectations. These experiences significantly shaped my journey toward becoming a neurodiversity paradigm-informed Art Therapist.
The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2023) offers a thoughtful and accessible exploration of therapy through autistic lived experience. Steph compassionately explores a range of therapeutic approaches while highlighting the importance of flexibility, accessibility, collaboration, and lived experience within therapeutic relationships.
I feel incredibly honoured to have contributed to this important resource, sharing reflections and insights from creative therapies and relational practice.
Thank you, Steph, for creating such a compassionate, practical, and much-needed resource — thoughtfully designed with humour, clarity, accessibility, and neurodivergent readers in mind.
Excerpt from ‘The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy’ (Oct 19 2023, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, pp.197-199; 211)
‘CREATIVE THERAPIES. There’s a growing body of evidence to suggest that creative arts and expressive therapies (things like music, art, dance, acting, even comedy) might be beneficial to autistic people, allowing us to access feelings without questioning the legitimacy of them (no, Saul Goodman, not today!) and without needing to process them via thoughts in a way which might prove really difficult (pp.197-198).’
Professor Tony Attwood adds, ‘If we are going to use therapy in its broadest sense, we need to start looking at arts and music.’
‘Neurodivergent art therapist Louise Weston agrees, sharing: I feel that art therapy itself is often seen as unconventional yet still works within evidence-based frameworks. I personally use whichever methods are suited to best cater to my client relationally and take it at their pace. Oftentimes, my clients have tried other modalities and find different results through art making. Or they are seeking to balance out other therapies and use the materials to help regulate, release, restore, reframe, repair, or reset – often with very little said – yet still communicated. I call upon breathing, movement, sights, sounds and smells to complement my practice as well. Working somatically gives an opportunity to teach my clients to become attuned to their needs through signals in their bodies and recognise triggers or warning signs, before reaching the point of meltdown (pp.198-199).
Additionally: ‘SO DOES NEUROTYPICAL THERAPY WORK FOR NEURODIVERGENT BRAINS?. We have tried many in our family before I found a neurodivergent therapist, who has been the most successful and life-changing, to be honest. I think it’s down to the person providing the service, though and their understanding of neurodivergence. I know that my clients have expressed that my lived experience of being a neurodivergent family has benefitted their therapeutic experience as well as helping their parents or carers gain greater insights about their children (pp. 211)
A must-read. Click for more info