True Neurodiversity Affirming
with Cassie Leutenegger
Behavior Bites Podcast - Ep81September 23, 2026Do you ask for help when you need it?
How often do you collaborate with other practitioners?
During today’s meal — I speak with a behavior analyst about the importance of being adaptable, advocating for yourself, connecting with families, and her favorite comfort meal.
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Amuse-Bouche
Why is flexibility one of a behavior analyst’s most important skills?
Appetizer
How did you get into Behavior Analysis?
Something you wish you could have told yourself when getting started?
Palate Cleanser
Describe your favorite meal
Entree
If there were no barriers, what would be your dream project?
What’s something people seem to misunderstand about you?
Dessert
Describe one of your biggest wins
Excerpts from the Episode
(*Paraphrased highlights)-
Flexibility is one of those skills that is important for truly anybody, whether it's within your own personal life or professional. Flexibility can be just your ability to pivot, or we can talk about psychological flexibility, which is kind of an ACT concept (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy).
Psychological flexibility within that area is your ability to accept the things that are happening in your life and embrace the emotions. You don't want to engage in avoidance of difficult emotions and things like that. That's a great pathway to anxiety. Psychological flexibility is that overarching skill that we're working towards when we're working on some of those ACT skills.
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I wish that I had the skills at the time to advocate for myself a little bit more, because I had no idea what I was doing. If I had asked for the help that I needed, I think that I would not have lost my confidence along the way.
I ended up on a performance improvement plan my second year and in my third year my contract was non-renewed, which looking back, I realized that it had nothing to do with my performance that third year. I had told them I was intending to move and because that position is difficult to fill, they wanted me to resign so they could list the position.
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Only recently have I really come out publicly talking about my own neurodivergence and the journey with that. As a result of that, I've been misunderstood frequently my whole life. I do have ADHD and autism and there's a lot that comes along with that.
I think the thing that people misunderstand the most is that just because I look like I am understanding the social situations or because I am high achieving or in a leadership position at work, people misunderstand the impact that autism still has on my life.
Truly, I would say getting the diagnosis helped so much with people understanding me. There would be times that my husband would get so frustrated with me about certain things, and those things still happen now, but he understands the context more. It's not like I'm being obnoxious or a jerk just to be a jerk. I'm truly missing these cues or whatever.
Because I am intelligent and highly articulate and things like that, unless people are aware that I have autism, they will 100% make assumptions or misunderstand me. Even with knowing that I have autism, people will still pull shenanigans.
There's a whole situation that went down at my current company and I won't get into it because I still work there. The people involved were aware that I had autism and even working in a company designed to provide support for individuals with autism— the people involved, it didn't matter to them.
ABOUT Cassie
Cassie Leutenegger, M.Ed, BCBA, TX-LBA
Cassie Leutenegger is a behavior analyst, clinic director, educator, and professional curiosity collector who believes behavior analysis is much bigger than token boards and data sheets. With roots in special education and years of experience leading autism programs, she is passionate about helping clinicians build practices that are both evidence-based and deeply human.
Cassie is the creator of Adventures in Behavior Academy, where she explores topics like supervision, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Relational Frame Theory (RFT), compassionate leadership, and the messy, meaningful realities of clinical work. She loves translating complex behavioral concepts into conversations that feel approachable, practical, and maybe even a little fun.
When she’s not talking behavior science, you’ll probably find her designing CEUs, questioning long-held assumptions in the field, or convincing other behavior analysts that flexibility might just be one of our most important skills.
CONNECT with Cassie
Website: adventuresinbehavior.comInstagram: @adventuresinbehaviorTikTok: @adventuresinbehaviorFacebook: adventuresinbehaviorPlease support our podcast by leaving a rating or review!
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