An episode that advocates for social change!
In Episode 102 of The Autistic Culture Podcast, Matt and Angela are joined by therapist Halina Brooke to explore what truly autism-affirming social skills look like—beyond the harmful norm of “teaching autistic people to act neurotypical.”
Here’s what’s in store for today’s episode:
Halina shares how her non-ABA, neurodiversity-affirming groups support autistic adults over 25 by helping them enjoy social experiences, understand their nervous systems, and heal from trauma, especially for ABA survivors.
We discuss the tension between neurotypical clinicians and autistic self-advocates, and why lived experience must lead the conversation.
Topics include post-diagnosis grief, masking, code-switching, and how burnout can result from constantly navigating neurotypical expectations.
The episode also unpacks the concept of "neurotypical packing peanuts" and how ChatGPT can assist autistic people in decoding social dynamics.
Together, we challenge the status quo in autism therapy, discuss ethical use of labels, and advocate for creating safer, more inclusive spaces for autistic individuals.
Halina Brooke is a licensed professional counselor based in Arizona with a practice dedicated to supporting misfits, creatives, highly sensitive individuals, and those who don’t quite fit the mold. Through her work at Recourse Counseling, Halina blends therapeutic insight with lived experience to offer affirming, individualized care, especially for neurodivergent adults.
With expertise in ethics, policy, and community advocacy, Halina is also a passionate changemaker, working to shift mental health systems toward more compassionate, inclusive, and neurodiversity-affirming models. She leads innovative, non-ABA social skills groups for adults over 25 and empowers clients to connect with their nervous systems, heal from past harm, and thrive in their authenticity.
📩 Contact: halina@recoursecounseling.com
🌐 Website: Resource Counseling
📅 Book a free consultation | 📞 Call: 602-787-0600
“And that’s the big thing about autism and ADHD, because the DSM doesn’t allow for internal experience. It’s always about how we impact the neurotypicals around us. It’s all about how the doctor can observe you and how irritated the doctor is with your choice of conversation topics or how you don’t make eye contact, or how off-putting you are to the observer.” - Matt Lowry LPP
“You know, the folks who are diagnosed [autistic] and were diagnosed as children, this is the generation that kind of came up with that huge wave of ABA, and when you are constantly told that your way of being is wrong and needs to be fixed, it can leave you with a really ingrained feeling of self-doubt. And so even if you’re doing a situation ‘right’, like if you have a special interest for a certain kind of book and you come to that book club and everyone else is like you in that way, if you went through ABA as a kid, you’re still gonna walk in there with crippling self-doubt wondering if you’re doing it right. But these might be your people.” - Halina
“If you’re very happy and very comfortable being unmasked and then you have to go back into an intensely masked situation, it almost makes it worse because when you’re used to having to mask all the time and that’s just the norm, then you become accustomed to the chains that you wear.” - Matt Lowry LPP
“You become acutely aware of the trauma that you’ve had instead of normalizing it and dissociating and just saying, ‘yeah, everyone gets punched in the gut on Thursdays. That’s just how it happens.” - Matt Lowry LPP (on autistic code-switching and cognitive dissonance)
Did you enjoy this episode? We talk about Autistic-affirming social skills, the challenges of masking, post-diagnosis grief, and how we can make the world safer for autistic people. In the comments, let us know what stood out to you, and use #AutisticCultureCatch to share your thoughts on social media and connect with other listeners!
Related Episodes:
Unpacking PDA
Academia and Ableism
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