Seven Days: An Autistic Doctor Is Redefining Neurodivergent Health Care 

(Ken Picard, 1/15/2025)

“People don’t just join a medical practice. They are joining a community,” said Dr. Melissa “Mel” Houser, 41, who founded All Brains Belong in November 2021. The Long Island native moved to Vermont in 2008 to attend the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. Though she described her medical education as “excellent,” it included almost nothing about neurodiversity beyond a one-hour lecture on autism. The lesson focused entirely on the red flags for recognizing autism, such as an inability to display emotions, read social cues, make eye contact or communicate well verbally.

Because such characteristics apply to only a small percentage of people with autism, Houser said, she often missed signs of autism and other neurodivergence in her patients — and herself.

Dr Mel Houser in their medical office holding a stethoscope wearing a KN95 mask to protect patients from COVID-19.
Photo credit: Jeb Wallace-Brodeur