Love Languages for those on the Spectrum

In this class, we’ll explore how the classic concept of the five love languages — words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, physical touch and receiving gifts — may not always map neatly onto neurodivergent experience, and why adapting them can deepen connection.

We’ll learn how sensory sensitivities, communication differences and unique modes of expression often mean that people on the autism spectrum may prefer love languages such as “parallel play,” “infodumping,” “deep pressure/shared regulation,” or “sharing an interest ” — and we’ll practice recognizing and responding to these with compassion and clarity. We will review the "Love Languages" theory and you'll walk away with an easy reference guide.

You’ll leave with practical tools: how to ask the right questions about how someone receives love, how to express affection in ways that are meaningful for them, and how to strengthen meaningful relationships (romantic, familial, friendship) in a way that honors neurodiversity and builds mutual understanding.

About the Instructor:  Fawn O’Breitzman has been a college professor for over 20 years. She specializes in issues of Sex and Gender and presents at conferences all around the country. She does inclusion training for businesses and has worked with everyone from hospitals to construction yards to help companies make sure they are providing the best and most respectful care to their clients. She has been a social worker, therapist, and a professor. She has been married to a neurodivergent gender queer person for 25 years and understands the need to be concrete and straight-forward when discussing topics of human behavior!

This class is appropriate for adults and teens.