On this month’s edition of Starfish Sessions, Tim Farr sits down with Alison Brown, External Affairs expert and proud advocate for neurodiversity.

Please do introduce yourself: who you are, with a brief summary of your career?

I’m Alison Brown, and I’m Director of Communities and External Engagement at the Open University. This is the third university I’ve worked in, and before that I spent 10 years working in central government.

Can you tell us a bit more about the work you’re doing currently?

I see my role as helping the OU to be more externally facing. I really enjoy the variety of working across different functions, and building bridges across boundaries to collaborate with internal and external partners. This has been the best role of my career: the OU’s powerful social mission is very energising, and I enjoy spotting synergies across our complex stakeholder landscape.

What strengths do you bring to your work?

I have lots of partnerships expertise but I’m not a specialist. I think this is linked to me being neurodivergent: I don’t like specialising, I prefer variety, drawing on the best of comms, external affairs, policy, and income generation. I create coherence across multiple functions, which helps when navigating complexity. External partners appreciate when I can explain the whole organisational offer.

But that approach can make it tough for me to search for a job. Vacancies often focus on one specialism, but I don’t fit neatly into a little box. It’s such a missed opportunity when teams work in silos.

I noticed you’ve split your time between permanent and non-executive work, is this a challenge to balance?

Another example of me finding ways to stretch myself. I was careful to choose roles that don’t require a huge time commitment. Whereas some people might find these different roles a distraction, I actually perform better at the OU because I am building my network, learning about myself, and capturing ideas that I can apply in my day job. I love spotting connections and bringing wider learning from my non-executive roles back to the OU.

You state publicly on your LinkedIn profile that you proudly neurodivergent and an advocate for neurodiversity. Can you tell us a bit more about your own neurodiversity?

I was diagnosed with ADHD about 3 years ago – up until that point I had no idea. I remember going to a presentation about neurodiversity with a previous employer and came out none the wiser. The presentation focused on the medical definitions, but I had learned how to fit into a neurotypical world in my life so I couldn’t recognise any of it.

There were plenty of hurdles to overcome to reach the point of diagnosis. Having made that progress, it drove me to start sharing my experience and talking about my neurodivergent experience: explaining how it feels, the things that can’t be defined or measured so aren’t covered in the diagnostic process.

I’m very careful about the wording I use on my LinkedIn profile. I like the word “neurodivergent”: it’s intentionally broad. Adding this to my profile starts conversations without people making assumptions about me. If I described myself with the label “ADHD”, many people will jump to conclusions based on what they know about ADHD, whereas actually they don’t know about my ADHD.

For example, I often find it difficult to follow social interactions, and I really struggle with sensory overload. Both of these are more commonly linked to autism. Pre-diagnosis, I assumed I was socially inept – I felt like the outsider. I had no idea I was experiencing sensory overload until I investigated it, yet with hindsight, I remember sitting on a train with headphones on without any music – I was trying desperately to block out sounds. In so many aspects of my life, I was just functioning, burying emotions to keep going. Apparently successful on the outside, yet inside, feeling isolated and confused.

How long have you been consciously aware of your neurodiversity?

I had no idea before I was formally diagnosed. I remember searching online “reading disability not dyslexia.” I struggled to absorb information while reading, I could read the words so I knew it wasn’t dyslexia, but I couldn’t absorb and combine the meaning. That was the only clue I had. Everything else I noticed pre-diagnosis, you could sum up as a character flaw – missing trains, interrupting people, losing control of my inbox, leaving deadlines until the last minute. Undiagnosed ADHD can trigger a huge amount of shame because it looks as though you’re just not trying hard enough.

Do you think neurodiversity has had an impact on your career, and if so, in what way?

You could say I have an ADHD CV – I changed jobs every year, in fact my current role is the longest role I’ve ever had. I’ve always looked for a new challenge, but some hiring managers are sceptical of so much change. Getting a diagnosis means I can understand my brain, which makes it possible to stretch myself in new ways without changing role so frequently.

I’ve had jobs that have played to my strengths and others that haven’t. It’s not just the jobs themselves – the culture of the organisation and line management are both massively important. The more I know about myself, the more I can make an informed decision when choosing a job to put myself in the best position to succeed.

There are many ways employers can be neuro-inclusive – these things often benefit everyone. For example, easy to navigate website and application form, a clear corporate message and plan, succinct job descriptions, precise application instructions. Neurodivergent candidates will struggle more if those things aren’t in place.

What impact, positive or negative, has being an open and proud advocate for neurodiversity had?

There’s an element of self-interest in my decision to be open about this, my neurodiversity is still new to me so talking about it helps me process this new part of my identity.

Neurodiversity is invisible unless we talk about it. I flag barriers I’ve faced and how I get over them in the hope that others will find it easier next time. I’ve found colleagues approach me and share similar experiences about themselves and relatives.

Charities like Genius Within and Neurodiversity in Business and are making huge strides. There’s still a lot of misunderstanding and myths about neurodiversity and I’d encourage everyone to visit these websites to learn how they support themselves and others.

As a recruitment organisation, I’d be particularly interested to hear about your experience during interview and wider employment processes, both good and bad. Have you had any difficulties during these processes? Or positive experiences you’d like to share?

The bad – ignoring requests for reasonable adjustments, the email is left unanswered, and giving very short notice for interviews.

The middle – providing questions in advance when requested, but asking them in a different order or going off on unstructured tangents.

The good – prompting candidates throughout the process to request reasonable adjustments. Being responsive and understanding.

Sharing photos of the interview panel before the interview. Scheduling breaks if there are several assessment stages in one day, to reduce overwhelm. Offering flexibility on the format if a presentation is involved: instead of insisting on slides, ask instead “how would you prefer to share your views on this topic we’ll be discussing?” I’ve always felt the interview process needs to be reimagined. Interview panels are memory tests, you need examples prepared, the ability to recall those examples succinctly and adjust depending on how many examples are required. How many jobs actually require a strong memory?

If you look at standard interview tips, it’s common to insist on maintaining eye contact, yet I do my best thinking looking off into the distance. There are so many logistical and sensory challenges for me attending an interview in person – these are not the best conditions in which I can thrive.

If an employer has a rigid or vague interview structure, as a candidate I know I won’t feel psychologically safe in your culture and I won’t be able to demonstrate my strengths.

What has been your experience of workplace support and adjustments, and do you think current systems do enough to support neurodiverse people?

No, I don’t think there is enough support for neurodivergent employees currently. There are definitely pockets of good practice, but by and large organisations aren’t doing enough to educate their staff about neurodiversity, particularly line managers who must play such an important role.

I really encourage line managers to listen, invest time in learning and listening to the needs of employees. Line managers can help colleagues navigate systems, because requesting support can feel emotionally vulnerable and draining.

Access to Work government grants have been valuable in funding workplace adjustments and coaching to help me perform at work (although I hope approvals will be processed more quickly in future).

What’s been the proudest moment of your career? 

Landing on my feet at the OU and succeeding while adjusting to discovering my neurodivergent identity.

What advice would you give to your younger self with the knowledge you have now?

When people are late diagnosed, it usually prompts some feelings of regret or sadness. You think back to previous situations where you were struggling and you didn’t understand – finally you know why. I prefer to look forward, I wouldn’t want to change the past, but it can feel very emotional, empathising with my younger self.

What’s my advice? If there’s something that doesn’t make sense or you’re struggling with, investigate further. Talk to other people, listen to experiences and see if you can find something that resonates. Anything that can help you understand your experience better will make it easier for you to flourish and put yourself in settings that play to your strengths.