The fastest way to derail care for autistic clients is to treat every behavior like a clue you already solved. Todd Weatherly sits down with Dr Ingrid Boveda, founding psychologist at The Hive Psychological Services and co-founder of CoGenuity, to challenge the reflex to label first and ask later and to show what neurodivergent-informed assessment and treatment planning can look like when it actually fits real brains.
We dig into why “standard” mental health treatment often fails people on the autism spectrum: overwhelming group-heavy schedules, skills taught without a path to real-world use, and clinical assumptions that turn sensory overload into “defiance.” Dr Bovita explains how she approaches complex psychological assessment by spending less time fixating on test scores and more time translating the why behind behavior. We also talk about medication response differences, nervous system regulation, and how diagnostic labels can become incomplete stories that flatten a person’s strengths, needs, and identity.
If you work in behavioral health, support a neurodivergent loved one, or just want a smarter way to interpret behavior, this conversation gives you practical language and a clearer lens. Subscribe for more conversations on mental health and substance use treatment, share this episode with a clinician or parent who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway: where do you see “asking the why” change outcomes?
