Dr. Anna Krasno, Clinical Director of the UCSB Koegel Autism Center, offers Neurodiverse Affirming Evaluations
Autism is a difference in brain wiring and accurate diagnosis can be powerful in validating and affirming one’s lived experience. A diagnostic process done in a neurodiverse affirming manner can be therapeutic.
Since autism can present in many different ways resulting in a missed or misdiagnosis, I work to understand and validate experiences. I know that autism can be hidden and I seek to understand the effort that goes into social interactions, including masking and camouflaging of autistic traits. My evaluations include self-report questionnaires about autistic experiences, masking questionnaire and interview, and an in-depth clinical interview to understand individuals’ authentic and genuine experiences.