Skip to content
Montenegro & Associates Behavioral HealthPsychiatry for Meaningful Lives

Psychiatric Care for Autistic and Neurodivergent People

Care that starts with who a person already is.

Our approach is strengths-based and neurodiversity-informed. The goal is not to change who a person is, but to understand their experience and address psychiatric symptoms, distress, or functional challenges that interfere with the life they want to lead.

Neurodiversity-Informed We start from how a person actually experiences the world.
Care Across the Lifespan Children, adolescents, transition-age youth, and adults.
Family & School Collaboration With consent, we coordinate with the people already involved.
Co-Occurring Conditions ADHD, anxiety, mood, sleep, and emotional regulation.
Is an Evaluation Right for You?

Common reasons people seek care

You or your child may benefit from an evaluation if you are noticing:

  • Questions about whether autism explains longstanding social or sensory differences
  • Co-occurring anxiety, ADHD, depression, or irritability
  • Sleep difficulties or emotional dysregulation
  • Challenges at school, at work, or with transitions
  • A previous diagnosis that no longer seems to fit
  • Recognition of neurodivergent traits in adulthood
Not sure if this fits?You don’t need to have a diagnosis to reach out. We can help you determine the best next step.
Talk With Our Team
Across the Lifespan

Care across developmental stages

We work with children, adolescents, transition-age youth, and adults when their needs fall within our clinicians' expertise and outpatient scope. Please note: we do not diagnose autism without close collaboration with a neuropsychologist.

Children

Development, communication style, sensory experience, and the family and school context a child spends their days in.

Adolescents

Emotional regulation, school demands, identity, and co-occurring anxiety and mood concerns.

Transition-Age Youth

The shift from pediatric to adult systems — school to work or college, changing supports, and growing independence.

Adults

Workplace demands, relationships, co-occurring psychiatric conditions, and longstanding patterns.

Developmental Transitions

Needs change across development, and so does the support that helps

Transitions — into adolescence, out of school-based services, into adult care — are often when psychiatric needs become most visible.

Adults

When longstanding differences finally have a name

Some adults seek care after years of compensating for autistic traits, executive-function challenges, or other neurodevelopmental differences. Evaluation considers longstanding patterns and the demands that may have made them more visible. If we suspect autism is at play, we will recommend a neuropsychological assessment from one of our trusted colleagues with ASD evaluation expertise.

Longstanding patterns Experiences that have been present for a long time, not a recent change.
Changing demands Work, study, caregiving, or relationships that ask more than the old strategies can carry.
Co-occurring concerns Often the reason an adult seeks psychiatric care in the first place.
Wondering whether autism or neurodivergence explains what you have always experienced? A comprehensive evaluation looks at the whole picture rather than a checklist.
Request an Evaluation

Common reasons for seeking care

Patients may seek help for co-occurring ADHD, anxiety, depression, irritability, sleep difficulties, medication questions, emotional regulation, transitions, or diagnostic complexity.

  • Co-occurring ADHD
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Irritability
  • Sleep difficulties
  • Medication questions
  • Emotional regulation
  • Transitions
  • Diagnostic complexity
Related care ADHD Anxiety Disorders

Assessment built around the person

We consider communication style, sensory experiences, development, family context, school or workplace demands, identity, strengths, and the possibility of overlapping psychiatric conditions.

Communication style Sensory experiences Development Family context School or workplace demands Identity Strengths Overlapping psychiatric conditions
Scope of Care

When the diagnosis is still uncertain

Psychiatric assessment and formal neuropsychological testing are not the same service. When comprehensive testing is needed beyond the scope of our practice, we can recommend appropriate external evaluation.

Not sure whether an evaluation is the right step? You don’t need a diagnosis to reach out. We can help you decide where to begin.
Talk With Our Team

Collaboration

With consent, we may coordinate with therapists, primary care clinicians, schools, and other supports to help treatment fit the patient's broader care plan.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

Care that honors who a person is

Psychiatric care for autistic and neurodivergent children, adolescents, transition-age youth, and adults.

Request an Appointment

Telepsychiatry available in Washington, California, Arizona, Alaska, Maine, and Wyoming, depending on clinician licensure and availability.