Workshop descriptions

  • Workshop I: Understanding Autistic & ADHD Burnout

    This class is focused on understanding the lived-experience of burnout in Autistic and ADHD people. We'll talk about what the experience of neurodivergent burnout is like, how it's different from what NTs call career burnout, and why burnout happens so often for Autistic and ADHD people. If students haven't experienced burnout themselves, they will learn to empathize with the experience. Students who have experienced burnout themselves will receive validation and a space to reflect on that experience.

  • Workshop II: Supporting ND Nervous Systems through Burnout

    This class is focused on understanding the process of supporting a nervous system through burnout into eventual recovery. We’ll talk about the 3 burnout recovery phases: hitting pause, rest, and stabilization. We'll also discuss various ways to "pause" and "rest" as forms of resistance against systems of oppression. Students will learn a holistic roadmap to burnout recovery that is grounded in nervous system science and applies to all neurodivergent burnout, but especially to Autistic and ADHD burnout.

Who is this for?

This set of two workshops is open to anyone who is interesting in learning about neurodivergent burnout (and especially burnout that happens with Autism and/or ADHD), from a disability studies & neurodiversity paradigm lens. 

Most past students fall into one or both of these categories. 

- People who are neurodivergent (or exploring the possibility of being neurodivergent) who want to better understand their own life experience and the experiences of their neurodivergent friends and family members. 

- Professionals who help neurodivergent clients. This includes therapists, coaches, teachers, counselors, social workers, somatic practitioners, massage therapists, and other types of helping professionals like teachers and community organizers. 

The information in this set of workshops is useful for nervous system beginners as well as for people who have a lot of nervous system education already and are looking to expand and/or contextualize that information. 

This work is rooted in the Neurodiversity Paradigm and blends the lived experience of the neurodivergent community with many references to the currently existing research. A short optional reading list is included for further study. 

The Lived Experience of Autistic and ADHD Burnout

I thought I had cyclical depression in my teens and 20s. But it wasn't JUST depression. As it turns out, almost every time I thought I was depressed, I was actually experiencing neurodivergent burnout. 

This made it nearly impossible to treat my depression. I didn't respond to treatment like professionals thought I should. We tried meds and we tried talking about my childhood trauma, but weekly therapy visits still left me too drained and exhausted to get out of bed. 

What I really needed was to pause emotional processing and professional interventions until my nervous system was ready for that again. To get out of burnout, I had to stop trying to heal my trauma and start building safety in the here and now. 

In these workshops, I'll share how I did that - how I found many ways to stabilize my nervous system so that I could recover from burnout. 

Although this is an educational class, and not a trauma processing space, many students have reported transformational experiences from previous classes. 

This series is specifically focused on viewing the body as an ally. Our bodies don't hate us. They're on our side even when expressing complex & layered trauma responses. 

On Being "Canaries in the Coal Mine

This will be the 7th and most likely final set of workshops I'm sharing in 2026. All of them fit the theme of diving into what it means to be metaphorically the "canaries in the coal mine." This concept was originally used in the 1990s to describe Autistic people, but it also fits the experience of many sensitive neurotypes. 

March - Systemic Trauma & the Stress Cycle
June - Sensory Trauma
August - Freeze, Fawn, Masking
Sept - The PDA Neurotype
Oct - The Neuroscience of Community & C-PTSD
Nov - Autism, ADHD, and Burnout

Recordings of previous workshops are available separately. 

A special version of The Nervous System Study Group will be opening for enrollment next month. This will be a 5 month container that begins in December. 

Pricing options

The cost for 3-4 hours of workshop time is $140. If that amount is financially dificult, you can choose the sliding scale rate, no questions asked. If the reduced cost is inaccessible, please scroll down to the end of the page to find the scholarship application. Each paid spot in the course makes one free scholarship spot available for someone else.

FAQ

  • How long do we have access to the videos?

    Recordings are lifetime access. If we ever move away from Thinkific (this course platform), we'll upload the videos to YouTube and send you a private link to access them. You can also download recordings to keep permanently.

  • Is there a way to ask Janae questions about this series?

    Yes! Each of the two sessions will have at least 30 minutes of Q & A time after the presentation of information.

  • Would this course work for a high school student?

    Yes, but it's especially important for teens and young adults to have someone they trust to talk with about this info beyond the class setting.

  • Are there CEUs?

    Check with your supervisor! My in-person groups count for CEUs but online groups have varying requirements. If you need documentation, you can create a certificate for Janae to sign off on.

  • Can I buy the course as a gift for someone else?

    Yes! Gifting educational opportunities is a great way to support someone in your life. When you go to the checkout page, you can click the box next to "This is a Gift" and then add the recipients email address.

Facilitator / Teacher

Janae Elisabeth

Trauma Geek

Janae (they/she/he) is an information synthesizer who has been studying polyvagal theory and related nervous system models for 9 years. Their specialty is tying together threads of information from many different fields to create a holistic understanding of the nervous system and neurodivergence. Janae has deeply studied these topics in an effort to understand herself better as an AuDHD PDAer with complex trauma. Since 2018, they have been teaching about trauma, the nervous system, and neurodiversity through local peer support circles and through the advocacy and education project, Trauma Geek. Past students in Janae's courses have reported transformational experiences including more self-love, more gentleness with themselves, more understanding of their own bodies, more acceptance of themselves, and more connection to community. For legal reasons, please note, Janae is not a counselor or therapist.