Session: What If the Quietest Person is the Smartest in the Room?
You don’t have to be autistic or ADHD to build great software—but many of us are. Tech runs on pattern recognition, deep focus, and systems thinking—traits common among neurodivergent minds. Yet the systems we work in—hiring, evaluation, collaboration—aren’t designed for us. They reward performance, not impact. Noise, not clarity.
I’m a late-diagnosed autistic/ADHD engineer with over two decades in tech. For some of that time, I thought I was the problem. Then I realized: I wasn’t broken. The system was just built without people like me in mind.
In this talk, I’ll share a new way to see neurodiversity—not as an HR category, but as a signal that our systems need redesigning. You’ll hear how team defaults (like meetings, communication styles, and performance metrics) often create invisible barriers, and how small changes can unlock big value—not just for neurodivergent people, but for everyone.
This is a talk about leveraging everyone’s strengths through robust systems. It’s about how neurodivergent needs reveal the hidden inefficiencies—and the opportunities to grow together. And it’s about how the future of tech depends on designing teams where people don’t just survive—they thrive.
This session will be recorded
