Courses

Couples, want to learn more about your relationship?

While our waitlist is long, there are still ways to access us and information!

Whether or not you are working with us as your coaches, we suggest starting with the audio course, NeuroDiverse Marriage: Struggling to Connect. This information gives you the information of what used to be the first four to five counseling/coaches hours. You can start your work in Education about who you are as a NeuroDiverse couple and why it is so difficult to connect. Even if you are not working with us or are on a waitlist, you can reach out for a consulting hour at our normal rates to discuss the material and talk about next steps.

Neurobiology & Autism walks you through the brain structure and basic neuroscience of understanding autism. This is helpful for you as the individual undergoing an understanding of a new diagnosis, a spouse trying to understand your neurodiverse spouse or as a parent to better understand your son or daughter on the spectrum. Even if you are not working with us or are on a waitlist, you can reach out for a consulting hour at our normal rates to discuss the material and talk about next steps.

The AS Female Phenotype is a great resource if you have a female in your family system who is on the spectrum. Consultation is available even if you are not a client. Contact us after you complete the course! Ask us questions.

Educate Module 2: NeuroDiverse Couples’ Interviews will allow you to hear from Dan and Stephanie on their own journey to identification as a ND couple as well as three couples who share their stories of identification. You will hear why a trained marriage helper is needed and the harm untrained marriage helpers can cause. You will have hope for your marriage and encouragement to learn and grow as a ND couple.

Educate Module 3: Painful Journey of Divorce in the Christian Community is not a suggestion or how-to divorce. These women and man share what led to their divorce, what needed to change, and the residual effects are of untreated and unsupported ND couples can occur. We learn from both who are continuing to work on their marriage as well as those who chose divorce. Heed the advice and counsel from those who have been through divorce and how their concerns were dismissed from those who to be helping their marriage.

The ND Couple right in front of you! Our most requested workshop on the topic of ND Christian Couples. This is a brief introduction to complexities of ND Christian Couples. It is part of the newly updated Struggling to Connect, but is now available as a stand-alone introduction to ND Christian Couples.

Topics in ND Relationships covers Intimacy and Special Interests. To start this module, you want to start with these FREE sermon series: Marriage Basics and Porndemic . As part of this module, Dr. Stephanie Holmes sits down with two ministers to discuss these sermons and bring in the aspect of NeuroDiversity in marriage and some bad marriage theology and doctrine many couples have been taught and believed which adds to the complexity of ND Christian relationships. Personal stories are shared when special interests involved sex, roles, religion or pornography and its impact on the relationship.

Families

Marriage and Family: Moving from Surviving to Thriving! is the most asked topic for us to do in seminars. This 22-lesson course is best for new diagnosis of a school-aged child. You will hear our story of our daughter’s diagnosis (which you can read more about in the book Confessions of a Christian Counselor: How Infertility and Autism Grew My Faith!), family dynamics, impact on marriage, and interviews with moms and siblings sharing their counsel and story. After you complete the course, if you have questions or want to know about action steps, contact Dr. Stephanie C. Holmes for a consultation (for an additional fee).

Spectrum Teens is a course designed for parents of a child ages 11-20 who are preparing for adolescents or wanting to understand challenges and struggles of being a spectrum teen. You will hear interviews from 4 teens, siblings of teens, and friends of teens on the spectrum. Dr. Holmes gives a message to churches and youth groups on the how and why churches and youth groups needs to be more inclusive for spectrum teens and show the love of Christ through acceptance and accommodations. If you want more information or to discuss content or next steps, you can add a consultation with Dr. Stephanie at her consultation rate.

A Child's Diagnosis and the Family System is our most requested workshop to teach. It is a brief summary of the longer module, Moving Beyond Surviving to Thriving as recorded for a conference we participated in 2021. This focus is on the marriage and family system when a child is on the autism spectrum.

Want to be a certified NeuroDiverse Christian Couple coach, counselor, chaplain or clergy?

Professionals (Coaches, Counselors, Clergy, Chaplains, Clinicians)

Why additional training? Isn’t my degree or background enough?

In the 1990’s the terms Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) and High Function Autism (HFA) became part of the diagnostic lexicon, yet research and supports for adults on the autism spectrum are still lacking. While we no longer use the terms Asperger's or denote high or low functioning autism, we have not really understood the concept of NeuroDiversity in the therapeutic or ministry world and its impact on marriage.

With that in mind have you considered that therapeutic approaches and modalities taught in various schools of training assume both persons in marriage counseling are neuro-typical (NT) and possess essential, compatible, or similar communication skillsets?

We invite you to learn about AS-NT or NeuroDiverse Christian couples and better understand the nuances and challenges that NeuroDiverse Christian couples face in communication and connection with each other.

The International Association of NeuroDiverse Christian Marriages, LLC believes in covenant marriage as defined Biblically, and we are here to equip and train you to better understand, serve, support, counsel, and minister to NeuroDiverse Christian Couples (NDCCs).

Certification Coursework

Our model for couples is Educate, Equip, and then Effective Strategies so that you can Endure/Energize!

The Educate Course (Module 1) includes 46 lessons. This module will discuss the history of the diagnosis of the Autism Spectrum, language preferred, the impact of autism on students, multicultural issues with autism in the family, models of disability, ableism versus empowerment, the diagnostic criteria of Autism in DSM-IV, DSM-5, and ICD (including what therapists tend to miss in adults), differential diagnosis (please include an update on NPD vs ASD in our podcast with Jodi Carlton), the female autism phenotype, and basic neurobiology of autism and polyvagal theory.

The Equip Course (Module 2) is designed to equip you with nuances that may add to the complexity of Christian NeuroDiverse Couples. To start this module, you want to start with these FREE sermon series: Marriage Basics and Porndemic . As part of this module, Dr. Stephanie Holmes sits down with two ministers to discuss these sermons and bring in the aspect of NeuroDiversity in marriage and some bad marriage theology and doctrine many couples have been taught and believed which adds to the complexity of ND Christian relationships. Also in this module, you will learn about special interests that can be detrimental, abusive, or cause harm in the ND marriage if the rigid thinking and special interest involves: pornography, sex, religions, the roles of men and women or Scripture.

Additional modules of Educate include interviews with 3 NeuroDiverse couples as well as interviews from those who had to make the painful decision to divorce. You will learn about the differences in marriage struggles when the diagnosis is known early in marriage versus a later in life diagnosis. You will hear how well-meaning people who did not understand autism in marriage caused harm. You will hear discussed how misinterpretations of headship and submission combined with rigid thinking and lack of theory of mind has led to neglect, indifference, and abuse in these relationships.

After you have completed these modules and complete a consultation hour with us, you will be an Autism Aware/NeuroDiverse counselor, coach, clergy, clinician, or chaplain and receive a certificate of Autism Aware couples’ work.

Additional modules have been filmed and are in the editing process. Come back and check often for updates!

Upon completing Educate, Equip and Effective Strategies as well as a consultation hour and supervision group, you will be a NeuroDiverse Trained & Certified marriage helper.

Supervision groups are an additional cost and will form every 8-10 weeks. Groups TBA

Continue your training!

Every Monday a new podcast is available to keep you informed at no cost to you.

These podcasts may be an interview with a professional in the field or insider’s view of lived experience from Rev. Dan and the Rev. Dr. Stephanie Holmes.

Courses

Want to be a certified NeuroDiverse Christian Couple coach, counselor, chaplain or clergy?

Professionals (Coaches, Counselors, Clergy, Chaplains, Clinicians)

Certification Coursework

Continue your training!

If you have questions about the training content, use our contact form.