A rigid, punitive cancellation policy is a clinical failure. It is an ableist business practice that punishes neurodivergent clients for the very symptoms they are seeking help for.

You're staring at the booking page. You know you need help. Your grades are slipping, and the "smart kid" identity you've had your whole life is crumbling. But your brain is screaming at you: What if you book it and just… forget? What if you sleep through it? Another missed deadline. Another failure. Another fee you can't afford.

That fear is not a character flaw. It is a logical response to a lifetime of being shamed for having a brain that struggles with Executive Function.

The Neuroscience of Why You Forgot

Here's what researchers like Dr. Thomas Brown and Dr. Russell Barkley have long argued: ADHD is fundamentally an Executive Function Disorder. When you forgot the appointment, you had a neurological event — a predictable outcome of how your brain processes time, priority, and sequence.

The ADHD brain shows specific challenges in processing temporal information. Time blindness is a measurable neurological difference in how your brain processes timing. Demanding perfect adherence to a rigid schedule from a brain with temporal processing differences is like demanding perfect hearing from a person with auditory processing disorder.

And the system that labeled you? The standard DSM diagnostic criteria for ADHD don't capture the full range of Executive Function impairments experienced by adults, a limitation Brown documented. You're being held to a standard that the system itself can't adequately define.

A truly neuro-affirming policy is about having flexible, compassionate boundaries built on a deep understanding of the brain and a foundation of mutual respect.

Our Clear Policy

Our policy is designed to honor two realities at once: 1) Your brain is not broken, and you will never be shamed here. and 2) My time is a finite resource, and a missed appointment is a spot that another person in crisis could have used.

  • The 25-Minute Line: Under 25 minutes late, we meet. No late fee. At 25 minutes or more, it counts as a missed session.

  • The Night-Before Rule: Please cancel as early as you can. As long as you cancel by midnight the night before your session, there is zero fee. No questions asked.

  • Missed Sessions: A session counts as missed if you cancel after midnight the night before, don't come, or get here 25 minutes late or more. We get that life happens and brains are complex.

    • First time: It's a freebie. $0. We'll reach out to make sure you're okay and help you reschedule.

    • Second time: $25.

    • Third time (and after): $50.

  • The Grace Period: Come to a session within 5 business days of the miss, and there's no fee. Miss on a Tuesday, and a session by the next Tuesday counts.

We are in the business of providing care. When you're ready for a process designed with your brain in mind: Start here →

Part of: Getting Started → | Related: Time Blindness · Executive Function