Diagnosed & Dumped — with Beth Thomas (ADHD/ND Life Coach, Neurodivergent by Design)

This week, Jay sits down with Beth Thomas — ADHD & neurodivergent life coach, neuroinclusion trainer, and founder of Neurodivergent by Design — to talk honestly about being “diagnosed & dumped,” why so many adults still feel stuck after assessment, and what good support actually looks like at work and at home.

Beth shares her late-diagnosis journey, the pressure of growing up “gifted,” and how reframing perfectionism, people-pleasing, and RSD can unlock real change. We dig into Access to Work (what’s great, what’s broken), common mistakes companies make, and simple, low-cost adjustments that create safer, more productive teams. Beth also walks through her 1:1 coaching ethos (no coaching someone to cope in an unfit environment) and her self-paced course, Neurodivergent by Design: From Exhausted to Empowered.

• “Diagnosed & dumped” why assessments often end with no real aftercare

• Access to Work: backlogs, decisions, and what to do next

• Workplace myths: “standardised fixes” and “it’ll be expensive”

• Practical wins: boundaries, energy management, assertive comms

• Beth’s theme tune: “Leave a Light On” (Tom Walker, acoustic)

• A listener offer for Beth’s course (see below)

• Website (free call + all socials): https://www.beth-thomas.co.uk/ Beth Thomas

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-thomas-0a6800244/ LinkedIn

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unboundmindcoaching/ Instagram

🎁 Listener Offer: Beth has kindly offered 25% off her Neurodivergent by Design self-study course. Code is TNM25

🎙 Thick No More – Season 2, Episode 1: From Performative to Practiced Inclusion — Fixing Workplace Neurodiversity

Welcome to Season 2 of Thick No More, the podcast that challenges old narratives about neurodiversity, inclusion, and what it really means to thrive at work. In this powerful opening episode, host Jay Giddens sits down with Trisha S. Daho, founder and CEO of Empowered Leadership & Culture (EmpoweredLC) an international people and culture strategist helping organisations move from performative to practiced inclusion.

Trisha built her career as a Partner at a Big Four accounting firm, leading diverse teams and driving measurable, lasting change. Today, she works with firms across the US, UK, and Europe to build cultures that grow people and performance, not just profits.

🔊 In this conversation:

• Why so few UK companies (under 1%) are Disability Confident and how ignorance, not malice, keeps progress stuck.

• What it really takes for leaders to build neuroinclusive workplaces that empower, not exclude.

• How self-awareness is the foundation of effective leadership and why most DEI programs fail without it.

• The small, simple actions that make a massive difference for employees who are “hiding” in plain sight.

• How inclusive hiring should start by asking: “What do we really need and why?” instead of filtering by CVs, psychometric tests, or outdated assumptions.

• The “magic wand” moment: what Trisha would have every CEO say tomorrow to transform trust across their teams.

• Why “you’re not going to struggle on my watch” might just be the most powerful leadership promise of all.

Trisha’s insights are deeply human, practical, and refreshingly direct. Her work strips away the corporate jargon and focuses on truth, courage, and creating real belonging where everyone can show up as their full selves.

💬 Key takeaway:
Inclusion isn’t a checkbox. It’s a covenant a mutual commitment between leaders and teams to meet people where they are, to listen, adapt, and make change that lasts.

✨ About Trisha S. Daho
Trisha is the Founder and CEO of Empowered Leadership & Culture, helping global firms evolve from traditional power structures to inclusive, high-performing environments. She has decades of experience leading cultural transformation and advising executives on inclusion strategy, leadership accountability, and sustainable change.

📧 Contact Trisha:
📩 Email: trisha@empoweredlc.com
🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/trishadaho
🌍 Website: www.empoweredlc.com

Even if you just want to bounce ideas or start a conversation about inclusive leadership, Trisha welcomes your message.

🎧 Host: Jay Giddens
Thick No More is a podcast for anyone who’s ever been labelled, misunderstood, or underestimated and for leaders ready to rethink what inclusion really looks like in practice.

🧠 Listen. Learn. Lead.
Because there are no labels and there are no limits.

🎵 Music Credit:
Intro music by Cris Lowis.

🎙️ Thick No More – Season 1 Finale with Katherine Perry

This week marks the end of Season 1 of Thick No More and it couldn’t be wrapped up by anyone more fitting than Katherine Perry. Katherine is a dynamic leader, strategist, and advocate whose personal story of growing up with dyslexia and dyscalculia has shaped a career dedicated to accessibility, inclusion, and challenging stigma.

She’s best known for her time as CEO of BATA (the British Assistive Technology Association), where she drove forward conversations about assistive technology, policy, and real-world change for learners and workers with diverse needs. But behind the leadership title is a deeply personal story of childhood struggles, red crosses on the page, messages of “not being good enough,” and the long journey from stigma to strength.

In this episode, Katherine and I go deep into:

✨ Early school years – the first moments she felt different in the classroom, the shame tied to red pens and marks, and how those experiences planted both coping strategies and scars.

✨ Diagnosis in the 90s – what it was like to be assessed for dyslexia and dyscalculia at a time when many teachers still denied these differences even existed, and how early interventions shaped her path.

✨ Home life and the word “thick” – the messages about intelligence and achievement she absorbed, the echoes of her father’s unrecognised dyslexia, and what she would gently say to parents today in similar situations.

✨ Breaking cycles of shame – we discuss the idea that “hurt people hurt people” and how unhealed experiences of dyslexic shame can ripple through generations unless we confront, heal, and reshape the narrative.

✨ Tools vs. culture – why assistive technology alone is never enough without cultural change in schools and workplaces. Katherine explains what it really takes to help people thrive: safety, kindness, and environments free from humiliation.

✨ Living with dyscalculia – often less understood than dyslexia, Katherine opens up about how it has affected her life and the strategies she’s developed to work around it.

✨ Redefining worth – why intelligence does not equal value, and what healthier measures of “success” could look like for both children and adults.

✨ Performance anxiety – the triggers Katherine has faced, how over-prepping can backfire, and what genuinely helps her when it’s time to step up and speak.

✨ A message to late or undiagnosed adults – for listeners still masking, copying, and quietly exhausted, Katherine offers one kind, practical step to take today.

And of course, we end with the question every guest answers: What does “Thick No More” mean to you? Katherine’s answer is powerful, challenging, and rooted in the belief that words like “thick” are not just outdated labels, but slurs that our community deserves to throw out once and for all.

This is not just a conversation about dyslexia or dyscalculia it’s about shame, resilience, community, and reclaiming identity. It’s about recognising that “worth ≠ grades,” and that no one should have to carry labels that diminish their potential.

As we close Season 1, I want to thank Katherine for her honesty, her courage, and her leadership. I also want to thank all of you the parents, educators, tech leaders, and countless listeners around the world who have joined this journey. Your messages, shares, and stories prove one thing: we are not alone.

Thick No More. No labels. No limits.

👉 Arenova.app launches mid-October on iOS & Android

Preregister at arenova.app before October 13th to enter the prize draw to win a mystery retro football shirt

(And if you’re posting on LinkedIn, it would be amazing if you could tag @arenova.app so people can find us easily )

Find Katherine Perry on Linkedin

👉 Follow Thick No More on your favourite podcast platform to get notified when Season 2 drops.