A workshop series

The Connected Man

Somatic and Social Cognition Workshop

You're capable. Some things just take more effort — reading a room, knowing what to say next, staying present when it counts. This workshop gives you real practice, not lectures: hands-on work, straightforward feedback, and guys who get it. You'll leave with tools you can actually use — for work, for relationships, for showing up as yourself.

The details

What to know

What

A 5-week workshop series for young men and male-identified or nonbinary people aged 16–30, focused on individuals with autism or ADHD. Build social capacity, practical skill, hands-on learning, and internal motivation.

Get and keep meaningful work
Build and sustain relationships and connections
Gain financial & practical independence

When

5 sessions, Saturdays at 10:00am

11/7/26 – 12/12/26 (skipping Thanksgiving weekend)

Session 1

Nov 7 is a 4-hour session, from 10am–2pm, providing introduction, structure, and inspiration. Bring a bag lunch this day!

Sessions 2–5

Sessions on Nov 14, Nov 21, Dec 5, and Dec 12 will be 2 hours long, from 10am–12pm.

Where

The Old Meeting House
1620 Center Road
Montpelier, VT 05602

Get Directions

Cost

$500 per participant

Need-based scholarships available ($150 off). Send an email to request one — see the "Register" section below.

Who benefits

Young men and male-identified or nonbinary people aged 16–30 with autism (level 1, with interactive language capacity), ADHD, social-pragmatic communication disorder, social anxiety, or no diagnosis at all — but social or executive difficulties.

Cohort limited to 12

How it works

A practical, body-based approach

These sessions will be facilitated by two master's-level teacher-clinicians: Allison Durazo, who works as an occupational therapist and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner in the Southeast, and Shaun Stephens, who works at the Stern Center in Montpelier and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology.

With their guidance, you will experience a practical, body-based and systematic approach to:

Use modern, practical, body-centered techniques to recognize and manage anxiety and avoidance
Build capacity for successful social interactions with peers, boss/coworkers, professors, and romantic partners
Improve negotiation, interpersonal problem solving, and relationship-building
Transform your ability to physically show up, participate in group work, and enjoy work
Fun! Use a hands-on, enjoyable, experiential approach while creating a tangible project you can take home

Outcomes

Get and keep meaningful work
Build and sustain relationships and connections
Gain financial & practical independence

Also Included

In addition, you will be provided with materials to take home with you, email access to your teachers to ask questions and get encouragement throughout the program, and a follow-up coaching session 4 weeks after the sessions end to check in on how things are going for you.

Ready to join?

To register, click a link below to pay

Pay via PayPal — link coming soonPay via Venmo — link coming soon

Payment links will be added shortly — check back soon, or email us and we'll send you the link directly.

Have questions or want to request a scholarship?

If you have questions for Shaun or Allison, or would like to request a need-based scholarship ($150 off), send us a message below and let us know what you need. This goes to both of us — expect a reply within a couple of days.

Common questions

Do I need a formal diagnosis to attend?

This workshop is designed for young adults with autism or other neurodevelopmental conditions, but the skills and techniques will apply to all people, so a formal diagnosis is not required.

What if I can't make all 5 sessions?

Ideally, participants will make all 5 sessions. In the event they have to miss one session, materials from all of the sessions will be available.

What should I bring / wear?

Bring a lunch to the first session on Nov 7, which runs from 10–2. Expect to put your phone away for the duration of the sessions. Wear casual, comfortable clothes. Bring a rain jacket and dress in layers in case there are outdoor activities, weather permitting.

What's the refund/cancellation policy?

Because this is a live, in-person event with limited participants, we will refund the registration fee minus a $50 processing fee up to 2 weeks prior to the first session. No refunds or cancellations will be possible after Oct 24.

Although we do not expect this to happen, in the event we do not meet our minimum enrollment of 6 participants, we will refund your registration fee.

In the event of inclement weather, the session will be rescheduled, and the entire schedule will be moved forward.

What if I am not sure if this is the right fit for me?

If you would like to have a 10-minute telephone conversation with Shaun about whether this is a good fit for you, send him an email using the message box above.

Will there be any sort of follow-up after the sessions?

A follow-up online group coaching session 4 weeks after the program ends will be available to you to check in on how things are going for you, on January 9, 2027 from 10 AM–2 PM.

Why is a woman co-facilitating a program for young men?

Allison's role isn't to model "being a man" — that's Shaun's lived expertise, alongside the peer group itself. She brings deep clinical experience in nervous-system regulation, group safety, and body-based trust-building — skills that apply to any human working through anxiety or disconnection. Having both a male and female facilitator also mirrors real life: participants will navigate coworkers, professors, and partners of all genders, and practicing that here is part of the point.

Meet your facilitators

Facilitator bios

Shaun Stephens

Shaun is a master clinician with 23 years of experience working on higher-level aspects of communication among adults and children with autism, ADHD, language disorders, selective mutism, anxiety, and other neurodevelopmental conditions. He has a special interest in using hands-on and experiential learning to improve social cognition, self-regulation, and social communication, and has created a makerspace at The Stern Center dedicated to developing these skills.

Allison Durazo

Allison has been a licensed occupational therapist since 2012, and as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, she helps people of all ages learn to trust what their bodies are telling them. While she doesn't bring a young man's lived experience to this work, she brings over a decade of clinical experience in nervous-system safety and connection — the same skills that carried her through her own years of anxiety. She helps people of all genders feel comfortable in their own bodies.