About me
Iris Warchall, PT, DPT
(she/they)
Hi! I’m an Autistic person, a parent to an Autistic child, and a practicing physical therapist since 2013 specializing in helping adult patients with many of the conditions more prevalent in the autistic population, including chronic pain, pelvic health conditions, neurologic conditions, and hypermobility spectrum conditions including Ehlers-Danlos syndromes.
At least 1 in 36 people are autistic.
Autistic people are more likely than average to experience a variety of health conditions necessitating skilled physical therapy care.
Autistic people commonly experience barriers to accessing healthcare and have differences in sensory processing, motor development, and executive functioning. To mitigate access barriers and best provide care for our autistic patients, we must be able to make adjustments to our standard practices.
Despite all this, physical therapists do not yet generally receive adequate training in supporting autistic patients.
The entry-level education on autism that physical therapists usually encounter is developed by non-autistic professionals, is highly stigmatizing, does not cover many common and important autistic accommodation and referral needs, and does not include training on the needs of autistic patients beyond childhood.
Let’s start doing better for our autistic patients!
Let’s Learn Together!
I provide live and on-demand courses, as well as free downloadable resources, to help healthcare professionals and others learn best practices for supporting autistic patients across the lifespan.
I provide customized educational and consulting services for physical therapists and other healthcare providers on the following topics:
- Anti-ableist policies and practices
- Neurodiversity-affirming care
I provide one-on-one individualized physical therapy care for adults of all genders and neurotypes at Back to Life Physical Therapy in Oakland, California.
I specialize in helping people with:
- Chronic pain
- Orthopedic conditions
- Pelvic health conditions
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes and other hypermobility spectrum conditions
- Parkinson’s disease
- Vestibular/balance dysfunction.
For information about scheduling an appointment with me at Back to Life, please visit: backtolife.net
Recommended Reading
Looking for further reading on the topics of autism, neurodiversity, or disability?