I can see a better way: A world where people with neurodiversity are revered, celebrated, needed.
Why? Because instead of forcing everyone into systems designed to train people for factory lines, we build tools so machines and computers can do machine and computer stuff - and humans can do human things.
Create. Innovate. Inspire. Imperfections over mass-produced. Connection and community.
That's the world we're building. And I need 1,000 voices to show me exactly where the current systems break - so we can build better ones.
About the project
We recently finished an Innovation UK project researching neurodivergent and dyslexic founders. The findings wouldn't surprise you - but that didn't stop the effect they had on me.
I mean, I've struggled myself, but I'm done letting my children - or even worse, other kids who don't have someone like me to advocate for them - continue in this upside-down world.
What we're looking for
I want to use our voice technology to chat with 1,000 people with neurodiversity.
I need to find the moment you came off the path, at any point, that interrupted the course to your best life. What preceded that moment? And what could we put in place so that doesn't happen to others?
And because accessibility matters, this information is gathered using our voice technology, so you can just chat, ask questions, no typing or reading required.
Why Voice Technology?
I deeply believe AI has the power to change everything for neurodivergent people. Think about it: AI can handle all the things that drain us - the forms, the admin, the executive function overload, the social performance, the keeping track of everything. All of it.
And when AI takes care of those barriers, what's left? Human brilliance. Creativity. Innovation. Seeing the outliers - the patterns and connections no one else spots. The things neurodivergent brains excel at.
That's the world I'm building toward. Where neurodivergent people can focus on what we're actually good at, instead of drowning in systems designed for different brains.
My husband Simon and I bootstrapped an AI platform that some say (thanks Mum!) is better than the global competitors - without investors, without shareholders. That means we get to choose what we build and who we help.
In addition to the voice technology, we're also working with job centres and schools this year to prove our theories - that with the right methods and AI, we can actually remove the barriers that keep neurodivergent people out of education and industry.
Working with
We were so lucky to work with Joyfully Different on our Innovate UK project. If you don't know them already, they're on a mission to create systems, spaces and businesses that welcome and work for all brains - because when you design for the neurominority, you make things better for everyone.
They're more than a consultancy and community - they're a movement for neuroinclusion and neuroaffirmation. They help neurodivergent people build lives, businesses and careers that feel sustainable, joyful and fully their own, without masking, burning out or shrinking who they are.
They were instrumental in helping us make our tools more accessible. When we realised we needed more data, they were happy to share this 1000 ND project with their community and even offered one randomly selected participant:
-
1 year Joyfully Different membership
-
60-minute 1:1 with a neurodivergent business coach
-
1 year Inkie subscription
Details will be emailed after data collection is complete.
How This Works (And Why It Matters)
This has taken me some time to get my head around, so let me explain where I've got to.
First, there's your personal details (your email), and then there's the stuff around your experience - what you share in the conversation.
We need to separate those two things.
Your email stays with us so we can contact you about findings, the project and what we are going to do next. But your actual answers? Those get anonymised and used in the study.
Here's the important bit: You have 2 weeks to change your mind or update anything. After that, we can't take your specific answers out of the study - because we won't know which ones are yours anymore.
We'd also like the option to use this data in academic studies. That means we need to ask for proper consent - the kind that meets research standards. So the first couple of questions in the conversation are about explaining all this and making sure you understand.
Because as far as we know, studies haven't been conducted like this before. This is unprecedented territory and may well change in the future.
But also - it should, right?
I mean, why are not all forms accessible now we have AI and voice features? How crazy is it we ask people to fill out long questionnaires for ADHD assessments?!
This is what accessible research looks like.
P.S. If you're a researcher or work at a university and think this methodology
is interesting, get in touch. We'd love to partner on making this academically
robust.
