Bio: Katy Higgins Lee, MA, MFT is a licensed therapist, unschooling parent, neurodiversity advocate, clinical supervisor, and continuing education provider. She focuses on working with adults and couples who are Autistic, ADHDers, Gifted, and Twice-Exceptional. She creates content on social media under the name Tending Paths and has a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology, with an emphasis in Somatics, from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS).
Beyond Unmasking: Positive Disintegration and Identification of Neurodivergence
In this session, Katy will draw upon her personal and clinical experiences to explore the relationship between identification of neurodivergence and Positive Disintegration processes. Katy will outline the ways that disintegrative processes can intersect with the discovery and acceptance of neurodivergence (for oneself and for one's children) and how this has the potential to contribute toward a transformative neuroqueering process. Katy will discuss the ways that all transformative processes are bodymind processes, and how bodily experiences, including sensual and psychomotor OEs, are particularly relevant for some types of neurodivergence. Katy's session will include personal, clinical, and theoretical explorations of the potential intersections of Positive Disintegration, neurodiversity, neuroqueering, somatics, and parenting.
With Marni Kammersell:
Giftedness as Neurodivergence, Not Functioning Label
In this session, we will consider the importance of understanding giftedness through the lens of neurodivergence, rather than focusing exclusively on high potential. The speakers, both late-identified twice-exceptional (AuDHD) adults, will share their childhood experiences as being solely gifted-identified. They will then explore some of the insights they have gained from understanding themselves as neurodivergent and why accurate identification for neurodivergent youth is vital for long-term mental health and well-being.