Theo failed at school, was diagnosed with Dyslexia at 21 and ADHD at 38.
When he met his wife at 22 his spelling was terrible. His vocabulary was limited & lacked structure and focus. He couldn’t write properly with a pen, as he holds it awkwardly & writes very slowly. He had limited options available to him.
He’s come a long way, having convinced a woman to marry him, who is academically brilliant, an outstanding student both at GCSE, A Level & then during the several degrees and Masters qualifications she aced, is probably still his greatest achievement to date!
He has many cognitive skills, but has a spiky profile, that means he excelle’s in very specific areas, but massively struggles in other areas, meaning in certain circumstances he can look incompetent in some basic skills areas. Having gone to an all speaking Welsh school, coming from an English speaking household, with the additional challenges of at the time being undiagnosed dyslexic & ADHD, also added to the challenges he faced completing education and getting a job and keeping it.
So to have two wonderful children, an academically brilliant wife (his counterbalance), a degree from Manchester Uni, an awesome job at Zinc Work, to have led Recruitment at the National Institute for health and Care Excellence & to be publishing a book on #Neurodiversity with the amazing Prof Amanda Kirby is clearly proof that indeed anything is possible.
Theo and Amanda have managed to capture the story of the incredible work that global organisations are doing with insights from Microsoft, IBM, Autotrader and the BBC. He has also had a special interview with Leading Welsh Drum and Bass artist High Contrast on how his synaesthesia helps him create incredible sounds.
Neurodiversity is one of the hottest business topics of 2021 and he with Amanda are transforming the way companies think about those who are Autistic, Dyslexic, ADHD…
His so called deficit & disorder sometimes has been a barrier to entry. He can’t say it’s always been easy, suffering from abusing drugs and drink along the way through his youth, to have become a leading recruitment and neurodiversity business expert, author and podcast host.
This is proof that really anything is possible, and you should never give up on your dreams! Also a clear demonstration of why we need more neurodiverse minds in our organisations.
