The conversation has moved forward, but not far enough. Reflections from hosting The Neurodiversity Conference.

Panel discussion during the Neurodiversity Conference. Left to right: Hannah Linehan, James Boylan, Jeanette Delahunty and Alex Partridge.

I’m a neurodiversity strategist and neuroscience backed coach, working at a unique intersection: coaching neurodivergent professionals to perform at their best while supporting and advising organisations on adopting neuroinclusive practices. I’ve seen that when workplace design aligns with how people function best, it doesn’t just support them, it creates a real competitive advantage.

That’s why I enjoyed being MC at a recent Neurodiversity Conference: The Future of Work, in Dublin. It gives you a unique vantage point, not just guiding the day but connecting every speaker and spotting the patterns that emerge across the room. You notice what repeats, what jars, what people feel confident saying publicly, and what’s present in the room but remains only partially articulated.

What stayed with me most was not a single talk or moment, but a pattern.

The room, the people, and the conversation

Before going further, it’s worth acknowledging the quality of the space that was created.

It was a room shaped by thoughtful, generous, and deeply engaged people, from the speakers and panellists to an audience that didn’t just listen, but actively contributed to the depth of the conversation throughout the day.

There was a level of openness and nuance in the discussions that you don’t always see. A willingness to explore complexity, to challenge thinking, and to move beyond surface-level narratives.

A particular highlight was the keynote from Alex Partridge. A deeply personal, beautifully delivered talk, and a powerful reminder of both the lived experience and the broader potential of a neurodivergent mind that thinks a little differently.

And behind it all, the conference itself was expertly brought together by Jeanette Delahunty from TSK Academy. I’m very grateful to Jeanette for trusting me to MC and guide her conference.

Neurodiversity Conference: The Future of Work. Dublin.

It’s not all good news

What became increasingly clear over the course of the day was this:

The conversation around neurodiversity has moved forward, but not far enough.

There is more awareness, more openness, and more willingness to engage than there was even a few years ago. But from where I was standing, it was equally clear that we’ve a long way to go. Much of the conversation about neuroinclusion is still happening among people who are already open to it, already curious, already in some sense engaged. The bigger challenge is how we reach the organisations, leaders and decision makers who still don’t fully see its relevance to performance, innovation, and commercial results.

It’s a workforce reality, not a niche topic

Part of the problem is that neurodiversity is still too often treated as an outlier issue that only impacts a small number of people, when in reality it’s anything but. Conservative estimates suggest that around 1 in 5 people are neurodivergent, making this a significant proportion of any workforce (Nancy Doyle, 2020). So it’s not a niche issue, it’s a business reality hiding in plain sight.

And yet, despite that scale, neuroinclusion is still often treated as peripheral. Something adjacent to the business rather than embedded within how the business actually works.

That’s where organisations begin to miss both the point and the opportunity.

Where organisations are still getting stuck

In many organisations, neurodiversity is still framed too narrowly.

At worst, it’s seen as a problem to be managed.

At best, it’s approached as something to support through awareness, accommodations, and inclusion initiatives. Those things matter, and I would never argue otherwise. But if the conversation stays there, neuroinclusion remains in the territory of “ethics”, intent and nice to have, rather than moving into the territory of strategy and value creation.

That’s the deeper shift I think many organisations still haven’t made.

The real question isn’t simply whether an organisation is prepared to support neurodivergent people. It’s whether it understands what becomes possible when different kinds of thinkers have their brilliance unlocked.

Why it matters to go beyond “doing the right thing”

This is the part that needs to be said more clearly.

Organisations should harness neuroinclusion because it’s a massive strategic advantage. Deloitte’s research shows cognitively diverse teams solve problems three times faster. Inclusive organizations are 75% more likely to see ideas become products and 87% more likely to make better decisions. It notes that cognitive diversity can help organisations generate new ideas, challenge groupthink, and solve problems faster.

JPMorgan Chase has reported that, in parts of its Autism at Work programme, autistic employees in certain technical roles were completing work 48% faster than colleagues, with strong gains in quality and accuracy also reported in practitioner accounts around the programme. Deloitte likewise points to evidence that teams with neurodivergent professionals in some roles can be up to 30% more productive.

What is important here is not the temptation to turn those figures into mythology. It’s to understand what they suggest. The gains don’t come from tokenism, and they don’t come from simply hiring neurodivergent people and hoping for the best. They come when organisations make better matches between people and roles, reduce unnecessary barriers, and create environments in which people can work in ways that actually allow them to perform. This applies to neurodivergent and neurotypical people. Everyone!

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs 2025 report makes a staggering admission: the most critical skills for the next decade aren't just technical, they're deeply human. Top of the list are analytical thinking, creative thinking, and resilience. These aren't just buzzwords; they’re the exact cognitive signatures of a neurodivergent workforce. When organisations ignore neuroinclusion, they aren't just failing at "diversity", they’re actively filtering out the very complex problem-solving and systems thinking capabilities the WEF identifies as the new currency of the global economy.

So, the case for neuroinclusion is not merely moral, a ‘nice to have’, though it is certainly that. It’s also practical, strategic, and commercial.

The biggest misconception about Neuroinclusion

There’s a misconception that neuroinclusion is costly.

The evidence tells a different story: neuroinclusion isn't a drain on resources; it’s a high-yield investment. Data from the Job Accommodation Network reveals that 61% of workplace adjustments cost absolutely nothing. When there is a price tag, the median is a mere $300.

Employers don't just report these changes as "affordable", they describe them as highly effective drivers of retention, productivity, and morale. By slashing turnover and training costs, these minor adjustments deliver a massive ROI. The barrier to an inclusive workplace isn't the budget; it's the misperception of the cost.

Hannah Linehan, MC, The Neurodiversity Conference, Dublin.

This reinforces a pattern I’ve seen for years: the real hurdle isn’t budget, it’s leadership thinking. The barrier isn’t money, it’s mindset. It’s the difference between seeing a cost to manage and a capability to unlock.

We need to be willing to say, much more plainly, that neuroinclusion isn’t only the right thing to do. It’s also a source of competitive advantage.

It matters because it expands the range of thinking in the room. It matters because it helps organisations design roles, meetings, systems, and cultures that allow more people to do their best work. It matters because when you remove friction for people whose brains don’t fit the default, you often end up creating better clarity, better communication, and better performance for everyone.

That’s why this should never be dismissed as a ‘nice-to-have’.

The "Wrong Question" vs. The Right Direction

One of the most telling moments at the conference came when a leader admitted they were simply afraid of asking the wrong question. This was echoed throughout the day from various conversations about the fear of “getting it wrong”. This regularly comes up with client organizations I work with.

That fear is real, but it’s also what keeps organizations stuck in "awareness" rather than moving toward integration. We have to move past the paralysis of perfection. Yes, it won’t be perfect, we’ll make mistakes as we evolve outdated ways of working, but those mistakes are part of progress.

The next phase isn't a side initiative, it’s operational excellence. When we stop seeing neuroinclusion as a "support" issue and start seeing it as a driver of innovation, we will start designing the workplaces for everyone.

From the panels discussions I moderated, the conference speakers and the attendees I had an opportunity to chat to throughout the day, I left the conference optimistic. The conversation is progressing, but we need to raise our ambition. We shouldn’t let the fear of saying the wrong thing stop us from doing the right thing. If we trade that fear for curiosity and a commitment to equity, we don't just build a kinder workplace, we build a more powerful one.

Photography credit: Sanda Semeika / sandsphotography, TSK Academy & Neurodiversity Conferences Ireland.