Three Low-Cost, High-Impact Changes That Help Neurodivergent (and Neurotypical!) Employees Thrive
Inside My Talk at the Neurodiversity Network Conference at the University of Staffordshire this past Friday
What if the key to retention, productivity, and inclusion at work isn’t hiring more people, but letting the ones you already have show up as themselves?
That was the big question I brought to the Neurodiversity Network Conference at the University of Staffordshire last Friday, where I had the honor of presenting “3 Easy Fixes for Creating Neuroinclusive Workplaces.”
Held at the Catalyst Building in Stoke-on-Trent, a beautifully designed space that truly lives up to its name, this conference was packed with meaningful conversations, practical frameworks, and brilliant minds advancing real neurodiversity-in-practice.
In my talk, I shared 3 easy fixes I recommend every business make to be more inclusive and accommodating for everyone:
Recognize Brain Type Differences
Learn the difference between monotropic and polytropic brains. Align work to brain strengths instead of penalizing people for how they process.Support Sensory and Emotional Regulation
Make sensory profiles part of onboarding. Small changes (like reducing noise or adjusting lighting) can have a massive impact on productivity and well-being.Train for the Double Empathy Problem
Communication isn’t broken because ND people “lack empathy”—it breaks when only one neurotype is expected to flex. Mutual understanding transforms teams.
These are low-cost, high-impact changes that any organization can implement right now that benefit everyone equally — no diagnoses required.
The entire event was incredible and inspiring in so many ways. My first event - Neurodivergent Voices Live - will be in Bristol this June 17 -19th and part of why I wanted to be involved with this event was to learn more about what works and what doesn’t in an event like this and there was a LOT that worked about this event which was put together by
!Check out all of her work. It was a privilege to present alongside some truly incredible speakers and advocates, including:
My TEDx Tamworth colleagues Shaun Flores and
(who I was lucky enough to spend time with)And Danielle Cudjoe-Michalski, Dr. Kerri Betts, and Victoria Bagnall who I had the honor to share the stage with for a final Q&A panel with the incredible audience.
If you're serious about building a workplace where all brains can thrive, you might enjoy a peak at my slides so I’m popping them below. Let's stop forcing swans to be ducks.
I would like to take the time out to say, that I found your presentation to be most informative and highly effective if put into practice; though there's a great many companies out there that tend to be intensely unwilling to be flexible no matter what. Just my thoughts in general.
Wow, so simple and easy to do. To me it is intuitive. Happy people > productive = success for everyone!