Trauma-Informed Therapy
for Autistic People
In this self-paced continuing education course, Sharon Hammer, MS, LPC and Lisa Hoeme, MS, LPC teach you how to approach your work with Autistic clients using a supporting, affirming, trauma-informed lens. This course offers deeply thoughtful and concrete ways that you can support your Autistic clients’ sense of safety and acceptance. Trauma-Informed Therapy for Autistic People is designed for mental health professionals, OTs, SLPs, and other professionals who support Autistic clients.
This course is registered for .75 AOTA CEUs (7.5 contact hours), .75 ASHA CEUs, 7.5 NASP CEUs, and 7.5 ASWB ACE credits.
Continuing Education
from Learn Play Thrive
Before they can learn, our clients must feel safe:
Learn how to cultivate safety in your work.
MODULE 1: General Trauma-Informed Practices and Environmental Considerations (51 minutes)
What does it mean to be trauma-informed in our work as providers? How should we set up our environment, plan our sessions, and connect with our clients? And how can we consider all of our clients’ intersectional identities in our treatment planning?
In this module, LPCs Sharon Hammer and Lisa Hoeme teach eight foundational trauma-informed care practices, helping you tie it into your practice with concrete examples so that you can truly create supportive spaces for your Autistic clients.
MODULE 2: Autism Specific Trauma (3 hours and 33 minutes)
We’ve heard from so many Autistic adults that it is nearly impossible to be neurodivergent in this world without trauma. In this module you’ll explore how the different trauma responses may present for your Autistic clients. You’ll explore the role of sensory processing on your clients’ sense of safety. And, you’ll analyze the impact of ableism on the well-being of Autistic clients.
When you complete this module, you’ll feel equipped to provide care that both honors your Autistic clients’ inner experiences and fosters their deep well-being.
MODULE 3: Setting Up The Environment (55 minutes)
How can we set up our environment to create a felt sense of safety for our clients in our therapy sessions and in their daily lives?
In this module, you’ll explore six important environmental considerations to guide you in setting up the environment in your work, including the use of color, lighting, your clients’ freedom to move, and more.
These simple shifts can make a dramatic impact on your clients’ regulation and felt sense of safety.
MODULE 4: Trauma-Informed Care Practices (2 hours 13 minutes)
In this module, Lisa Hoeme and Sharon Hammer tie it all together and show us trauma-informed practices in action, answering questions like:
- What actions should we take in our intake, our initial sessions, and subsequent sessions?
- How we write trauma-informed goals that center self-determination?
- How do we support clients who have had previous negative experiences of therapy?
- How do we hold boundaries around attendance in a way that is neurodiversity-affirming rather than shaming?
This module covers these questions and so much more. You’ll learn simple strategies you can use in your work to create a safer therapy space for all of your clients.
Trauma-informed care
Should be the standard
of care
We all set out to support the deepest, authentic well-being of our Autistic clients. But far too often, we don’t have the right training to guide us, especially when we support clients who have experienced trauma. This course gives you the tools you need to create more safety and security for your neurodivergent clients.
Investment
$345 for for 7.5 contact hours of practical, actionable content. We also offer a payment plan of 3 payments of $115
Access
This course is entirely self-paced. Once you register, you’ll have access for 6 months to complete on your own time.
Continuing Education
This course is registered for .75 AOTA CEUs (7.5 contact hours), .75 ASHA CEUs, 7.5 NASP CEUs, and 7.5 ASWB ACE credits.
FAQs
Information about completion requirements, accommodations, and more can be found in the FAQs.
Trauma-Informed Therapy for Autistic People is
for you if…
You are an SLP, OT, or mental health practitioner working with Autistic people of any age in any setting and want practical ways to implement trauma-informed practices.
You want to support your clients in a way that cultivates a deep sense of felt safety, and are willing to change and adapt how you work to provide this.
- You are an SLP, OT, or mental health practitioner working with Autistic people of any age in any setting
- You want to support your clients in a way that cultivates a deep sense of felt safety, and are willing to change and adapt how you work to provide this
You recognize that trauma-informed care looks different for your neurodivergent clients, given their unique neurology and experiences of the world, and want your practices to reflect this.
You want a course that considers your clients’ intersectional identities (like race, class, and gender) and how they relate to the clients’ experiences.
- You recognize that trauma-informed care looks different for your neurodivergent clients, given their unique neurology and experiences of the world, and want your practices to reflect this
- You want a course that considers your clients’ intersectional identities (like race, class, and gender) and how they relate to the clients’ experiences
Meet your
Instructors
Sharon Hammer
Sharon Hammer
LPC
FINANCIAL: Sharon receives commission from Learn Play Thrive, LLC for the sale of this course. Sharon is a co-owner of Imagine Your Capacity, LLC in Wisconsin and receives a salary.
NON-FINANCIAL: Sharon serves unpaid as a member of the Conference Committee for the Autism Society of Greater Wisconsin. Sharon has friends, colleagues, and family members who are neurodivergent.
Lisa Hoeme
Lisa Hoeme
LPC
FINANCIAL: Lisa receives commission from Learn Play Thrive, LLC for the sale of this course. Lisa is a co-owner of Imagine Your Capacity, LLC and receives compensation for her services.
NON-FINANCIAL: Lisa has friends, colleagues and family members who are neurodivergent.
Please note: disclosure statements are contained in the Bio page for each speaker. Click on "READ BIO" above to review the disclosures.
This course will equip you with
the tools you need to provide trauma-informed, neurodiversity- affirming care to Autistic clients of any age.
Full Course Objectives
Therapists will evaluate the impact of traumas and stressors specific to Autistic people on the well-being of their clients.
Therapists will analyze the impact of ableism on their own work with Autistic clients.
Therapists will evaluate their current clinical settings and create a plan for possible changes that will make the setting more safe and inviting for autistic clients.
- Therapists will evaluate the impact of traumas and stressors specific to Autistic people on the well-being of their clients
- Therapists will analyze the impact of ableism on their own work with Autistic clients.
- Therapists will evaluate their current clinical settings and create a plan for possible changes that will make the setting more safe and inviting for autistic clients.
Therapists will be able to apply trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming principles to writing goals for Autistic clients.
Therapists will be able to evaluate possible stress responses they are seeing in their Autistic clients.
Therapists will be able to create supports specific to their Autistic clients, that are neuro-affirming and trauma-informed.
- Therapists will be able to apply trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming principles to writing goals for Autistic clients.
- Therapists will be able to evaluate possible stress responses they are seeing in their autistic clients.
- Therapists will be able to create supports specific to their autistic clients, that are neuro-affirming and trauma-informed.
Frequently Asked Questions
This course is developed for SLPs, OTs, and mental health professionals supporting Autistic children or adolescents in any context.
The concepts in this course are useful for any age. The examples in the course focus on individuals from preschool through adulthood.
This course includes video lectures and slides.
This course is registered for .75 AOTA CEUs (7.5 contact hours), .75 ASHA CEUs, 7.5 NASP CEUs, and 7.5 ASWB ACE credits.
We are not registered with any PT organizations, but you can check your state regulations to see if the course meets your criteria.
Yes! The course is self-paced and you have six months to complete it on your own time. If you buy during pre-registration, you’ll have one year to complete the course.
Yes! If 3 or more people from your company plan to enroll email me the names of everyone enrolling at admin@learnplaythrive.com and I’ll provide a coupon code. It’s 15% for 3 registrants, 20% off for 4 or more, and 30% off for 7 or more. This discount does not apply during pre-registration unless your group discount is larger than the current pre-sale discount.
We offer full scholarships to therapists from under-resourced countries.
In order to get a certificate of completion, you must watch all of the video modules and pass a quiz at the end of the course with 75% accuracy. Multiple attempts at the quiz are allowed. You must also complete a course satisfaction survey. Only learners who complete the course, quiz , and survey will receive a certificate.
You will have 6 months access to the course. If you purchase during pre-registration, you will have access for one year once the course launches.
Full refunds are provided within 30 days of purchase (or for pre-sale, 30 days after the course launches) if no more than 3 modules have been completed. Email meg@learnplaythrive.com to request a refund. Since this is a self-paced course, there is no option to cancel once the 30 day / 3 module limit has been exceeded. If for any reason the course is canceled by the provider before your registration period has expired, you will receive a full refund.
All videos used in this presentation have closed captions. If you need additional accommodations, please email admin@learnplaythrive.com prior to your training date. Accommodations will be made to support all learners in compliance with the Americans with Disability Act.
You can send an email to admin@learnplaythrive.com
Our courses are hosted on Thinkific. You will need one of the two latest versions of a supported browser to access the course. (Note: Internet Explorer is not supported).
Desktop:
Chrome
Firefox
Safari
Microsoft Edge
Mobile:
iOS Safari
Chrome
Samsung Internet
In order to ensure that Thinkific runs well, you will need:
The most recent version of one of the web browsers listed above
Javascript enabled
PDF plugin
Graphic and audio output capability
Broadband internet connection with a minimum speed of 5Mbps (recommended)
TLS 1.2 supported by your web browser
This information was adapted from: https://support.thinkific.com/hc/en-us/articles/360030354954-System-Requirements-and-Supported-Browsers
You belong in the Learn Play Thrive Education Hub
Group Discounts
We are happy to offer a discount for your group! Email your list of participants to admin@learnplaythrive.com to receive a coupon code. Please note that this does not stack with the pre-sale discount but we can offer the group discount if it is higher than the pre-sale discount.
• 3 participants: 15% off
• 4+ participants: 20% off
• 7+ participants: 30% off
• 50+ participants: please inquire
30 Day Money Back Guarantee
We think you’ll love it. But take 30 days to complete up to half of the course. If it’s not what you’d hoped, you get your money back.
This course will be available for ASHA CEUs starting February 19, 2024 until February 19, 2029 at which point Learn Play Thrive will apply for re-registration. ASHA CE Provider approval and use of the Brand Block does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products or clinical procedures. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA. Learn Play Thrive is approved by the National Association of School Psychologists to provide continuing education for psychologists. Learn Play Thrive maintains responsibility for the program and its content. NASP Approved Provider # 1172. This course is registered for NASP CEU credit until October 2025 at which point Learn Play Thrive will apply for re-registration. Trauma-Informed Therapy for Autistic People, Course #5520, is approved by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program to be offered by Learn Play Thrive LLC as an individual course. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE course approval period: 01/22/2024 – 01/22/2026. Social workers completing this course receive 7.5 clinical continuing education credits.
The recorded materials in this course were last updated on November 27th, 2023.
