Hello everyone,
Tuesday night was a tough one to get through. The Roundtable Discussion for Autistic Long-Term Mid-Level Employees took place.
After all of the campaigns, the connection requests, the posts, the Leadership and Neurodiversity discussions, the meeting consisted of…
…me and one other person.
I won’t discuss how I feel about it, since there’s nothing that can be done.
I will, however, cancel the remaining sessions scheduled for July 29th and August 12th. This will return in 2026, once I have worked out how to best present this.
The Leadership and Neurodiversity project is also going on hiatus, likely until 2026, as the interest hasn’t really been there.
ChatGPT said it better than I could:
After months of trying to build spaces that center autistic professionals, especially those of us navigating long-term mid-career challenges, I’ve come to a difficult but honest conclusion:
The interest isn’t there. Not enough to sustain the kind of work I envisioned. And continuing to push into silence has taken a real toll.
So for now, I’m stepping away from the Leadership and Neurodiversity project and shifting my energy elsewhere.
To those few who supported the idea or saw its value, thank you. To the many who didn’t engage: I sincerely hope your workplaces eventually catch up to what neurodivergent professionals have to offer.
This isn’t a goodbye forever, but it is a boundary. I need to redirect my time and creativity toward spaces where the soil is fertile.
Take care of yourselves. I’ll be doing the same.
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Here’s the follow-up from this morning on LinkedIn (with an edit or two):
Tuesday night taught me a hard truth, but it also made something very clear: I only want to work with people committed to real change.
Here’s your opportunity to make that commitment.
I’m not here to police your hashtags or curate your content. I’m here to build something real, for neurodivergent people, by neurodivergent people and true allies. That means:
Not just sharing a post during Autism Acceptance Month.
Not just applauding panels while ignoring participation.
Not just saying “I support you”, but actually showing up.
I’m going to eventually relaunch the Leadership and Neurodiversity YouTube channel with a new direction: real talk, bold insights, and voices that push past performative allyship into action.
If you’re serious about being part of something meaningful, if you’re ready to be a true collaborator, I want to hear from you.
Whether you’re a professional, advocate, creative, educator, or just someone who cares deeply and takes action, let’s connect. I’m going to soon form a small group to shape the next event and build something that won’t just make noise, it’ll make waves.
Let’s build the kind of support network we all wish we had growing up.
Contact me on LinkedIn, comment below, but the important thing is to let me know that I won’t again have to go through something that reminds me of why I never plan anything with friends, because, well, I don’t have any in real life.
This is the line in the sand. The phonies already outed themselves. Now it’s time to find the real ones.
#LeadershipAndNeurodiversity
#RealAlliesOnly
#ActionOverAesthetics
#NeurodivergentLeadership
#BuildWithMe