Dr. Shannon Senefeld, PsyD

I do not think Dr. Senefeld is a bad person, but I feel it’s my duty to leave a review on my experience to prevent other people from going through what I did. If you are an adult who needs to be assessed for Autism (and especially if you are an adult female), I would strongly recommend that you DO NOT go to Dr. Senefeld for an evaluation. As an adult woman, I decided to be evaluated for Autism after a lifetime of knowing something was deeply amiss with me, my entire immediate family (parents and siblings) suspecting I had “Asperger’s” my whole life, many teachers throughout childhood mentioning that I was socially behind & appeared to have processing and other issues, and three separate mental health professionals asking me directly if I’d been evaluated for Autism. In seeking an evaluation as an adult, my mistake was going to Dr. Senefeld, as she does NOT specialize in Adult Autism assessments, and even states in her bio that she works with autistic children and adolescents. At the… time, I did not know the importance of going to a professional who SPECIALIZES in diagnosing adults, since Autism can look a bit different in adults (and especially women) due to added factors such as learned compensation strategies and masking. I spent many hours and thousands of dollars on the evaluation with Dr. Senefeld, only to be left with no clear answers, and an incomplete explanation as to why I’ve always struggled in the specific ways that I do. In fact, many of my struggles were dismissed or not included at all in Dr. Senefeld’s report, even though my symptoms were heavily corroborated by both of my parents. The outcome of the evaluation (and Dr. Senefeld’s explanation) did not make sense to me or to my family, and I decided to seek a second opinion. This time, I went to a psychologist who specializes in Adult Autism evaluations, and who has extensive knowledge of the presentation of Autism in women. Following this comprehensive evaluation, I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 1 and the evaluator told me, “It is very clear to me that you have Autism”. Now, for the first time in my life, I am finally getting the help I need, and the diagnosis and resulting self-understanding has saved me after a lifetime of never knowing why I struggled in all the ways that I do. If you are an adult woman who needs to be evaluated for Autism, please save yourself thousands of dollars and go to someone whose professional focus is Adult Autism.