This presentation explores the potential of psychedelics as a transformative tool for autistic individuals seeking alternative healing paths. Grounded in a neurodiversity-affirming framework, it challenges traditional medical models that pathologize autism, instead emphasizing psychedelics' potential to support self-understanding, sensory integration, and identity development. Drawing on experiences with neurodivergent-affirming care, psychedelic-assisted therapies, and trauma-informed approaches, the presentation discusses ways psychedelics can promote healing from internalized ableism and enhance emotional regulation, creativity, and social connectedness.

Attendees will gain insights into how psychedelic therapies can be tailored to accommodate autistic sensory needs and preferences while fostering a safe, supportive environment for exploration. Ethical considerations, such as consent, accessibility, and avoiding coercive narratives, will be addressed, along with guidance on integrating psychedelic experiences into everyday life to sustain growth. By weaving together research, case studies, and lived experiences, this session provides a comprehensive view of how psychedelics might offer unique opportunities for autistic individuals to reclaim agency, challenge normative assumptions about wellness, and cultivate resilience.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will be able to identify at least three ways psychedelic experiences can support autistic individuals in areas such as emotional regulation, sensory integration, and self-understanding, as well as discuss potential challenges and risks specific to this population.

2. Attendees will learn to incorporate neurodivergent-affirming approaches when using psychedelics in therapeutic settings, including tailoring set and setting to accommodate sensory needs and preferences, and fostering a non-pathologizing, consent-based framework for treatment.

3. Participants will gain skills to evaluate ethical considerations in psychedelic therapies for autistic individuals, including issues related to consent, accessibility, and the integration of psychedelic experiences into everyday life for sustained growth.

Please Note: This course is research-informed educational training designed to review current and emerging literature on the intersections of psychedelics and autism. It does not prepare participants to provide psychedelic-assisted therapy or offer integration services. No clinical certification or credentialing to provide these services is provided. The term “psychedelic-informed” in this course refers to gaining a broad understanding of how research findings and client experiences may inform therapeutic awareness and harm reduction—not to clinical application or facilitation of psychedelic-assisted care.