Autism Assessment

Offering Autism assessments and therapy in West Grove, PA and offering TeleHealth therapy across Pennsylvania and Delaware.

We support autistic people in moving away from frustration and self-blame and toward a more compassionate, affirming understanding of themselves. Through assessment and collaborative skill-building, we help individuals better understand their unique ways of thinking, processing, and engaging with the world, while building strategies that align with their strengths and needs.

Do social interactions leave you feeling deeply drained, even when they matter to you?

Do you experience strong or heightened responses to sensory input, and find that your nervous system can become overwhelmed or anxious?

Autism is a neurodevelopmental difference that shapes how a person experiences, communicates with, and relates to the world and to others. Autistic people often have distinct ways of processing information, expressing themselves, and navigating social environments.

Some experiences that can look similar to autistic traits may also arise from things like social anxiety, OCD, or trauma. Taking the time to understand the context, history, and meaning of these experiences can help clarify what best fits for you, while respecting neurodiversity and avoiding assumptions about deficit or disorder.

An autism assessment can be a helpful way to better understand your unique profile of strengths, differences, and how your brain works. Rather than being about “proving” whether you do or don’t have autism, the process is meant to offer clarity, language, and context for your experiences.

If you’ve come across information that resonates with you, or if a healthcare or mental health professional has suggested you might be autistic, a formal evaluation can support deeper self-understanding. For some people, it may also open access to accommodations, services, or communities that feel affirming and supportive.

Therapy for autism can help you discover yourself with shame free curiosity, and feel more confident in who you are and able to find meaningful connections with others.

An Autism Assessment might be right for you If:

You study or analyze social situations to understand what is happening
Conversations sometimes feel like you are following rules or scripts rather than responding naturally
You have difficulty understanding sarcasm, indirect hints, or implied meaning
People sometimes say you miss the point of what they were trying to communicate
You feel exhausted after social interaction, even when it goes well
Sounds, lights, smells, or textures that overwhelm you more than others seem to notice
You feel drained or irritable in busy environments (grocery stores, airports, crowded offices)
You seek out certain sensory experiences such as: pressure, rocking, pacing, touching textures, listening to the same sounds repeatedly
You sometimes struggle to identify what emotion you are feeling
Emotions build internally until they feel overwhelming or hard to regulate
Others say you appear calm externally but feel intense emotions internally
You rehearse conversations before social situations
You force yourself to maintain eye contact even when uncomfortable
You intentionally copy how others behave socially
You feel like you are performing or acting socially

Whether the assessment determines you have autism or not, working with a compassionate therapist can help you move out of frustration and self-blame and into a shame free understanding of yourself. You’ll learn the skills you need to be successful in life: either skills to support you in working with autism instead of against it OR the skills to cope with other root causes of your symptoms.

How Does Autism Present?

Autism can show up in a wide range of ways across different people and contexts. Many individuals who are socialized as girls or women may develop strong masking or camouflaging strategies and may direct distress inward, such as through anxiety, depression, or burnout. Others, including many who are socialized as boys or men, may express overwhelm in more external or visible ways.

These patterns are shaped not just by neurology, but also by social expectations, access to support, and lived experience—so there is no single “look” or presentation of autism.

Therapy can Help You Manage Symptoms & Effects of Autism

After your autism assessment, you’ll process the results with your therapist and the results will inform your ongoing treatment. You’ll have the opportunity to begin collaborative therapy, where your therapist will work side by side with you to accept yourself for who you are, find your strengths, and learn new skills to ease the symptoms affecting your life.

This is not just talk therapy: as psychologists we use evidence-based assessment data to finetune treatment throughout the process.

How To Get Started

1

Book Your Free Deep Insight Consultation

Schedule a conversation where we’ll listen to your story, clarify what you want to understand, and create a personalized roadmap for your Deep Insight Process.

2

Gain Insights Into What Drives You

Engage in a guided exploration using powerful psychological tools that reveal the deeper forces shaping your thoughts, emotions, and behavior.

3

Feel Fulfilled and Understood

Gain profound insight into who you are, release old self-blame, and experience genuine peace, joy, and fulfillment in your daily life.

What if I don’t want a label, but just want to understand myself better?

Shannon Gordy

Licensed Psychologist

Psy.D

As psychologists, we’ve noticed that a lot of diagnoses share many of the same symptoms, and sometimes the core issue is not a formal disorder, but trauma, childhood wounds or the stress of your current life experiences. You may be experiencing perfectionism, OCD, or anxiety that mimics autism. We’re not here to label you or pathologize your behavior, especially if that is something that feels unhelpful or uncomfortable to you.

Our focus is helping people understand themselves in a way that changes everything. That means listening to your story, offering assessments when helpful and appropriate for you to learn more about yourself, and helping you make meaningful and lasting changes without shame.

Autism Assessment | Chester County, PA

Core Signs & Symptoms of Autism

Difficulty With Social Interaction

Restricted or Repetitive Patterns of Behavior

WHO WE ARE

Why Edward Jenny & Associates For Autism Assessments?

Dr. Edward B. Jenny

FOUNDER, CLINICAL DIRECTOR

Psy.D Licensed Psychologist

Research has repeatedly shown that feeling understood by your therapist is the most important element to success in therapy. At Edward Jenny and Associates, we prioritize building that foundation with every client.

It’s about the relationship.