The Divergence Department

Ever notice how one offhand comment from a boss or an unexpected full stop in a message from a friend can spiral into hours of replaying? That reaction has a name: Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, an intense emotional response to perceived criticism that shows up especially often, though not exclusively, for neurodivergent people. In this episode, Luisa and Kerri dig into what RSD actually is and wh...

The other week we got into childhood memory: how we form it, what we hold onto, and what we're genuinely not sure about. This week, we're following the thread into adulthood. If you never had the chance to just be yourself, to practice knowing what you need, how do you ask for it in a workplace? And what happens when organisations are built on the assumption that people will speak up, when...

Kerri and Luisa dig into how ADHD and autism shape the way we form, store, and retrieve memories and why some of us remember the exact texture of a carpet from 1994 but not what we had for breakfast, why so many childhood memories arrive as feelings or sensations rather than scenes, and what it means to look back at your childhood and suddenly understand it differently. They get into the way maski...

In this episode, Luisa and Kerri make a very compelling case for bringing more joy, play, and shameless enthusiasm into your everyday life. Yes, even at work. Turns out, adulting doesn't have to mean becoming terminally serious. They dive into why embracing your inner child (the curious, giggly, easily-distracted-by-dandelions one) can actually make you more creative, more empathetic, and way...

This week we sat down with the best of intentions: recommend a book each. Simple, right? Reader, it was not simple. Picking just one book turned out to be its own whole thing, and what followed was less a polished recommendation list and more a live, unfiltered demonstration of what it's actually like inside our brains when faced with too many options and not enough certainty. We spiralled, we...

Is professionalism actually about doing great work or just playing the part? In this episode, Luisa and Kerri get into the messy reality behind workplace “norms,” from dress codes and hierarchy to the subtle pressure to mask who you really are. They unpack where these ideas came from, who they benefit, and why they might be holding us back especially when it comes to neurodiversity. If the future...

We all adjust who we are depending on the situation… but when does that stop being social awareness and start becoming something else? In this episode, we take a deep dive into neurodivergent masking — what it is, why we do it and what it actually costs. Using recent comments from Uta Frith as a starting point, we unpack how masking has been (mis)understood in autism research, how it can act as a...

We read the Neurodiversity Index Report 2026 so you don’t have to… but also, we think you really probably should! In this episode, we dig into the UK’s latest Neurodiversity Index — a report designed to measure how neurodivergent people are actually experiencing work, and how organisations are showing up when it comes to inclusion. It looks at everything from awareness and workplace practices to t...

In this episode, Luisa and Kerri unpack the reality of navigating parties, networking and connection as neurodivergent people. From surprise plans to post-COVID shifts and the pressure to “show up” a certain way. We explore creative, low-pressure ways to gather (yes, including PowerPoint and pizza parties ), how to make networking actually human, and why shared purpose matters more than small talk...

What if you weren’t “bad at school”… school was just bad at you? In this episode, we’re joined by our intern Charlotte to gently interrogate the systems we were told just needed a bit more effort. From classrooms to boardrooms, we explore what actually makes learning and working hard for neurodivergent people and why it’s rarely about intelligence, motivation or “trying harder.” We chat teacher-st...

Think autistic people lack empathy ? Spoiler: that’s a myth, one baked into decades of research. In this episode, Luisa and Kerri dig into the science (and the research that got it wrong), unpacking how early studies misread social differences as deficits. Enter the Double Empathy Problem: a game-changing idea showing that communication isn’t one-sided. Misunderstanding happens both ways and recog...

Join Kerri and Luisa on their escapades through Berlin, where finally meeting in person turns into a delightful mix of laughs and unexpected discoveries. Along the way, they dive into the accidentally neuroinclusive moments and the art of clear communication — all while sharing stories, insights, and some exciting updates straight from the city that inspired it all. Whether you’re neurodivergent,...

In this episode, Luisa and Kerri pull apart the stories we’ve been told about productivity and ask who they really serve. Through a neurodivergent lens, they explore how work becomes tied to identity, why invisible labour goes unnoticed, and how the pressure to perform can slowly lead to burnout — even when we’re “doing everything right.” This episode is an invitation to loosen your grip on produc...

Who decides the pace we’re all expected to live by — and what happens when yours doesn’t fit? In this episode, Luisa and Kerri explore pacing through a neurodivergent lens, unpacking the unspoken norms that shape how we work, rest, celebrate and show up in everyday life. From Christmas routines and New Year expectations to workplace assumptions and energy limits, they question why one pace is trea...

In this episode of The Divergence Department, Kerri and Luisa take a wander through the hobby graveyard, you know those once-beloved interests we picked up, poured ourselves into, and quietly let go of. We chat about how hobbies connect to neurodivergence and identity, why capitalism keeps whispering “you should monetize that” , and who even gets to decide what counts as a hobby anyway. Along the...

In our very first episode, we - Luisa (ADHD) and Kerri (Autistic)- pull back the curtain on who we are, how we met and why we created The Divergence Department . We share the stories of how each of us discovered we were neurodivergent, what those realisations meant for our lives and how they shaped our journey into becoming neuroinclusion consultants. From misunderstandings and missed signs to “ah...