About
Founded on lived experience.
Backed by recruitment expertise.
We have seen what the wrong process does to neurodivergent people, and what changes when an employer gets it right. Our aim is to make getting it right the standard way to hire, for people looking for work and for the employers who need them.
Why NeuroAffirm exists
Capable people are screened out before anyone sees what they can do.
Job adverts ask for things the role never needs. Interviews reward quick answers and small talk. Adjustments arrive late, if they arrive at all, and the person who needs them is left to ask. None of that shows whether someone can do the job. NeuroAffirm exists to change the process, so it finds the people it is losing.
- Candidates filtered out before anyone saw what they could do
- Employers losing the people they needed, without knowing why
- Adjustments treated as a favour, not as part of the process
- People asked to change themselves, when the process is the problem
Why we do this
We do this from seeing and experiencing first-hand what an unsuitable environment can do to a neurodivergent individual. At best, it's a struggle to carry the weight of the mask required to cope every day but we get by, usually to the detriment of our relationships and personal time. At worst it can lead to burnout, poor mental health and poor physical health.
We have also experienced the benefits of when an employer gets it right. But getting it right shouldn't just be for the benefit of neurodivergent individuals. The process of employment needs to change for everyone, and many of the reasonable adjustments we advocate for could benefit us all.
As Co-Founders, we're parents to neurodivergent children both with very differing, significant issues that will affect their lives into adulthood. The fears of what the future will look like for them as they get older and hopefully transition into work has focused us to push for change using our lived experience. All we do is for them, and hopefully along the way NeuroAffirm can help change your work life for the better too.
Our logo
Three steps, and it takes all three.
Careers are usually drawn as ladders: straight up, and if you miss a rung you fall. Our logo stands on three steps that rise gently.
The candidate
Where it starts. You know how you work best, so that is where we begin.
NeuroAffirm
In the middle, because our job is to connect the other two.
The employer
Where it lands. You change the process before anyone meets, so the right person stays.
They are the same size because no one of them matters more than the others.
The team
Some of the team.
Some of the people who read what you send us, talk it through with you, and stay in touch after the offer. There are other superstars behind the scenes too, who would rather not be on camera. That is fine with us: making people comfortable is what we do.
Paula Bryne
Co-FounderNeuroAffirm Group
Wife and Mum of two, raising and advocating for my neurodivergent family. I believe the right environment, whether in education, training or employment, can make all the difference to someone's confidence, wellbeing, and success.
Andrew Bryne
Co-FounderNeuroAffirm Group
Late Diagnosed Autistic & ADHD. Father to 2 neurodivergent children. Managing Director of a successful engineering company. Using my lived experience as an employee and an employer to create change.
Oliver Mitchell
Managing DirectorNeuroAffirm Recruitment
In 12 years of recruitment, I have seen good candidates filtered out by vague job ads, rigid interviews and timed tests. At NeuroAffirm, I lead recruitment, building processes that let everyone show what they can do.
Dan Winter-Bates
Managing DirectorNeuroAffirm Consulting
Former Head of Inclusion and Head of Organisational Development, with 18 years in the public sector. My mission is to make change make sense for organisations, so they can better support those that need it most, with confidence (and competence).
A NeuroAffirm Group company
NeuroAffirm Recruitment is part of NeuroAffirm Group. Our sister company, NeuroAffirm Consulting, works with employers whether or not they are hiring: it runs the training for hiring managers, and helps the wider organisation with its people policies and training. Everything the Group does starts from the same position: neuroaffirmative by default.
For us, that means a recruitment process built around how people work, instead of one that asks them to change. It also means we hold ourselves to the standard we ask of employers.
For what that means in practice, read What neuroaffirmative means. For the figures behind why we exist, see The evidence.
How we work with you
The adjustments we make ourselves.
- We ask how you would like us to get in touch, and we stick to it.
- We send questions in writing before a call, so nothing comes out of nowhere.
- We say who will be there, how long it will take and what it is for, before it starts.
- We give you time to think. Nothing has to be decided on the spot.
- We follow every conversation with a written summary of what was said and what happens next.
- You can bring someone with you to any conversation with us.
Tell us what works
Something else would help?
Tell us in whatever way is easiest. If we can do it, we will, and you will not have to explain why.
Get in touch
NeuroAffirm Recruitment is part of NeuroAffirm Group, a Disability Confident Committed employer.
Disability Confident is the government's scheme for employers who want to recruit and keep disabled people. As a Committed employer, we have agreed to make our recruitment inclusive and accessible, to offer an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for a job, and to make reasonable adjustments.
Start with a conversation.
Tell us what you need, in whatever way suits you. There is nothing to prepare, and no wrong place to start.