Neurodivergence
and Whole-Person Health
A Transdiagnostic & Transdisciplinary Approach to Understanding Cognitive, Social, Emotional, Mental & Physical Well-Being
2nd Cohort – Autumn 2025
Course Overview
Traditionally, neurodivergence has been studied and explored within categorical frameworks (e.g., autism, ADHD) and through distinct academic disciplines such as Psychology, Medicine, and Biology. However, the overlapping and interconnected nature of neurodivergent people’s experiences calls the need for a more holistic and integrated approach. Minds, brains, and bodies, often treated as separate entities, are deeply interconnected and must be understood as such.
This live online course, delivered over seven weeks, provides a comprehensive understanding of neurodivergence, exploring its links to cognitive, social, mental/emotional, and physical health. Participants will gain insights into the latest scientific research and learn about key concepts that articulate the experiences of neurodivergent individuals. Importantly, the course incorporates rich narratives of lived experiences, including those of the course leader, Dr Kana Grace. This course is designed for a diverse audience, including neurodivergent individuals, their families, and professionals in healthcare, mental health, and education, offering tools and perspectives to better support and engage with neurodivergent people.
What You Need to Know
Date and Time: Saturdays, October 4 - November 15, 2025 from 8 pm to 10 pm, JST
Location: Online on Zoom (distance learning)
Duration: 7 weeks
How to Apply: Email Dr Kana Grace at valtameri.grace@outlook.com by September 26, 2025
Who It’s For: Anyone interested in this topic
Fees: ¥ 110,000 (yen)
Note: While the fee is listed in Japanese yen, the course is open to participants worldwide - not limited to those living in Japan.
If it is helpful, the fee can be divided into up to three installments - please let us know if you would like to arrange this.
✨ We offer several pricing options because we want this crucial course to be accessible to those who will benefit from it.
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⭐ Standard Fee: ¥110,000
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📅 Early-Bird Discount: ¥99,000 (10% OFF) – Register by September 6
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👥 Share & Learn Discount: ¥77,000 (30% OFF per person) – Enroll with at least 1 other person
Note: Early-Bird and Share & Learn are separate discounts. Please choose the option that best suits you.
🌱 If the fee presents a genuine obstacle, please contact us. We set aside a small number of reduced-fee places to ensure this course remains accessible to those who need it most.
Course Features
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In-Depth, Evidence-Based Knowledge: Develop a comprehensive understanding of neurodivergence through the latest scientific insights. This course is grounded in Dr Kana’s extensive review of over 1,000 academic papers, carefully curated for your learning.
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Lived Experience & Practical Insight: Gain insight into the strengths, challenges, and needs of neurodivergent individuals. The course weaves together firsthand accounts, Dr Kana’s lived experience, and her work in private practice with neurodivergent individuals and their families.
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Exploring the Complexity of Neurodivergence: Delve into the interconnected nature of cognitive, emotional, social, mental, and physical health. Learn about overlapping neurodivergences and co-occurring mental and physical health challenges - through both evidence and real-world experience.
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Graduate-Level Learning, Made Accessible: Led by Dr Kana - UCL-trained PhD in Psychology and board-certified in Lifestyle Medicine - this course delivers postgraduate-level content in clear, accessible language. Dr Kana also teaches on the Autism Postgraduate Course at Sheffield Hallam University and with the National Autistic Society (UK).
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Inclusive and International Perspective: Dr Kana draws on international experience working with neurodivergent children, youth, adults, and families. Her approach is culturally aware, trauma-informed, and gender-diverse-affirming - grounded in real-world and evidence-based practice.
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Supportive and Caring Environment: You will have direct access to Dr Kana throughout the 7-week course via live sessions and the online platform - to ask questions and share reflections. All live sessions are recorded.
Course Details
This fully online, seven-week course is led by Dr Kana Grace, an internationally recognized, award-winning psychologist specializing in autism and neurodivergence. Each week, participants will join a live, interactive two-hour Zoom session. For the first five weeks, participants will attend live sessions that include lectures and Q&A segments. In addition, they will be invited to share their weekly reflections on Discord. Participants will also receive weekly pre-recorded videos (approximately 120 minutes total across lectures) that explore each week's topics in greater depth. Week 6 is intentionally kept free of live sessions, offering space for personal reflection and integration of learning. In Week 7, participants will come together for a final live session to reflect on the course as a whole, guided by prompts provided in advance. Recordings of all live sessions will be available throughout the seven-week period. A printable course schedule will be provided at the beginning of the course, and a certificate of completion will be issued at the end.
The course is informed by the latest scientific research and the most recent discussions within the neurodivergent community. It also draws extensively on Dr Kana’s extensive academic expertise as a researcher, her professional experience supporting neurodivergent children, youth and adults and their families in her pravate practice, and – importantly - her personal experiences as a multiply-neurodivergent individual with intersectional identities. She also brings a unique perspective shaped by her lifelong dedication to ballet, multilingual abilities, and international experience. These diverse influences enhance her holistic approach, enriching her leadership and the learning experience for course participants.
Week 1: What is Neurodivergence?
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The importance of learning from lived experiences
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Foundations for understanding neurodivergence
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Diagnostic categories and their limitations
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Strengths, challenges, and the diversity of neurodivergent experiences
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Societal barriers to well-being and inclusion
Week 2: Cognition
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How neurodivergent people think, plan, focus and regulate emotions
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Strengths, challenges, and strategies for neurodivergent cognitive styles
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Key concepts to understand neurodivergent cognition
Week 3: Social, Emotional, and Mental Health
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Navigating the social world
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Emotional awareness and regulation
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Loneliness and interpersonal dynamics
Week 4: Mental Health
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The prevalence of mental health challenges
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Trauma: lived experiences, impacts and differential diagnoses
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Disordered eating: lived experiences, contributing factors, and mechanisms
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Suicidality: lived experiences and underlying risk factors
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Mechanisms driving the mental ill health symptoms
Week 5: Physical Health
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Common physical health symptoms and conditions
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Mechanisms underlying physical health symptoms
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The role of lifestyle in managing physical health challenges
Requirements:
Access to Zoom and Discord, both free to download and use.
Course Focus:
The course embraces the social model of disability and the neurodiversity paradigm, focusing on better understanding neurodivergent minds and changing society to create a world where neurodivergent individuals can fully utilize their abilities, without trying to change them.
For any inquiries, please contact the course leader, Dr Kana Grace, at valtameri.grace@outlook.com.
Course Leader: Dr Kana Grace, PhD, DipIBLM
Education:
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PhD in Psychology, University College London, UK
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MA in Counselling Psychology, Boston College, USA
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Postgraduate Certification in Autism, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
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BS, Northeastern University, USA
Certification:
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Board Certified in Lifestyle Medicine
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Certification in Nutritional Medicine, University of Winchester, UK
Dr Kana Grace is an internationally recognized Autism and Neurodivergence Psychologist, and a board-certified Lifestyle Medicine Professional (DipIBLM). She is the founder and director of Valtameri, an organization supporting neurodivergent individuals and their families worldwide.
Dr Kana works as a practitioner, educator, and researcher. Through her private practice, she is honored to support neurodivergent children, young people, adults, and their families from around the world. Grounded in her own lived experience, she is committed to supporting each individual as a whole person - honoring cultural, gender, and individual differences, including co-occurring mental and physical health conditions.
She is widely recognized for her advocacy work in shifting neurodivergence research from a medical model to embracing the neurodiversity paradigm. Her contributions have been featured in leading media outlets including the BBC and The Scientist. She is also highlighted in the book "Nine Minds" by Daniel Tammet, appearing alongside notable figures like Dan Aykroyd and Cédric Villani.
Beyond her research, Dr Kana is actively involved in neurodivergence-related charities and research institutions worldwide. Her current roles include: Honorary Research Fellow at IOE, University College London, guest lecturer for the Postgraduate Course in Autism at Sheffield Hallam and National Autistic Society, and research partner at Autism Spectrum Australia.
Her areas of specialization include autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and Tourette, as well as associated mental and physical conditions such as connective tissue disorders (e.g., HSD, hEDS), MCAS, and POTS.
For more information, visit her Linktree.
What Previous Participants Shared
“I can’t recommend it enough. Solidly research based, fully referenced, delivered from a place of lived experience with profound awareness for the intersectionalities at play in this space. I’m really grateful that PBHP [Plant-Based Health Professionals UK] gave me the opportunity to find Kana – I have learned so much” (Participant, 2025 Spring Cohort)
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“I find it really useful to start to have an analytical framework for these experiences- to help normalise, contextualise, and strategies from. For me that is such a powerful gift to share with neurodivergent people.
I also really like the emphasis on strengths based analyses alongside experienced challenges.”
(Participant, 2025 Spring Cohort)
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“I like Kana’s holistic approach: we are not just a brain, a body or emotions seen separately. We are a whole in our unique (but also brilliant & super interesting!) way of being in the world!... This information is already huge & could have a major impact on redefining the norm, provided it is spread widely. That's what this course does so thank you...”
(Participant, 2025 Spring Cohort)
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“I was more than surprised to discover this week just how closely physical issues are linked to neurodivergence... Realizing that pain, digestive disorders or extreme fatigue... might not be isolated problems but rather connected to a different body structure has completely shaken my beliefs.”
(Participant, 2025 Spring Cohort)
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“And as far as content goes: I had suspected it before, but this course really validated and confirmed that neurodiversity is a whole-person experience... these aspects of me being me, and us being us, are valuable!”
(Participant, 2025 Spring Cohort)
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“thank you all for being one of these places that embrace all of who we are 💚🩵💛”
(Participant, 2025 Spring Cohort)
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(Participant, 2025 Spring Cohort)
FAQ
What does neurodivergence mean in this course?
This course focuses on lifelong neurodivergences, including autism, ADHD, Tourette, dyslexia, and dyspraxia, with a particular emphasis on autism and ADHD throughout most of the topics discussed. It is important to note that Tourette, dyslexia, and dyspraxia often co-occur with autism and/or ADHD, and autism and ADHD frequently co-occur with each other. This interconnected perspective will provide valuable insights into the day-to-day experiences of neurodivergent individuals and the complexities they navigate.
I am interested in learning more about neurodivergence and its connection to health, but I currently know very little about the topic. Can I join this course?
Absolutely! This course is designed to welcome anyone with a willingness to learn, regardless of prior knowledge. We begin by explaining the basics of neurodivergence, including what it means and the characteristics of labels such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and Tourette. As long as you have an open mind and a desire to learn, you’ll find the content accessible and engaging.
Whether you have prior knowledge of neurodivergence or are new to the subject, this comprehensive course offers valuable insights for everyone.
How long is each session?
Each live session is 2 hours long.
Will I have a break during those 2 hours?
Yes. Each live session includes a short break between lecture segments. A detailed live session schedule and a printable course schedule will be provided before the course begins.
On what platform is this course run?
This course is conducted on Zoom.
What if I have to miss a few weeks but still want to take the course? Will I get recordings of the sessions?
Yes! All sessions will be recorded and available for participants who miss some sessions or want to review them. Please note that recordings will only be accessible during the course duration and must not be shared with outside parties.
Also, please don’t worry - we have a community platform where you can post questions for Dr Kana or engage with your peers for additional support and discussion.
Will I receive a certification upon completing the program?
Yes. Participants who complete the seven-week course will receive a certification via email, which can be used as evidence of professional training or continuing education.
Is there a community element to the course?
Yes. The course offers a sense of community through regular sessions over seven-weeks and a Discord community to connect with others interested in neurodivergence.
What happens after I email to apply for the course?
Once we receive your email expressing interest, we will send you a consent form where you will:
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Officially register for the course.
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Provide your PayPal-associated email address so we can send your invoice.
After your payment is processed, your spot in the course will be confirmed! You will also receive a reminder email about one week before the course begins.
How can I make a payment?
We will issue an invoice to the email address connected to your PayPal account. Once you receive the invoice, you can complete the payment via PayPal. The invoice can also be used for employer reimbursement for continuing education purposes.
Can the fees be refunded?
Unfortunately, due to handling fees, we cannot provide refunds. Please ensure you have checked all details before making a payment.
What if I'm interested in the course but anxious about taking it with strangers?
It's natural to feel anxious about meeting strangers, especially for neurodivergent people. Dr Kana Grace understands this feeling and reassures you that the course offers not only learning opportunities but also a chance to connect with others who share an interest in neurodivergence, which can be reassuring and even life-changing.
Am I expected to share my personal experiences in the sessions?
You are not required to share personal experiences. You can choose to share insights, experiences, or questions, or simply listen to others. The most important thing is that you feel safe and comfortable.
Will I be able to ask questions during the sessions?
Yes. Questions are welcome during the sessions. Dr Kana Grace, who loves responding to questions, encourages participants to ask freely.
I’m anxious about the reflection discussion in Week 7. What should I do?
The reflection session in Week 7 was actually suggested by participants from the first cohort. To support you, a set of guiding reflection questions will be provided in advance, and you’ll have a full week (Week 6) between the final lecture and the reflection session to process your thoughts.
By Week 7, many participants report feeling a sense of community, which helps ease anxiety about speaking. That said, there will be alternative ways to share your thoughts if verbal participation feels challenging.
Dr Kana is always open to your feedback. If there's anything that could help make your learning experience more comfortable or accessible, please don’t hesitate to contact us by email.
Do I need to keep my video on during the live sessions?
You don’t need to keep your video on during Dr Kana’s lectures - though she always appreciates seeing your lovely faces and reactions! However, please have your camera on when you first enter the Zoom room and during the Q&A sessions.
What should I do if I have questions that are not answered in the FAQ?
For any inquiries, please contact the course leader, Dr Kana Grace, at valtameri.grace@outlook.com.