One in five people is estimated to be neurodivergent, yet services across health, education, and community settings continue to struggle to meet their needs effectively. This continuing education lecture asks: what does it actually feel like to be autistic or have ADHD in a world designed for neurotypical processing, and how does that shape a person's capacity to manage their health, sustain medication routines, and access the self-care that underpins everything else? Beginning with therapy's unique contribution to understanding sensory processing, interoception, and self-regulation in neurodivergent individuals, the lecture builds a compelling case for why conventional approaches to medication management and health maintenance are often insufficient, and why wearable technologies represent a promising new frontier. Through interactive case studies spanning the lifespan, participants explore how specific devices can be purposefully matched to client profiles and occupational goals across medication adherence, physiological monitoring, and self-regulation support. Critically, the lecture addresses the practical and ethical considerations unique to neurodivergent populations. This course is designed for an interprofessional audience.
Live Webinar
Thu, Jul 23, 2026 at 3:00 pm EDTCEUs/Hours Offered: AOTA/0.1 Introductory, OT Service Delivery, Foundational Knowledge, 16456; CE Broker/1.0 CE Broker #20-1386607; IACET/0.1; IBCCES/1.0; NBCOT PDUs/1.25 Beginner, Rehabilitation
Learning Outcomes
- After this course, participants will be able to identify sensory processing and interoception frameworks to explain health management challenges across the lifespan in neurodivergent individuals.
- After this course, participants will be able to identify neurodiversity-affirming ethical and practical considerations for wearable technology use with autistic and ADHD individuals across the lifespan.
- After this course, participants will be able to explain clinical reasoning for wearable device selection, implementation, and interprofessional communication across different life stages.
Agenda
| 0-10 Minutes | Overview of prevalence, co-occurring conditions, unmet healthcare needs, and the health management participation gap for autistic and ADHD individuals. |
| 10-25 Minutes | Therapy Lens: Sensory Processing, Interoception, and Self-Regulation as Foundations of Health Management |
| 25-50 Minutes | Wearable Technologies in Practice: Device Types, Evidence, and Application Across the Lifespan |
| 50-55 Minutes | Interprofessional Context: Reflection and Barriers |
| 55-60 Minutes | Summary; Q&A |
Presented By
Julia Colman
OTD, OTR/L, BCP, CCTS-I
Dr. Julia Colman, OTD, OTR/L, BCP, CCTS-I, is a neurodivergent occupational therapist and the founder of Sensory Life Assessment & Wellness. Drawing on her own lived experience, she built a practice rooted in neurodiversity-affirming care, offering what she wishes she'd had access to as a teenager. After working as a school-based OT in Arizona and witnessing firsthand how systems were failing neurodivergent students, Julia shifted her approach from compliance-based methods toward strengths-based, trauma-informed occupational therapy. She holds a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is Board Certified in Pediatrics, and serves as Arizona's representative to the AOTA Representative Assembly. She also teaches at Northern Arizona University, working to train the next generation of OTs in affirming, evidence-based practice. Her mission is to advocate, educate, and empower neurodivergent individuals and families by serving clients in Arizona and Ohio via telehealth.
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Financial: Julia Colman received an honorarium for presenting this course. Non-financial: Julia Colman has no relevant non-financial relationships to disclose.
Sponsor Disclosure: This Course is presented by OccupationalTherapy.com, a Continued site.
Content Disclosure: This learning event does not focus exclusively on any specific product or service.
Course participation information
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NOTE: Full attendance for all courses is mandatory. For self-study courses, this includes reading the full text, listening to the full audio recording, or watching the complete video, as appropriate for the format of the course.
Passing an online exam and completing a course evaluation will be required to earn continuing education credit.
Live Webinars allow presenter and participant interaction. The exam and course evaluation for these courses must be completed within 7 days of the event.
On-demand courses include texts, video and audio recordings of live webinars, and multimedia formats. The exam and course evaluation for on-demand courses must be completed within 30 days of course registration.
To participate in the course, complete the exam and course evaluation, and earn continuing education credit, you must be a OccupationalTherapy.com member. Participants must complete the entire course; partial credit is not allowed.
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American Occupational Therapy Association
OccupationalTherapy.com is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development, #7659. Course approval ID# 16456. This distance learning - interactive course is offered at 0.10 CEUs/contact hours (Introductory level, OT Service Delivery, Foundational Knowledge Area). The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.
CE Broker
OccupationalTherapy.com is an approved provider for CE Broker, provider #50-14558. This course is offered for 1.00 hours. If you are an OT/OTA in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina or Tennessee, CE Broker may be of interest to you.
International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training
continued, LLC, DBA OccupationalTherapy.com, is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). continued complies with the ANSI/IACET Standard, which is recognized internationally as a standard of excellence in instructional practices. As a result of this accreditation, continued is authorized to issue the IACET CEU. continued, LLC, is authorized by IACET to offer 0.10 CEUs for this program.
International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards
The continued family of websites, including OccupationalTherapy.com, is a Certified Training Partner of IBCCES. This course is offered for a maximum of 1.00 CE hours for the autism certifications issued by IBCCES.
National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy
AOTA approved CE can be used to meet NBCOT® continuing education requirements for certification renewal. This course is offered for 1.25 NBCOT PDUs (Beginner level, Rehabilitation Area). NBCOT® is a registered trademark of The National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.