For 25 years, Leah worked in the charity sector and became a CEO. From the outside, she looked successful. Inside, she was convinced she was lazy, messy and weird. At 37, she discovered the truth. She wasn't any of those things. She was Autistic, ADHD and Dyspraxic. In this first episode, Leah shares her journey from internalising harmful labels to understanding how her brain actually works.

Episode Length: 20 minutes

In This Episode:

Opening: The Labels I Carried Twenty-five years in the charity sector. CEO by the outside view. But internally convinced of being lazy, messy and weird. The moment at 37 when everything changed.

Introduction: Welcome to Lazy, Messy, Weird What thispodcast is about and who it's for. If you're wondering whether you're neurodivergent or have just been diagnosed, this is your space to stop trying to be neurotypical.

Origins: My School Reports The earliest evidence. Teacher comments year after year documenting the same struggles. Where those three labels actually came from.

Lazy: What I Now Know is ADHD "Not motivated todo her best." "You CAN do better." Years of being told to tryharder. Working chapters ahead in one subject while failing to hand in assignments in others. The pattern nobody questioned. Why having an ADHD brain means task completion works completely differently.

Messy: What I Now Know is Dyspraxia Untidy handwriting. Poor coordination. Sitting out of PE afraid of getting hurt. Still bumping into things and spilling drinks today. The difference now is knowing it has a name.

Weird: What I Now Know is Autism Difficulties relating to peers. Sitting alone. Being called bossy. Loving books and rules. Emotional outbursts over "small and inconsequential things." The sensitive child who didn't fit in.

The Impact: Imposter Syndrome and Burnout Depression, anxiety, eating disorders in teenage years. Becoming a highly masking workaholic. Performance reviews echoing the same themes. Emotional intelligence training. Two burnouts. The exhaustion of constantly getting it wrong.

The Discovery: Piecing It Together Social mediaalgorithms putting the right content in front of me. Googling "how do I know if I'm ADHD?" Months later realising I'm Autistic too. This year discovering Dyspraxia. Nearly four decades of feeling weird doesn't disappear instantly, but understanding changes everything.

Reflection: If This Resonates With You You don't needit all figured out. You don't need a diagnosis. You don't even need to be sure. If something about this story sounds familiar, that's enough. That's where I started too.

Closing: What's Next Coming up in the next episode:Am I Neurodivergent? We'll explore what different neurotypes actually look like and how to figure out if this is you.

Key Takeaways:

• Labels like lazy, messy and weird often hide undiagnosed neurodivergence, particularly in women and girls
• High achievement and success don't mean you can't be neurodivergent. Many neurodivergent people become workaholics and perfectionists to compensate
• School reports often document neurodivergent traits years before diagnosis, but frame them as behavioural or motivational problems
• Understanding your neurodivergence isn't about fixing what's broken. It's about learning how your brain actually works
• Recognition is the first step. You don't need a formal diagnosis to start exploring whether you're neurodivergent

Resources:

• Sign up to get show notes: https://subscribepage.io/jk30pY
• Book a free intro call to get support: https://calendly.com/leahmilnercampbell/30min
• More info and resources: https://leahmilnercampbell.co.uk

About the Host:

Leah Milner-Campbell is a former charity CEO and neuroinclusion specialist. She's Autistic, ADHD, Dyscalculic and Dyspraxic, and works with purpose-driven organisations to understand and support neurodivergent leaders and staff, so they can build workplace cultures where everyone thrives.