A unique communication and self-care programme designed for Autistic Doctors.

About Us

Thriving Autistic CLG is an Autistic-led international nonprofit that seeks to protect and advance the human rights of Autistic and otherwise Neurodivergent people. We are a collective of Autistic and Neurodivergent psychologists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, counsellors, coaches and educators. We work 1-1 and in groups supporting adults and also educate and train professionals on how best to support us.

This unique programme designed exclusively for Autistic medical professionals, is the result of a collaboration between drama therapist Dana N. Sayre and speech and language therapist Elaine McGreevy. It has been developed based on requests Thriving Autistic have received from members of Autistic Doctors International.

Person smiling at camera with short hair

Dana N. Sayre

Drama Therapist

Dana N Sayre (they/them) is a US-based Registered Drama Therapist. Dana is Autistic and ADHD with lived experience navigating late diagnosis. Dana weaves creative arts approaches into a social justice framework to empower marginalized individuals to cope with internalized oppression and navigate a world that was not created for them. Dana currently operates a small virtual private practice and contracts with Thriving Autistic, Autism Society of Texas, Chronically Queer - Austin, and Tilt Performance Group. Dana is also the current Chair of the Cultural Humility, Equity, and Diversity Committee of the North American Drama Therapy Association.


Smiling woman with dark hair in front of a window looking into a garden

Elaine McGreevy

Speech and Language Therapist

Elaine is a passionate pro-neurodiversity advocate. Elaine is a passionate pro-neurodiversity advocate. She wants to contribute to making a change in how society accepts, includes and supports neurodivergent people. Elaine is the Founder Director of Access Communication C.I.C., a community interest company, which offers pro-neurodiversity Speech and Language Therapy support for Autistic children and young adults. Elaine is the Co-Founder of Divergent Perspectives which offers professional training for health, education and social care staff who support neurodivergent people.

Programme Design

This unique programme is designed to support medical professionals in understanding your own communication styles and then build upon that understanding to develop competencies and strategies in negotiating inter-neurotype communication. We envisage this in-depth support to best suit those who want a comprehensive package of supports as they realign their life to fit better with their neurology as an Autistic professional. We fully appreciate that a multitude of barriers exist for Autistic medical doctors in the workplace and that pathologising language, ableism and racism are built into the very institutional structure you inhabit on a daily basis. We offer this programme as a response to these barriers, with the hope of providing an oasis of calm in your working life over the course of the foundational level 1 and advanced level 2 offerings.

Participants:

Maximum 10

Foundational Level 1 Dates:
June-Aug 2022 - Booked out

2023 Dates To be confirmed

Advanced Level 2 Dates:

Sept 14th, 28th

Oct 12th, 28th

Nov 9th, 23rd

Times: 7pm (Dublin/London) / 2pm (New York)

Duration: 90 minutes

Location: Zoom Online

Cost:
The development and delivery of this programme is heavily subsidised by Thriving Autistic.

A nominal donation of €100 per participant per programme is requested.

Commitment:

Ideally, we recommend that participants join both Level 1 and Level 2 of the programme to gain the most benefit from the support we offer. We do respect each individuals' autonomy however and so each level of the programme will be open to book separately.

PROGRAMME CONTENT: LEVEL 1

The programme is divided into two bespoke courses over 12 weeks each. Our level 1 programme helps you to understand yourself and your own communication styles and strengths so that you can more deeply appreciate your needs and preferences in order to thrive. Level 2 builds on this solid foundation to focus in on navigating interpersonal communications. We first learn to deeply understand our own communication styles and then we learn to apply our strengths into common cross-neurotype communication scenarios in the medical workplace.

01

Explore

This is not a templated approach. We know every person is unique. We’ll work with you to explore and identify your individual communication strengths and processing styles

02

Delve Deeper

We'll help you navigate your communication styles to discover where communication flows and what hinders it.

03

Emotional Regulation

This week focuses on your individual emotional regulation strategies and becoming curious about your sensory preferences. Together we'll create a roadmap to discover how you best express and regulate yourself.

04

Free the Stim!

This session centres on self-care strategies; executive functioning life hacks, mindful stimming and restorative practices. We'll have fun exploring what brings you joy and how to deepen your relationship with your senses.

05

Masking

Week 5 brings an in-depth exploration of masking. We'll creatively play with some practical exercises to begin the process of safely unmasking, enhancing your individual coping and self-compassion skills.

06

Self-Advocacy

Our final session for level 1 is a journey through Self-Advocacy. Explore how to cultivate strong boundaries, how and when to seek accommodations and adjustments to help you thrive.

We are currently not accepting applications for the Autistic Doctors Programme.

To stay updated on future opportunities, we invite you to become a member of Thriving Autistic.

If you have recently received your identification, we warmly welcome you to join our next 6-week DISCOVERY programme.