Autistic Sensory and Movement Differences: Strengths, Access, and Support

Join Therapist Neurodiversity Collective and Dr. Steven Kapp in a two-hour research-grounded professional development course examining sensory and movement differences as foundational features of autism across the lifespan.

Drawing on current peer-reviewed research, this course addresses how autistic sensory and motor differences are frequently misunderstood, including misinterpretations framed as “regression,” and how these differences shape perception, communication, and daily participation.

Presented by Steven Kapp, an Autistic academic at the University of Portsmouth, the session centers evidence-based, neurodiversity paradigm centered best practices for providers. Professionals will explore autistic perceptual and motor strengths, understand how sensory-movement differences may contribute to speech divergence, and learn practical, ethically grounded ways to build access by supporting strengths and accommodating sensory-movement challenges in real-world practice.

Major themes:

• Understand sensory and motor differences as foundational but communication as a transaction between partners (and affected by sensory and movement differences, including broad cognitive and emotional differences)
• Understand how to support visual, auditory, and motor differences, as well as language and communication.
• Understand strengths as complex and sometimes contributing to challenges such as early speech divergence.

After this course, professionals will be able to:

• Identify sensory and movement differences as foundational to autism
• Explain how these are often misunderstood, for example as regression into autism
• Describe strengths and challenges of autistic people’s perceptual and motor differences
• Examine how these sensory differences may contribute to speech divergence in autistic people
• Apply practical ways to build from perceptual strengths and accommodate sensory-movement challenges

Dr Steven Kapp is an autistic academic at the University of Portsmouth in the UK. His research broadly considers the nature of autism and support for autistic people, as a concept, diagnosis, and identity; through participatory research with autistic people as community partners; and considering the perspectives of the autism community. He has recently published on autism as a lifelong neurodivergence based in sensory and movement differences, as well as on the strengths of autistic people with speech divergence.