Where Autism meets Mental Health: A Discussion with Sean Inderbitzen, Autistic Behavioral Health Therapist
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The primary purpose of Uniquely Human the Podcast is to educate and inform. The views expressed during all episodes are solely those of the individuals involved and do not constitute educational or medical advice. Listeners should consult with professionals familiar with each individual or family for specific guidance.
Uniquely Human, the podcast, is produced by Elevated Studio. Music is graciously provided by Matt Savage of Savage Records.
Hi, I'm Dr. Barry Prazant, clinical scholar, researcher, and consultant on autism and neurodiversity, and a Brooklyn boy raised in the big city. And I'm Dave.
I'm none of those things, and I grew up on a farm in Illinois. But being on the spectrum myself, I have plenty of personal insight to lend.
And
this is
It's uniquely human the podcast, a show that illuminates and celebrates autism and neurodiversity.
Okay, so uh once again we are so pleased to have Sean Enderbitson um on with us today. Sean is an autistic therapist who works in community mental health. He is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers and a licensed clinical social worker. He also is a doctoral student at the Tulane School of Social Work, and his research focuses on the intersection of trauma interventions for those with autism, as well as increasing access to health care for autistic people. Sean, welcome to Uniquely Human the podcast.
Thanks, Barry. I am super stoked to be here. I love listening to it. So um it's kind of cool to be like Actually here.
That's great. Well, thank you so much. We appreciate it. Uh and you know, one of the things that we feel is important to do is for our listeners to know a little bit about the journey of many of our guests. So if if you want to talk a little bit about the chronology of your history, um, if you wish about what led to your autism diagnosis, but even more importantly than that, your choice to pursue a career in mental health. Counseling.
So okay, so let me start at the beginning. So I grew up um in central Pennsylvania, um, traditional nuclear family, had its own ups and downs, which I I don't really talk much about and I'm probably not gonna talk a lot about today, but one of the bumps that I will talk about is that when I was eighteen I had a car wreck. Um and so I like left the scene of a car accident and then I called the police and like, yeah, I don't think I should have left. And everybody was like, Why'd you leave? And it was just like it's not written down anywhere. So like So
you're you were probably scared out of your mind and were like, Why and you just f you know it's not like you were trying to get out of trouble. You yeah.
Fight flight freeze, yes. But apparently freeze can be a crime when, right? Like Yeah. so scared and you call in later, which to me doesn't make any sense. But you know, I got my charges dropped and diverted. But part of the legal defense was getting explored for this idea of autism. And sure enough, that's how I got the diagnosis. Um and so it didn't really matter till a lot later in life. I think um At about twenty-five, it was used in some legal proceedings for me in a family custody battle. Because the judge had a daughter with autism who was highly nonverbal. Um, and so when they were like he has autism, his frame of reference was this nonverbal little girl. So his question was, can people with autism parent?
So there was a psyche vow, there was all this stuff. Um it's ironic because now I'm a licensed clinical social worker and at the time I was a certified social worker, but that didn't matter because I had autism. Um So again, it it can be disruptive to your life, right? Like it can be very, very, very disruptive. But my decision to become a therapist really came later after I finished my master's. And I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do because I wanted to be a policy analyst. But after I won in family court, I won 50% placement. So I couldn't really leave and pursue being a policy analyst. So it was like, what am I going to do now? And so I was a social worker and I was talking to my therapist at the time and she's like, You'd be a great therapist with people with autism.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–5:58
2
How did Sean’s early life and car accident lead to his autism diagnosis?
5:58–24:41
3
What does Sean say about autism being classified as a mental health disorder?
24:41–29:42
4
Why do autistic clients often get bounced between mental health and developmental services?
29:42–35:42
5
What research shows the gap in mental‑health service use for autistic people?
35:42–47:35
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from Uniquely Human: The Podcast
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