Leeds, England, United Kingdom
Most neurodiversity training doesn’t work. Organisations know it. Neurodivergent employees definitely know it. I know why, and I know what does. I’m Paula Jones, an autistic consultant and doctoral researcher specialising in neurodivergent professionals in leadership. I’ve been coaching since 2011, working with autistic professionals, particularly late-diagnosed women in executive and senior leadership, navigating systems, identities, and workplaces that were never designed with them in mind. My approach is neuroaffirming, direct, and grounded in both lived experience and over 13 years of specialist practice. I’m not a diversity generalist. This is my entire focus. I’m currently completing a Professional Doctorate in Coaching and Mentoring at Oxford Brookes University. My research uses narrative inquiry to explore how late-diagnosed autistic women in executive leadership construct their professional identity. Through this work I’ve developed two original coaching frameworks: MERGE and SACRED. I also hold an MSc in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology from UEL. What I bring to organisations is not theoretical diversity training. It’s the real, messy, practical knowledge that creates genuine change — masking, burnout, identity, communication differences, and the systemic barriers that push neurodivergent professionals out. I understand these because I’ve lived them, researched them, and coached through them for over a decade. I work with L&D teams, senior leadership, and EDI leads who want to move beyond compliance and actually get it right. You can also support my work at http://kofi.com/happinosis