Autism therapists in Fort Myers Shores, FL
Find experienced Autism therapists in Fort Myers Shores, Florida who provide Autism testing, evaluations, and therapy. Our directory features detailed therapist profiles so you can compare qualifications, specialties, and treatment approaches to find the provider that’s right for you.
Autism
Annie Harton Kassell
Marriage and Family Therapist, MA, LMFT
For a lot of autistic adults, the diagnosis is the first time life makes sense from the inside. The cost of masking all day. The social rules everyone else seemed handed at birth. The tiredness that never had an obvious reason. I work with late-diagnosed adults on letting the mask down, understanding how you are genuinely wired, and making peace with the years spent performing a version of yourself that was never going to last.
11 Years Experience
Online in Fort Myers Shores, FL (Online Only)
Autism
Challenges Conquered Counseling Services
Counselor/Therapist, LMHC, LMFT, LCSW, PhD
Morgan Parker is our dedicated Autism and Asperger’s specialist, here at Challenges Conquered Counseling, providing compassionate, evidence-based care for children and families navigating Autism Spectrum Disorder. She focuses on improving communication, emotional regulation, and behavioral functioning while creating a supportive space where each client can build confidence and thrive.
13 Years Experience
Online in Fort Myers Shores, FL
Autism
Emily Stone
Marriage and Family Therapist, MA, MDiv, PhD, LMFT-S
Autism: Navigating the Neuro-Affirming Path
For Individuals and Neuro-Distinct Couples
In a world designed for neurotypical sensory and social processing, living on the spectrum often feels like an endless exercise in translation. My practice provides a space where Autism is not viewed as a deficit to be cured, but a unique neuro-type to be understood and accommodated. Whether you are navigating your own late-diagnosed discovery or are part of a couple where one partner is neurodivergent, we work to build a life that honors your nervous system.
For the Individual: From Masking to Authenticity
Chronic "masking"—the effort to appear neurotypical—is one of the primary drivers of burnout. Together, we work to identify your unique sensory and cognitive profile so you can move from surviving to thriving.
Managing Overwhelm: We identify the specific environmental and social triggers that lead to sensory overwhelms before they escalate.
Melt Downs & Shut Downs: We develop compassionate strategies for the moments when the nervous system becomes overloaded. Whether it’s an externalized melt down or an internalized shut down, we focus on safety and recovery rather than shame.
Energy Accounting: Learning how to budget your "social and cognitive spoons" to prevent the deep exhaustion of autistic burnout.
For the Couple: Bridging the Neuro-Distinct Gap
When one partner is neurotypical and the other is autistic, the "relational system" can often fall into cycles of misunderstanding. I help couples move past the "double empathy problem" and build a shared language.
Decoding the Shut Down: Helping the neurotypical partner understand that a shut down is not a withdrawal of love, but a physiological need for regulation.
Communication Systems: Moving away from "hinting" and toward direct, explicit communication that reduces anxiety for both partners.
Shared Regulation: Creating a "sensory-safe" home environment where both partners' needs are respected without one person's comfort coming at the cost of the other's.
A Systems-Rooted Approach
Leveraging my background in Systems Theory and Attachment, I look at how the external world—workplaces, family expectations, and social constructs—impacts your neurodivergent experience. You aren't "broken"; you are a different kind of "wired," and you deserve a relationship and a life that reflects that.
21 Years Experience
Online in Fort Myers Shores, FL (Online Only)
Autism
Peter Linden
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, LCSW, Certified Gestalt Therapist
The medical model defines autism by what is supposedly lacking across all domains of existence. We cannot be empathetic, creative, imaginative, curious, aware, loving, connected, or attuned to other people. Our movements, gestures, special interests, need for certainty and concrete communication, and adaptations to overstimulating environments are used to define and control us. Through this paradigm, the autistic person is replaced by a persona seeking integration into a world that demands robotic subservience, only to encounter rejection, scorn, vitriol, and hate.
Autistic suffering is treated as evidence that autism itself requires “fixing.” Sensory overload-induced shutdowns and meltdowns, exhaustion, uncertainty, loneliness, sorrow, emptiness, and the need for support do not exist in isolation. Rather, these experiences are part of existence and cannot be ignored. This is where curiosity comes in.
Curiosity involves being with whatever is emergent, rather than endless intellectual and external analysis. Together, we will explore how you experience your body, sensations, flow, interests, connectedness to the earth, other people, time, and spaces in the present moment. Meltdowns and other adaptations are no longer reduced to “behaviors.” They remain a part of your ongoing humanity. Your story never ends. It is eternal.
Healing does not require taking on personas at the expense of your autistic identity. You are you. And I am I. Expectations are returned to the pit of sorrow and replaced with curiosity and love. Finally, I can just be.
3 Years Experience
Online in Fort Myers Shores, FL
Autism
Couples Counseling Center
Counselor/Therapist, Ph.D., LPC
When one or both partners are neurodiverse, building relationship connection requires different skills than traditional couples therapy. I help couples bridge communication gaps, navigate sensory and emotional differences, and create relationship agreements that support each partners’ needs. When you honor who each of you authentically are, you'll create a relationship that uniquely fits you.
25 Years Experience
Online in Fort Myers Shores, FL (Online Only)
Autism therapists in Fort Myers Shores, FL Statistics
Autism therapists in Fort Myers Shores, FL average 14 years of experience and charge around $199 per session. 100% offer online sessions. The top treatment approaches are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) (68%), Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) (47%), and Behavioral Therapy (40%).
Average years in practice
14 Years Experience
Average cost per session
$199
Accept insurance
43%
Offer sliding scale
35%
Gender ID
| 57% |
Female |
|
| 28% |
Male |
|
| 8% |
Non-Binary |
|
| 7% |
Gender Fluid |
|
Session Type
| 60% |
In Person and Online |
|
| 40% |
Online Only |
|
Top Treatment Approaches
| 68% | Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) |
| 47% | Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) |
| 40% | Behavioral Therapy |
| 36% | Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) |
| 35% | Family Systems Therapy |
| 31% | Psychoeducational Therapy |
| 30% | Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) |
Ages Served
| 96% | Adult |
| 79% | Young Adult |
| 57% | Senior |
| 56% | Teen |
| 40% | Children |
Client Focus
| 58% | Women |
| 53% | LGBTQ+ |
| 43% | Men |
| 36% | Persons with Disabilities |
| 32% | Black / African American |