The number of neurodivergent people fighting their workplace is climbing. Here’s what it tells us, why I’ve gone back to therapy, and how I want to help young people into work
Dear Dopamine curious friends
I started therapy again after 3 years of taking a break. I’ve been in and out of therapy since I was 20 years old, dealing with depression, PTSD, a long-term breakup… and now I wanted to go to therapy to reflect more on my late-diagnosed neurodivergent conditions (dyslexia and ADHD) and process that. It’s been nearly 6 years since I was diagnosed with combined ADHD and started taking ADHD medication (which, hands down has saved my life, honestly).
I sought reduced-rate therapy from The Self Space and was paired up with a student therapist who is autistic. It’s only been 4 sessions so far, but already I’m able to unpack feelings which I’ve not been able to process since my diagnosis and my advocacy work as an ADHD coach and neurodiversity consultant. I spoke about topics from grieving the old me who didn’t know I was neurodivergent, to really sometimes disliking being neurodivergent, as it does make my life so much harder and much more exhausting. I also was able to use the space to deep dive into the experiences of being neurodivergent and a solo founder.
I think it’s healthy to process these feelings, and I wanted to share in case anyone on here wanted to also use their therapy space to explore their neurodiversity. I know looking for a neurodivergent informed therapist can be tricky, but The Self Space has a great therapist matching option, and ADHD UK has screened therapists who are neurodivergent themselves or aware.
Employment Tribunals (in the UK) involving ADHD and Autism have more than doubled… in the last 5 years
An employment tribunal is an independent judicial body that resolves legal disputes between workers and employers.
Press enter or click to view image in full size
The graph above shows that that employment tribunal cases mentioning ADHD, autism and other neurodivergent conditions have almost doubled since 2020: from 265 cases in 2020 to 517 in 2025 (source and analysis from Irwin Mitchell law firm, reported by the BBC). This is mostly driven by the increase in autism and ADHD diagnoses, but also an increase in awareness about the need for neurodivergent people to ask and be awarded reasonable adjustments at work (as required by law under the Equality Act 2010).
As a neurodiversity advocate myself, these numbers just show me the importance that all companies should be placing on having systems, processes, and training in place to support neurodivergent employees, both from a duty of care and from a legal perspective. This shouldn’t discourage employers from working with and employing neurodivergent employees (people who literally think differently).
The companies that thrive are the ones who embrace and accommodate people who think differently. I’m keen to talk to any professional or company who wants to help make their company more neuroinclusive. Whether that’s neurodiversity training, helping design a neuroinclusion policy, or even considering the use of AI to make neurodiversity coaching accessible to everyone at your company… give me a DM, reach out, book a call with me
💼 Supporting neurodivergent young people into work
With all the newsflow about how difficult it is for graduates and young people to get jobs in this economy, my thoughts naturally go to the disabled and neurodivergent community and young people. Of course, I believe we need even more opportunities for young people to get supported into the workplace.
I’m currently in early partnership talks with a charity and a university to trial out bespoke group ADHD coaching weekly sessions for students and neurodivergent people who are unemployed, or struggling and aiming to look for jobs. These sessions will include everything from identifying your strengths, advocacy for yourself during recruitment to the interview stage, all the tips and tricks I use myself for job hunting (including, of course, using AI), how to handle rejection sensitivity when applying to jobs… do you disclose to your potential employer or do you not.
I’m hoping to use these partnerships to show that bespoke group coaching can work, and I’m really open for any discussions with organisations who want to partner up or sponsor this. I think this work is very important for equipping neurodivergent young people with skills and confidence to compete in this really tough job market.
My go to job search websites: Jack and Jill ; Flexa Careers; Escape the city
Hope this helps. Job searching is hard, and as a coach, I would say to any neurodivergent person that processing rejection sensitivity will be the difference between you being able to get the volumes of applications out to land an interview.
🤝 How I can help
🎤 Lunch & Learn: a 60–90 minute awareness session for your whole team on neurodiversity in the workplace. Great starting point for any organisation. DM me to chat about booking one in.
🏆 Neurodiversity Manager Training: CPD certified, 3 hours, built for managers and leadership who want to actually get it right when supporting neurodivergent team members. Get in touch to find out more.
🧠 Flairya: my neurotech platform for neuroinclusion at work, currently in beta. If you’re part of an ERG or HR team and want early access, message me, I’d love to have you testing it.
🎓 Coaching Neurodivergent Clients: a CPD certified, self-paced course for coaches, mentors and managers who want to support neurodivergent people properly. Drop me a message for details.
Wishing you lots of dopamine, Kim 💛
Press enter or click to view image in full size