AuDHD Joy coaching & consulting
Welcome! AuDHD Joy is a coaching and consulting service that connects neurodivergent professionals to their strengths and helps organisations harness the unique value of neurodiverse talent.
“I knew as soon as I met Hel that she'd be a great person to work with…[She has] given me a much greater sense of control over my working environment and helped me to feel comfortable advocating for my needs and valuing my voice.”
- Peter T
“Hel is a really impactive mentor and confidante. Her advice and guidance has really boosted my confidence, and most importantly given me the tools to navigate some pretty complicated situations.”
- James N
Studies show that neurodivergent people experience unique kinds of joy.
Autistics and ADHDers are often branded as "difficult"
And AuDHDers (people who identify as both autistic and ADHD) struggle with being “walking contradictions”, burning ourselves out trying to mould ourselves to a world not designed for us.
It can feel that the lot of neurodivergent people is to suffer and fail, but it doesn’t have to be that way. AuDHD Joy is the key to this.
Think the delight of a special interest, the dopamine spike of a new hobby. The thrill of creative problem-solving. The empathic fulfilment of giving to others. When we step back from the neurotypical view of happiness, another way is revealed.
Neurodivergent strengths emerge when we’re connected to what brings us joy
Super strengths
Having spiky cognitive profiles, when neurodivergent professionals can work on what we love and are brilliant at (and outsource our struggles), performance will skyrocket.
Divergent creativity
Different thinking means different problem-solving approaches. Inviting neurodivergent employees to work on tricky challenges will be rewarded with incredibly novel solutions, as well as loyalty.
Hyper productivity
When we work in sensory-friendly environments and have the autonomy to work in our own way, burnout will reduce, the hyperfocus will kick in, and we’ll become super-producers.
AuDHD Joy takes a neuropositive approach
Run by Heledd (Hel) Straker, AuDHD Joy is founded on the idea that when neurodivergent people are connected to what gives us joy, we - and those around us - thrive.
Hel is an AuDHDer with a 15+ year career in HR and a background in occupational psychology.
This uniquely places her to help autistic, ADHD and AuDHD individuals and their employers find credible yet creative solutions that tap into and harness neurodivergent joy and potential.
Are you ready to embark on your AuDHD Joy journey?
Neurodivergent professionals
We deserve happiness and success because of who we are, not despite who we are. Experience more AuDHD Joy today with neuroaffirming coaching and mentoring.
Employers
Neurodiversity can be a competitive advantage, not a risk to be managed. Harness neurodivergent potential today with neuroinclusion coaching and consulting.
FAQs
-
AuDHD is a portmanteau of autism and ADHD. It is currently estimated that up to 70% of autistics are also ADHD, while around 20-50% of ADHDers are also autistic.
AuDHD is often described as a ‘conflict’ of autism and ADHD. We seek novelty AND predictability; we are social AND solitary; we target AND miss detail. But we are no more walking contradictions than anyone else. It’s just there isn’t currently enough research into AuDHD as a cohesive neurotype.
-
AuDHD Joy comes from the well-known term “autistic joy”, which refers to the intense happiness that autistic people feel when engaged with what brings them joy.
In this case, ‘AuDHD Joy’ refers to the needs and strengths of each neurodivergent individual that my coaching and consulting approach seeks to unpick. Because when we’re connected to what brings us joy, everyone wins.
-
Coaching is a powerful didactic method, where the coach uses powerful questions and provides critical tools to empower the coachee improve their self-understanding and achieve their goals.
Neuroaffirming coaching specifically starts from the perspective of the neurodivergent coachee. The questioning, tools and support are designed to enable the neurodivergent individual to flourish as their authentic themselves, rather than be forced into a neurotypical mould.
-
After 15+ years in the HR strategy consulting world, I came to the conclusion that the most effective way to bring out the best in (neuro)diverse talent is not a hefty transformation progarmme, but a series of small tweaks, the effects of accumulate over time.
AuDHD Joy’s neuroinclusive approach is to understand the relationship dynamics between neurodivergent employees, their managers, teams, HR (and others), and identify small, unintrusive, cognitively easy ways to create healthy relationships and high performance.
-
Neurodiversity - the natural variation in information processing styles that occurs in all humans. We are all neurodiverse.
Neurodivergence - those whose brains are wired differently from the socially accepted norm and are often marginalised because of it.
Neuronormativity - societal structures that have been built with neurotypical people in mind, resulting in the exclusion and disablement of neurodivergent people.
Reasonable adjustments - a legal term in The Equality Act (2010) that refers to accommodations that an employer is legally obliged to make for employees who are disabled.
The Equality Act (2010) - a UK employment law that protects disabled people from discrimination. Neurodivergent people count as disabled and you don’t have to be diagnosed to be protected.