Amy Elliott stared at the noise-cancelling headphones on her desk, wrestling with a choice that would define her career trajectory. Her boss had just told her she couldn’t wear them in the office, and she didn’t know how to explain that without them, the constant chatter and keyboard clicks felt like nails on a chalkboard. The open office that energized her neurotypical colleagues was slowly crushing her ability to focus and produce her best work.
That moment of silent struggle would eventually spark a complete career transformation – from digital marketing specialist to workplace communication advocate. Today, Amy is working to bridge one of the most overlooked gaps in modern business: the communication chasm between neurodivergent and neurotypical employees and their managers.
Her journey illustrates a fundamental truth about workplace dynamics that many employers are just beginning to understand. When communication fails, everyone loses. When it succeeds, businesses unlock untapped potential they never knew existed.
The Breaking Point That Changed Everything
Amy’s story begins like many neurodivergent professionals – with years of unconscious compensation and mounting exhaustion. After completing a digital marketing apprenticeship, she landed a role at an SEO agency where her writing skills immediately stood out. The interview process had gone well. They liked her practice blog but noted there was room for improvement. She felt confident she could handle the job, even if she wasn’t perfect.
For several months, Amy thrived. Her work quality was strong, and she seemed to have found her professional footing. Then the business grew, more employees joined the team, and the work environment became increasingly distracting. The quiet space that had allowed her to excel transformed into a bustling hub of activity that felt overwhelming to her neurodivergent brain.
“I suffered more and more with all the noise and distractions and couldn’t do my work in the office,” Amy recalls. “I started doing it overnight. During the day I was on LinkedIn and started generating new clients to help the business grow. I was a salesperson during the day and completed my other work overnight.”
The creative solution demonstrates the innovative thinking that neurodivergent employees often bring to problem-solving. Rather than simply struggling or quitting, Amy found a way to maintain her productivity while contributing to business growth. However, her managers didn’t understand or appreciate this adaptation.
When called into a meeting and confronted with her unconventional work pattern, Amy made a decision that would change her life. Instead of making excuses or deflecting, she chose honesty and self-reflection. She told her managers she needed to explore what was happening and figure out what was wrong. That exploration led to her ADHD diagnosis, and a profound shift in how she understood herself and her workplace experiences.
The Pattern of Miscommunication
Amy’s next role at a marketing agency initially seemed promising. She hoped things would be different with a fresh start and new understanding of her neurodivergent needs. However, the same communication breakdowns that had plagued her previous job began to resurface.
When Amy brought in a lead but struggled to meet the client’s expectations, the situation escalated quickly. The client complained directly to the business owner, and Amy found herself in a disciplinary meeting – but not with the owner. Instead, she was forced to explain herself to someone much younger and less experienced on the team, making the situation worse.
“That was the beginning of the end for me because I recognized myself getting petty,” Amy reflects. “I was already managing my own department, and I just knew that I could do it on my own.” So, she left to start Mouthy Marketer with herself at the helm.
The experience at that agency taught Amy crucial lessons about workplace dynamics. She recognizes that the owner’s decision to have someone else handle the disciplinary meeting wasn’t necessarily malicious. “He simply lacked the tools and understanding to communicate effectively with a neurodivergent employee during a challenging situation,” she said. “He didn’t understand how to deal with the emotional side of my creative process.”
This insight reflects her evolved perspective on workplace conflicts. Rather than viewing her former employers as villains, she now sees them as people who lacked the framework and skills necessary to support neurodivergent team members effectively. That’s something she wants to fix.
The Reframing That Changes Everything
Years of reflection have given Amy a nuanced understanding of workplace dynamics that serve as the foundation for her prospective career direction. She’s learned to balance accountability on both sides of neurodivergent workplace challenges – a perspective that sets her apart from others in the field. She’s currently exploring whether she can take this newfound knowledge and turn it into a business. Amy is still in the early stages of her exploration.
“There’s so much stigma you need to unpack,” Amy observes. “And then there’s so many employers who will absolutely never get it. And the employees who want to take everything they can get. If no neurodivergent person ever takes accountability, nothing will change.”
This balanced approach stems from Amy’s personal journey through the complex emotional terrain that many neurodivergent people experience. Growing up different means carrying shame and self-blame for not fitting traditional molds. When a diagnosis finally provides answers and validation, the pendulum often swings toward blaming others for years of misunderstanding and mistreatment, she said.
“As a neurodivergent person, you go through life blaming yourself for everything,”” Amy explains. “You carry all this shame for not being the same as everyone else, even though you might realize why that is. When you’re a kid, other kids sniff out that you’re different and they treat you differently. You carry all this self-shame and internalize everything. Once you have that diagnosis, you change direction and point the finger outward at all the people who failed you.”
Amy believes true progress requires finding the balance between these extremes. “So, you have to merge your self-blame and the blame of others and combine them for the best results in moving forward. There needs to be a turning point where you balance the two. Other people are not always the problem. They can be, but not always.”
She hopes this mature perspective allows her to serve as an effective mediator between neurodivergent employees and their managers. She understands the hurt and frustration on both sides while maintaining objectivity about where responsibility truly lies in specific situations.
Communication Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight
Amy’s experiences have revealed a pervasive problem that most businesses don’t even realize they have: a fundamental communication breakdown between neurodivergent and neurotypical employees and managers. The costs are staggering, though rarely recognized or quantified.
When neurodivergent employees struggle silently rather than advocating for their needs, productivity suffers. When managers make decisions without understanding neurodivergent perspectives, talent walks out the door. When both sides operate from assumptions rather than clear communication, innovative solutions never emerge.
“The most important thing is communication,” Amy emphasizes. “We can work through anything if the communication is right.”
Her vision involves creating measurable outcomes that speak to business leaders in their own language. “There needs to be a way to quantify neurodivergent management support. The outcome – higher staff retention, increased performance – you’re more attractive to any talented people if you offer these supports.”
Amy recognizes that neurodivergent people bring tremendous value to organizations when properly supported. “Neurodivergent people come up with the most amazing ideas if they’re given the time to work through them.” However, accessing this potential requires investment and understanding from employers.
The challenge lies in the business justification. Neurodivergent employees need to present their accommodation requests in terms that resonate with business priorities. “Neurodivergent people need to find a way to justify the extra supports they need in the language business owners understand, which is how they can help them grow their businesses. You get more payout when you pay more in,” she said.
This creates an inherent tension that Amy acknowledges. “But neurodivergent people don’t like that they have to justify their accommodations, so it’s a no-win situation.” Her role as a mediator would involve helping both sides understand each other’s perspectives and find mutually beneficial solutions.
Building the Bridge Between Two Worlds
Amy’s transition from marketing to workplace mediation represents more than a career change. It’s a calling that draws on her unique combination of personal experience, professional skills, and natural empathy. Her background provides her with credibility on multiple fronts.
As someone who has walked the neurodivergent employee journey, she understands the internal struggles, the masking strategies, the exhaustion of constant adaptation, and the relief of finally achieving understanding. As a former marketing professional, she speaks the language of business metrics, ROI, and strategic initiatives. As someone with natural mediation skills, she can see multiple perspectives simultaneously.
“It’s rewarding to bridge a gap between people and help them communicate,” Amy reflects. “I have a lot of empathy for people in general and I can see both sides.”
Her approach involves more than just consultation or training sessions. Amy wants to create lasting changes that justify the investment and produce measurable results for employees and employers. She’s currently in the ideation phase, carefully researching the market and gathering perspectives from various stakeholders.
“I don’t want this to be a tick-box exercise as an hourly consultant that just chats about issues but nothing changes,” Amy explains. “I’m trying to figure out what it would look like to be there to make an impact that makes it worth the investment, and helping people implement and stick with it, without compromising my health condition.”
This last point is crucial. Amy was diagnosed with a chronic condition beyond her ADHD earlier this year. Her health challenges have taught her the importance of sustainable business practices. She can’t always predict when she’ll struggle physically, so she’s building accommodation for that reality into her business model from the beginning.
The LinkedIn Laboratory
While developing her consulting approach, Amy is using LinkedIn as a research tool and a way to test market interest in her ideas. Her marketing background serves her well in this digital strategy.
“I’m talking about what I’m passionate about to see if any doors open,” Amy explains. “I’m using those conversations to shape my decisions moving forward. I want to gather as many perspectives as possible and gauge validation of my idea.”
This approach allows her to gather real-time feedback from neurodivergent people and business leaders. The conversations help her understand the pain points on both sides and identify the most pressing needs that her services could address.
“I genuinely feel like the most productive thing for me on LinkedIn is just having those conversations,” Amy shares. These interactions provide market validation while building the network she’ll need when she’s ready to launch her consulting practice formally.
“My marketing background will help hugely when I’m up and running because neurodivergent people need remarketing,” she said. Understanding how to reach and communicate with her target audience gives her a significant advantage in a crowded consulting field.
The Generational Divide and Accountability Challenge
Amy’s observations about generational differences in approaching neurodivergent workplace issues reveal progress and concerning trends. While younger generations tend to be more progressive and understanding about neurodiversity, she’s noticed some people in this age group also use their conditions as shields rather than bridges to better communication.
“There’s more progressiveness with the younger generation, but sometimes it can go backwards with people using their disability to gain more impressions,” Amy observes. “They decide to do less and use health as an excuse.”
This trend concerns Amy because it undermines the credibility of neurodivergent people who are working hard to contribute meaningfully to their organizations. “I have empathy for people who are trying and continue to try and do and show up, but then there are people where illness is almost a justification.”
Her perspective comes from a place of understanding rather than judgment. She recognizes the temptation to use a diagnosis as an explanation for all workplace challenges, especially after years of struggling without understanding why. However, she believes that real progress requires distinguishing between legitimate accommodation needs and avoidance behaviors.
“You can tell who is showing up and wants to do more and people who are just making excuses,” Amy explains. “That’s the unfortunate thing that I’ve seen show up in my interactions with other neurodivergent business owners.”
Her approach emphasizes personal responsibility alongside systemic change. “You’re the only one who’s going to suffer if you don’t try. There are very few people who get handed the perfect deck of cards in life. It’s all in how you play them. You’re either overcoming adversity or you’re not.”
Looking Forward: The Support System Solution
Amy’s plans reflect hard-won wisdom about the importance of collaboration and sustainable business practices. Her previous venture, Mouthy Marketer, taught her valuable lessons about the dangers of trying to do everything alone.
“I don’t want to do it on my own,” Amy acknowledges. “I know I need help and support. I recognize that’s what went wrong with Mouthy Marketer.”
This recognition shapes how she’s approaching her new consulting venture. Rather than launching as a solo practitioner and hoping to scale later, she’s considering partnership opportunities and support structures from the beginning. Her health challenges make this approach not just smart but necessary.
“The timing feels right for this type of service,” she said. “More businesses are recognizing the value of neurodivergent employees, but most lack the framework and communication tools necessary to support them effectively. My unique perspective – understanding both the employee and employer experience – positions me to fill a crucial gap in the market.”
The Bigger Picture: Communication as Currency
Amy’s story illuminates a broader truth about modern workplaces. Communication has become the currency of success. Yet, many organizations operate with a significant communication deficit when it comes to neurodivergent employees. The costs compound daily through turnover, underperformance, and missed opportunities for innovation.
Her journey from struggling employee to considering workplace advocacy demonstrates how personal challenges can become professional strengths when channeled effectively. The same sensitivity to communication breakdown that made open offices overwhelming for her now enables her to identify and address similar issues for others.
“I recognize that most of the hurts in my life are because of lack of communication and lack of tools to help me,” Amy reflects. “I don’t have ill will toward anyone, even if those experiences have hurt me.”
This forgiveness and understanding, combined with practical business acumen, would position Amy to create real change in how organizations approach neurodivergent employees if she decides to launch her consulting business. Rather than viewing accommodation as a burden, she could help reframe it as an investment in untapped potential.
As more businesses recognize the competitive advantage of truly inclusive workplaces, Amy’s potential mediation services would address a growing market need. Her personal experience provides authenticity, her professional background provides credibility, and her empathetic nature provides the emotional intelligence necessary to facilitate difficult conversations.
The question isn’t whether businesses need better communication with neurodivergent employees. It’s how quickly they can develop these capabilities before their competitors do. Amy’s evolution from marketing specialist to considering workplace mediation represents not just a personal transformation, but a preview of the kind of specialized expertise that forward-thinking organizations will increasingly seek.
Her story proves that sometimes the greatest professional contributions come from turning our deepest personal challenges into bridges that help others cross similar chasms. In Amy’s case, that potential bridge spans the communication gap between neurodivergent and neurotypical minds – a gap that, once bridged, benefits everyone involved.