Self-paced on-demand CE · Now open for pre-order

When Neurodiversity Is the "Problem"

Stop treating neurodifference as the presenting problem in family therapy

Presented by KJ (Katie Jo) Glaves, MA, LMFT, CMHS, who is designing AAMFT’s certification course on neurodiversity

Nine self-paced modules on competing access needs, Collaborative & Proactive Solutions, and working with a family’s culture instead of around it.

The behavior gets pathologized, accommodations get framed as special favors, and the family member who is neurodivergent absorbs the message that the way their brain works is what is wrong with the family.

KJ (Katie Jo) Glaves walks you through how structural, behavioral, and psychodynamic models can pathologize family members who are neurodivergent, and offers other ways to work ethically with neurodiverse families. You will learn Collaborative & Proactive Solutions as an alternative to behavioral compliance approaches, work through the skills gaps model and a full family case, and look at how your own social position and a family’s culture shape what happens in the room.

The course pairs the recording of KJ’s July 17, 2026 live training with new segments KJ is recording for on-demand learners. It releases in November 2026, and pre-order buyers get access on the first day.

In plain terms, you will be able to spot when a model is treating neurodivergence as the problem, sort a family’s concerns with Collaborative & Proactive Solutions, and adapt your work to a family’s culture and to your own position in the room.

The full objectives, which the module quizzes and the course evaluation are built around. Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Identify at least three ways structural, behavioral, and psychodynamic family therapy models pathologize family members who are neurodivergent.
2. Determine whether competing access needs are present in a described family system.
3. Differentiate a neurodiversity-affirming ethical rationale from a compliance-based rationale for a stated treatment goal.
4. Apply the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions basket method to prioritize presenting concerns in a family case.
5. Identify which of the eight skills gaps is foundational to a described client’s presenting difficulty.
6. Distinguish skills gaps from environmental mismatch in a multi-member family case.
7. Select an approach for discussing a child’s neurodivergence with a parent who is resistant to the diagnosis.
8. Identify at least two ways a clinician’s own social position and assumptions about ability can shape assessment and treatment goals with a neurodiverse family.
9. Describe one culturally responsive adaptation to systemic intervention for a family whose cultural context shapes how neurodivergence is understood.

Who This Is For

• Family therapists and mental health therapists across disciplines, including LMFTs, LMHCs, LICSWs, psychologists, and associate-level clinicians
• Clinicians working with families that include members who are neurodivergent, whether or not that is the referral concern
• Supervisors and clinical leads shaping how their teams assess, refer, and document
• Anyone who suspects their systemic training is pulling against the clients on their caseload

Level: Introductory. No prior coursework in neurodiversity-affirming practice is needed.

The course carries NBCC continuing education. It is each learner’s responsibility to confirm their own licensing board accepts NBCC hours.