Paula Jones

Biography

Paula Jones is an AuDHD (autistic with ADHD traits) positive psychologist, executive coach, hypnotherapist, and doctoral researcher. Diagnosed as autistic at 46, she found profound relief and validation, reframing lifelong environmental struggles, such as sensory overload in public spaces, not as personal failures but as a mismatch between her nervous system and inflexible environments. As a wheelchair user, Paula brings a unique dual perspective to accessibility, observing how society disables individuals both physically and neurodivergently. Earlier in her career, Paula worked as an IT and computer systems applications trainer. Despite strong pattern recognition and mastering complex software faster than her peers, she was repeatedly passed over for promotions in favour of candidates who fit traditional social norms, revealing a corporate sorting system that routinely mistakes social conformity for leadership capability. After severe corporate burnout from being overextended and underutilised, she transitioned to freelance training and professional coaching. Following the pandemic, Paula earned a Master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology. Recognising that traditional positive psychology can be neuro-normative, she adapted its principles into a structured, systems-based framework for neurodivergent brains. Having coached more than 300 clients, specialising in late-diagnosed autistic women and neurodivergent leaders, her coaching focuses on self-reclamation, psychological safety, and appreciative inquiry, helping clients ask what they need to thrive rather than forcing themselves to conform. Currently completing doctoral research on unmasking, identity, and authentic leadership in late-diagnosed women, Paula advocates moving away from deficit management towards talent optimisation. She champions explicit communication, written agendas, and clear expectations as low-cost, high-impact inclusion tools that remove barriers for neurodivergent talent.

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