Late Neurodivergent Diagnosis: Why the Real Work Starts After the Paperwork

For many adults, receiving a diagnosis of ADHD, autism, or AuDHD later in life brings an immediate sense of relief. Finally, there is an explanation. A name for the thing that has made life feel so much harder than it appeared to for everyone else.

But what happens next is the part that most people aren’t prepared for. Understanding what comes after a diagnosis is just as important as understanding the diagnosis itself, and a lot of employers don’t realise the part they need to play.

The diagnosis is not the destination

A late diagnosis is not where it all ends. It is, more accurately, a door opening onto a corridor full of questions. Who was I before I knew this? How much of what I did or did not achieve was genuinely me, and how much was the relentless effort of masking? What do I do with that now? If I’d known sooner, where would I be now?

These are not small questions. They can be destabilising in ways that are not always visible from the outside, unless you know what to look for. Many late-diagnosed adults describe a period of grief for the years spent not understanding why things were so difficult. That grief, although entirely valid, can be paralysing. The risk of it tipping into depression is real and documented.

At the same time, a diagnosis can open the door to something genuinely transformative: the opportunity to understand yourself properly, perhaps for the first time. To identify not just the challenges, but embrace the strengths. Because neurodivergent strengths are often the very things that have kept a person going through years of difficulty, and they are the foundation for approaching a new and potentially far more successful era in life.

More than a brain condition

What is less well understood, even within healthcare, is that ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions rarely travel alone. Dr James Kustow, a leading London-based Consultant Psychiatrist specialising in adult ADHD and author of “How to Thrive with Adult ADHD”, has developed a framework he calls the Somatic Super Syndrome, which describes the way ADHD frequently co-exists with a cluster of physical and mental health conditions that are often treated in isolation.

These can include sensory difficulties, anxiety, depression, disrupted sleep, chronic fatigue, IBS and other digestive issues, fibromyalgia, hypermobility, and addiction or substance use. Each of these conditions can affect a person’s ability to function, especially at work. Yet they are routinely missed or dismissed, because the connections between them and neurodivergence are not yet widely understood in mainstream care, let alone in the workplace.

For businesses, this matters more than anyone realises. An employee who has just received a late diagnosis may be navigating all of this at once, while still trying to show up, do their job, and quite possibly saying very little about any of it.

The numbers behind the human experience

Around 15 to 20 percent of the UK population is considered neurodivergent, approximately 13 million people. Autistic adults are more likely to be unemployed than any other disabled group, and neurodivergent adults broadly face unemployment rates running at 30 to 40 percent, three times higher than the rate for disabled people generally, and eight times higher than the rate for non-disabled people (Doyle, 2020). According to the Office for National Statistics, only 21.7 percent of autistic adults are in paid employment, the lowest rate of any disabled group.

These are not abstract figures. They represent real people with real skills, real potential, and real experiences of workplaces that did not know how to support them and could not benefit from their unique talents.

A 2024 Zurich UK study found that 63 percent of neurodivergent adults believe employers see their neurodivergence as a red flag rather than a strength. Of those who had experienced barriers during recruitment, nearly all said it had damaged their confidence (96%), their mental health (95%), and their earning capacity (92%).

What this means for businesses

It is easy to look at these numbers and see a problem that belongs to someone else. The NHS, perhaps, or schools, or individual families.

But neurodivergent employees are already in your workforce. Some know it. Many do not. Some will disclose. Most will not, at least not without a culture that makes it safe to do so.

The businesses that choose to understand this, that build environments where neurodivergent employees can be honest about what they need and supported in doing their best work, are doing something strategically sound. They are keeping capable people in their teams, reducing absence costs, cutting recruitment costs, and accessing a way of thinking that their competitors may be missing entirely.

A late diagnosis changes a person’s relationship with themselves. With the right support and understanding, it can also change their relationship with work, for the better. But that shift rarely happens in isolation. It happens when the people around them, including their employer, choose to understand what is actually going on rather than waiting until things go wrong.

The question for businesses is not whether neurodivergent employees are in your workforce. They are. The question is whether you understand the role you play in what happens next.

If this has raised questions about how your business currently supports neurodivergent employees, Diverse Perspectives Ltd offers a free Workplace Readiness Assessment for businesses in Kent and across the UK. Find out more at diverseperspectives.net

 References and citations:

• Office for National Statistics (2021). Employment of disabled people. ONS. Cited statistic: 21.7% of autistic adults in the UK are in paid employment, the lowest rate of any disabled group. Available at: ons.gov.uk
• Doyle, N. (2020). Neurodiversity at work: a biopsychosocial model and the impact on working adults. British Medical Bulletin, 135, 108-125. Cited statistic: unemployment among neurodivergent adults runs at 30-40%, three times the rate for disabled people and eight times the rate for non-disabled people. Available at: doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldaa021
• Kyte, M. (2024). Excluded from the job market: almost half forced to hide their neurodiversity. Zurich UK, November 2024. Survey of 1,000 neurodivergent UK adults. Available at: zurich.co.uk/media-centre/excluded-from-the-job-market-forced-to-hide-their-neurodiversity
• ICAEW / Neurodiversity in Business (2023). Neurodiversity: the power of thinking differently. Cited figure: 15-20% of the UK population is neurodivergent, approximately 13 million people. Available at: icaew.com
• Kustow, J. (2024). How to Thrive with Adult ADHD: 7 Pillars for Focus, Productivity and Balance. Cited concept: the Somatic Super Syndrome framework describing the co-occurrence of ADHD with physical and mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, disrupted sleep, chronic fatigue, IBS, fibromyalgia, hypermobility, and addiction.
• Kustow, J. (2025). The Surprising Association Between ADHD and Inflammation. ADDitude Magazine webinar, February 2025. Cited concept: emerging research linking ADHD with inflammatory and somatic conditions. Available at: additudemag.com
• The Grove Practice (2024). Somatic Super Syndrome with Dr James Kustow. Cited concept: clinical framework for understanding the overlap between neurodivergence and physical health. Available at: the-grove-practice.teachable.com