Neuroaffirming Parenting, Entrepreneurship and Embracing Difference

Michelle: Hello, and welcome to our Divergent Discussion. I’m Michelle, the founder of Kaboose.

We’re an inclusive and safe online community for neurodivergent individuals to connect, learn and thrive their way.

We’re also excited to be launching our microlearning program very soon.

Just a reminder that today’s session is being recorded for those who can’t make it live.

I’m super excited to welcome Laetitia Andrac.

Laetitia is an award-winning entrepreneur, international speaker and host of the Neurodivergent Pulse podcast.

She’s also the bestselling author of Light It, a book about trusting your intuition and building a thriving business.

With over 15 years of experience in consulting, strategy and innovation, she’s worked with industry leaders including Deloitte and Telstra.

Inspired by her journey as a neurodivergent parent, she co-founded Understanding Zoe, an AI-driven app dedicated to supporting caregivers of neurodivergent children.

We’re going to hear all about that today.

Her passion is creating a more inclusive world where everyone can thrive, whether in their homes, communities or workplaces.

Welcome, Laetitia!

Laetitia: Thank you, Michelle.

Michelle: Thank you for joining us here in Australia. It’s Saturday morning, so we really appreciate you giving up some of your weekend.

I heard from Rox that you’ve just come back from a conference in Noosa.

I saw a little bit about it on social media, but I’m curious to hear more. How was it?

Laetitia: We were a sponsor and partner of the Neurodivergent Minds Conference, which was hosted in Twin Waters, near Noosa, on Gubbi Gubbi Country.

It was organised by Cammy, who wanted to bring more neuroaffirming, neurodiversity-affirming conferences to Queensland.

Many of these conferences happen in major cities such as Melbourne or Sydney.

For people living in Queensland, there aren’t always opportunities to gather in a space with like-minded professionals and community members.

This conference brought together affirming therapists, teachers, educators, parents, support workers and social workers.

It was a beautiful, intimate and inclusive conference.

There was lots of learning and plenty of time for connection.

I came away feeling really inspired, and I hope Cammy organises it again next year.

Michelle: That’s amazing.

It sounds like it was a smaller conference, but that’s great. In some parts of Australia, it’s difficult to make events like that accessible.

Rox also mentioned that you’ve recently been on holiday.

Tell us about where you went and how you made it work.

As a parent and founder, taking a break can be challenging. Then there’s the added complexity of considering neurodivergent needs while travelling.

Laetitia: Definitely.

What I always say is that a holiday isn’t something you can necessarily do spontaneously.

You don’t just wake up one morning and decide you’re going on holiday that day.

We need preparation, planning and accommodations.

We went to Bali, which is something we also did last October.

We know that towards the end of the year, things can become quite intense.

Everyone gets tired and dysregulated. There are so many social events and additional demands.

What made the holiday possible was forward planning.

As a founder and business owner, I plan everything around my holidays.

At the beginning of the year, I plan my time off in advance.

I’ve already planned my holidays for 2026, even though the year hasn’t started yet.

That means when someone asks whether I can attend a conference or join a panel, I can look at my calendar and make an informed decision.

I can say, “No, I’m on holiday,” or “Yes, that works for me.”

It’s about planning ahead and choosing places that will be inclusive and able to accommodate our needs.

I’m neurodivergent, and my daughter Zoe is neurodivergent too.

I’m also working on challenging my own internalised ableism.

For example, I wear my sunflower lanyard at airports and ask for accommodations when I need them.

I try to make travel as smooth as possible because there will always be unexpected things that happen.

But it was a beautiful time away.

I highly recommend planning time off if you have the energy and capacity to do so.

I came back feeling really good.

Michelle: Bali is such a beautiful place.

I haven’t been since my children were very small.

As you say, coming into the end of the year when things get hectic, it can be refreshing to take that break a little earlier.

You’re a big advocate for neuroaffirming approaches, as you’ve already indicated.

What does neuroaffirming parenting mean to you, and how did you arrive at that approach?

Laetitia: First of all, for anyone who isn’t familiar with the term, neuroaffirming means embracing the neurodiversity-affirming paradigm.

It involves a shift in language and perspective.

We don’t see ourselves as neurodivergent adults who are broken.

We don’t see our children as broken or as people who need to be fixed, cured or changed.

That isn’t how we approach neurodivergence.

We bring this perspective into our parenting and into everything we do through Understanding Zoe.

I’m always conscious of language and whether it honours an individual’s strengths and identity.

That doesn’t mean we live in a world of rainbows and fairies.

Of course, neurodivergent people experience challenges.

We can be excluded from experiences or spaces, but that doesn’t mean there’s something inherently wrong with us.

Often, the systems around us haven’t been designed to accommodate our differences.

The neurodiversity-affirming approach is closely connected to the social model of disability rather than relying solely on the medical model.

In my own parenting journey, I arrived at this approach after meeting therapists who weren’t particularly affirming.

They told us that things needed to be fixed or changed in Zoe.

They said she should be able to look people in the eyes, sit properly and communicate everything verbally.

And I thought, “No, that doesn’t feel right.”

That’s when I started reading more books and exploring the neurodiversity-affirming paradigm in greater depth.

With my autistic, monotropic brain, I became deeply interested in understanding it.

Once I discovered this way of thinking, I couldn’t unsee it.

From there, I found therapists who embraced the same approach and could support our family in ways that felt right for us.

Since then, our journey with Zoe has been about showing her what’s possible.

We encourage her to share and communicate in whatever way works for her at that moment.

Sometimes that might not be through spoken words.

We ask, “What does she need? What accommodations would help her feel included and supported?”

It’s been a shift in everything we do.

One of the things that makes me most proud is hearing from Zoe’s teacher that she’s now advocating for herself.

She doesn’t automatically apologise when she can’t do something.

She’s becoming confident in saying, “This is who I am, and these are my needs.”

Michelle: That’s amazing.

How old is Zoe now?

Laetitia: She’s nine.

This journey started when she was very young, from early childhood education through kindergarten and into primary school.

I feel very fortunate to witness her growing ability to communicate what she needs.

Michelle: I look back at when my son Nick was diagnosed.

He was four, and he’s 22 now.

I really wish we’d had more research and information about neuroaffirming approaches back then.

I think it could have made a significant difference to his mental health, particularly during secondary school.

Ten years ago, there wasn’t the same understanding that there could be a different approach to the medical model.

It was often about what children should do, where they should go and how they should behave.

You could end up twisting yourself in knots trying to follow all of that advice.

Laetitia: One thing I always say to parents is that this is a journey.

It’s not about feeling guilty or beating ourselves up.

We all need to go through our own learning process.

Sometimes parents discover Understanding Zoe and say, “I love the language. It’s so affirming. I wish I’d known about this earlier.”

And I say, “But you know now.”

There’s a real opportunity for repair.

You can talk with your child and say, “I was learning too. I didn’t know what I know today.”

So much of the information we’ve historically encountered has focused on fixing differences or trying to make people fit into a neuro-normative box.

But we need to give ourselves some grace.

We spent years following approaches that eventually started to feel misaligned with our values.

I began trusting my intuition that something wasn’t right.

There’s nothing wrong with Zoe.

She’s an amazing human being who deserves to feel understood, heard and seen for who she is.

People would often tell me, “You were the same when you were a child.”

And I’d think, “Well, I’m not broken, so why are we treating her as though she is?”

Honouring my own neurodivergence helped shape the way I wanted to raise Zoe.

My parents made choices about my own childhood support, including choosing not to pursue certain therapies.

I wanted to offer Zoe that same sense of acceptance.

That wasn’t always easy because the systems, funding arrangements and therapists we encountered weren’t necessarily embracing neurodiversity-affirming practices.

But things are changing.

There’s growing research and discussion around the impacts of different approaches, including their relationship with mental health.

I encourage anyone listening to explore the neurodiversity-affirming paradigm and consider whether it resonates with their family.

Michelle: I think there’s such an opportunity for parents, communities and organisations to value the fact that people think differently and approach problems differently.

That’s often where innovation and new ideas emerge.

Laetitia: Exactly.

At the conference, a First Nations woman called Tanya shared a perspective about how disability is understood and described in First Nations languages.

It prompted an important conversation about how our culture can sometimes separate or “other” people because they experience the world differently.

People process information differently and communicate differently, but those ways of communicating are still valid.

Why should spoken language be the only acceptable form of communication?

We can communicate through dance, drawing, movement, creativity and our bodies.

There are so many ways to express ourselves.

I often find myself bridging ancient wisdom and modern technology because of my background and my work in AI.

There are also business arguments for embracing neurodiversity.

Research discussed in the business community, including work attributed to JPMorgan Chase and Deloitte, highlights potential benefits associated with neurodiverse teams.

We need to recognise that neurodivergent and neurotypical people working together can bring different perspectives and strengths.

Rather than insisting everyone behave in the same way, organisations should create environments where those differences are welcomed.

Michelle: I love the combination of those perspectives.

Data is often what gets business leaders to pay attention.

What are some of the biggest misconceptions you’ve encountered about neuroaffirming parenting or parenting neurodivergent children?

Laetitia: One of the biggest misconceptions is that we’re simply letting everything go.

People assume that neuroaffirming parenting means having no boundaries or allowing children to do whatever they want.

Zoe is autistic, has ADHD and has a PDA profile.

She’s comfortable with me sharing that. We have conversations about what she wants to share for advocacy, and she also participates in our podcast.

As a PDAer, she can find excessive demands very difficult.

We need to prepare for things and communicate clearly about what’s happening.

Other parents sometimes say, “You’re just letting her do whatever she wants.”

Or they say, “You’re accommodating her too much,” or “You can never change your plans.”

Sometimes people suggest that being a soft parent is why your child is neurodivergent.

But that’s completely backwards.

I have a neurodivergent child, so I respond with understanding, care and appropriate accommodations.

I’m trying to create the best experience possible for her and for our whole family.

And sometimes I get it wrong.

Sometimes I suggest doing something spontaneously and realise it isn’t going to work because we needed to plan ahead.

Sometimes something is cancelled, and that creates significant distress or a shutdown.

There’s a lack of understanding about how neurodivergent families navigate everyday life.

That’s one of the reasons we developed Understanding Zoe.

Through the app, parents can invite other people involved in their child’s life, including friends, relatives, teachers and support workers, to better understand that child.

It’s about sharing what helps, what accommodations are needed and how to reduce unnecessary distress.

I sometimes use the analogy of shaking a bottle of Coca-Cola.

Every stressful experience adds another shake.

Eventually, there’s too much pressure and the bottle explodes.

We want to reduce those unnecessary pressures rather than continually adding to them.

We’ve also recently completed research involving more than 1,500 families.

What we found was that more than nine in ten parents of neurodivergent children reported feeling misunderstood.

They feel misunderstood in their own experiences and in the choices they make to support their children.

It can be incredibly isolating because often the people who understand best are those who’ve had similar experiences.

We’re trying to change that, but it’s still a major challenge for families.

Michelle: That’s a huge number.

I was thinking about what you said earlier about being misunderstood or being perceived as a soft parent.

When my children were growing up, I didn’t have the neuroaffirming language we have today, but I instinctively knew we’d need to do things differently.

That sometimes caused issues with extended family and friends.

You know you’re doing what’s best for your children, but the misunderstanding from others can lead to isolation.

Laetitia: Exactly.

Our research hasn’t been publicly released yet, so I’m sharing a few early findings.

We’re planning to release a white paper on 11 November.

One of the things we’ve found is that parents often feel less understood and supported by extended family and friends.

They may feel better understood by teachers, educators, therapists and support workers because those professionals are more familiar with neurodivergence.

Friends and family might say, “But Zoe doesn’t look autistic,” or “You don’t look autistic.”

They’re not necessarily there to see what happens after a social event.

They don’t see the shutdowns, meltdowns or day-to-day accommodations.

They don’t see what happens when I become non-speaking after an overwhelming experience.

Last year, after an event, I spent two weeks non-speaking and recovering under a weighted blanket.

People don’t always see those moments of burnout, shutdown or distress.

They see me when I’m functioning well, when I’m using my strengths and when I’m masking successfully.

I’m gifted, autistic, ADHD and PDA.

People see what I’m capable of and say, “But you can’t be autistic.”

And I think, “Who are you to decide that?”

Michelle: Exactly.

People don’t see all the things that happen behind closed doors.

They don’t see children eating dinner in a quiet room because it’s darker and less overwhelming, rather than sitting at the family table.

There are so many accommodations people don’t see.

And when they do see them, there’s often judgement.

You’ve mentioned being gifted and having different neurodivergent experiences.

How do you think being a neurodivergent woman has influenced you as a founder?

For me, discovering my own neurodivergence partway through the founder journey has been interesting, with both positives and challenges.

How has it influenced your experience?

Laetitia: I wrote an article a while ago about rejection sensitivity dysphoria and how it affects us as founders.

There’s a strong conventional idea of what a founder should be.

A founder should be able to hear no thousands of times.

A founder should have thick skin.

A founder should be able to handle rejection and immediately move on.

But when you experience rejection sensitivity dysphoria, or RSD, rejection can trigger a very real nervous system response.

It isn’t something we’re making up because it’s more convenient.

That expectation to simply develop thick skin can be incredibly difficult for neurodivergent founders.

What I encourage other founders to do is give themselves space to process rejection.

I need time to digest a no.

Eventually, I may be able to reframe it as a new opportunity.

But I can’t simply flick a switch and immediately say, “That’s fine. It’s a new opportunity. Let’s move on.”

I need to honour the emotional process first.

Another thing I’d love to see is more events specifically designed for neurodivergent founders.

I keep telling myself not to start another business to solve that problem!

But it’s something we really need.

We have conferences designed for allied health professionals and other groups, but startup and entrepreneurship events aren’t necessarily designed with neurodivergent people in mind.

I went to South by Southwest, and the environment wasn’t accessible for me.

Last year, I attended a large digital conference and experienced severe sensory overload.

Afterwards, I spent two weeks non-speaking and recovering.

There was so much noise, bright lighting, multiple sessions running simultaneously and very little guidance for navigating the environment.

You’re expected to work everything out yourself.

Even for neurotypical people, that can be challenging.

When you add different sensory and information-processing needs, it can become overwhelming.

I was wearing my sunflower lanyard, but I didn’t see people available to provide the support I needed.

There was a sensory room, but I found the provision quite tokenistic.

I’m comfortable calling that out because we need events that genuinely consider people with visible and invisible disabilities.

We need those experiences represented on stage and reflected in how events are designed.

We need different ways to access information, participate in conversations and connect with people.

This year, I was more realistic.

Instead of attending the entire conference, I chose the day with the sessions I was most interested in.

Even then, I couldn’t stay for the full day.

Other people can attend five-day conferences, and that’s wonderful for them.

But I can’t.

As founders, we know how important those environments are.

We need to meet investors, potential clients, collaborators and future employees.

Networking can be essential to growing a business.

Yet many of those environments aren’t designed for us.

There are also additional biases.

As a woman, you’re already navigating gender bias in investment and entrepreneurship.

Then you add neurodivergence and, in my case, being a non-native English speaker.

Those factors can create additional barriers.

I’m not saying this to discourage neurodivergent founders.

I’m saying you need to surround yourself with people who understand.

I was speaking with another female neurodivergent founder just yesterday, and it was wonderful to have an open conversation with someone who shared similar experiences.

I’ve received incredible support from other women founders, particularly neurodivergent women.

They mention my name in rooms I can’t physically be in.

Sometimes I can’t attend because I’m caring for Zoe or because of my own needs.

But these women might recommend me to a journalist, connect me with a client or mention my business to someone who needs our services.

I’m incredibly grateful for that.

We need to rely on more people than just ourselves.

Michelle: I think that’s true.

I really like the idea of reframing no as a new opportunity, although that’s been one of the hardest parts of being a founder for me.

There’s also the constant comparison.

You see another startup doing better, or another business getting funding when you haven’t secured funding yet.

There are so many things going through your mind.

Pitching for funding can also be very performative, which creates another challenge.

Laetitia: Absolutely.

It’s a very neuro-normative process.

Often, you don’t receive the questions in advance.

There’s also research published through Harvard Business Review about the differences in how investors question women and men founders.

Women are more likely to receive prevention-focused questions about risks and avoiding losses, while men are more likely to receive promotion-focused questions about growth and opportunity.

That creates additional biases within the investment ecosystem.

When you’re already experiencing more rejection, it’s important to have spaces where you can regulate, talk openly and feel supported.

That’s why I value communities like Kaboose.

We need places where people can share what they’re experiencing without being dismissed as too dramatic or oversensitive.

When someone dismisses those experiences, it can be ableist.

And I’m quite happy to call that out!

Michelle: It is challenging.

We’ve certainly had our fair share of ups and downs at Kaboose.

What challenges have you faced while building Understanding Zoe?

Laetitia: One of the biggest challenges has been the expectation that I should attend every networking event.

I live in Sydney, so there are many opportunities to connect with people.

Because Understanding Zoe works across different markets, including parents, allied health professionals and organisations, there are lots of rooms we could benefit from being in.

But I can’t be in all of them.

Most of the time, I need to work from my home office, which my husband calls my cave.

I live in Cronulla, south of Sydney.

By the time I’ve caught the train into the city, I’ve already used so much of my energy.

Then I’m expected to attend a breakfast, a conference, meetings and networking events.

I’ve had to accept that I won’t be as visible or present in every room as I’d like to be.

That’s been difficult because I understand how important those connections are for business growth.

But it’s also about learning to let go and give myself some grace.

Another challenge has been harnessing the strengths of my monotropic brain.

I can become deeply focused on one particular thing and have a very clear vision of how it needs to work.

But as a founder, you have to do so many other things too.

I love being a strategist, visionary and advocate.

Those roles really energise me.

But I also have to handle finances, legal matters, compliance and all the other responsibilities that come with building a business.

We’re ISO certified, so there are additional compliance requirements.

When you’re an early-stage founder, you don’t get to do only the things you love.

You also have to manage activities that are draining or less interesting.

One strategy that’s helped is working closely with an intern.

I attended business school in France, and the school has an internship program where students can spend six months working with organisations.

Having an intern work alongside me for six months creates enough time to build trust and understand each other’s ways of working.

My intern came with me to the Noosa conference and acted as a support person.

She helped me remember what I wanted to achieve each day and supported me in managing different demands.

Body doubling has been incredibly valuable.

Having someone you can work alongside, who understands what you’re trying to achieve, can reduce the demands you experience.

Another strategy has been asking other founders and friends to represent me when I can’t be physically present.

I might say, “If you hear about someone looking for this service, could you introduce us?”

Or, “If you’re attending an event and there’s an opportunity, could you mention my name?”

Asking for help can be difficult, particularly when you’re working through internalised ableism.

But it’s made a real difference.

The third big challenge was balancing the business with family responsibilities.

My co-founder is my husband.

During the first six months of Understanding Zoe, he was still working full-time in a senior corporate role.

He worked on the business early in the morning, late at night and on weekends.

During the day, I was working on the business full-time while also managing the responsibilities that come with parenting neurodivergent children.

That includes appointments, accommodations and the unexpected things that happen with school and family life.

The business wasn’t progressing as quickly as I wanted it to.

That was incredibly frustrating.

Since my husband moved into the business full-time, we’ve been able to move much faster.

It’s also simplified our family life.

Before that, we were both working extremely hard, and it was taking a toll.

There were days during those first six months when I thought, “Why am I doing this?”

Then I’d come back to why we’d started Understanding Zoe in the first place.

I’d think about Zoe, my own lived experience and the messages we were receiving from users.

And that’s something I want to encourage everyone to do.

If you’re using an app or service that genuinely helps you, send the people behind it a message.

Leave a review or tell them what you appreciate.

It makes such a difference.

I save those messages in a special folder.

When I’m having a difficult day and wondering why I’m doing this, I go back and read them.

I never publicly share private messages without permission, but I keep them as reminders of the impact we’re having.

Michelle: I love that idea.

We get some lovely messages at Kaboose too, and I think I should start saving them somewhere.

It’s in those difficult moments that you need those reminders.

Laetitia: I call it my love folder.

I have it in Notion.

Whenever someone sends me something lovely, I take a screenshot and add it to the folder.

Michelle: The love folder! That’s a great idea.

We’ve talked about the challenges of building a neuroaffirming business.

Clearly, being neuroaffirming is central to your values.

How do you integrate those values into the way Understanding Zoe operates, particularly when there are so many conventional business expectations?

Laetitia: I love this question because sometimes it’s the tiny things that make the biggest difference.

At Understanding Zoe, we prioritise working with people who have lived experience or a meaningful connection to the problem we’re trying to solve.

That might mean someone is neurodivergent themselves.

They might be raising neurodivergent children, or they might have another personal or professional connection to the community.

We want people who are genuinely committed to the mission.

We also want to challenge employment biases that affect autistic and other neurodivergent people.

One way we can do that is by employing people with lived experience within our team.

We also offer different ways to communicate.

Not every conversation needs to happen in a face-to-face or online meeting.

We use Slack, asynchronous messages and voice notes.

We don’t expect everybody to respond immediately in a meeting.

Someone might need to step away, think about a question and come back with their response later.

That’s completely fine.

We also share questions in advance.

For example, we’re currently interviewing for a designer role at Understanding Zoe.

We’re giving candidates the interview questions ahead of time.

We do that for everyone.

We don’t wait for someone to disclose that they’re neurodivergent before offering an accommodation.

That’s universal design.

Why wait until somebody asks for something when we can design the process to be inclusive from the beginning?

Why wouldn’t we send interview questions ahead of time?

We want people to arrive prepared and be able to show us their best selves.

We’re not trying to trick people into failing.

That approach applies to how we work internally and how we communicate with customers and clients.

We try to be inclusive and affirming from the beginning.

And we’re always learning.

I’m willing to give people grace when they’re learning something new.

I’ve learned a lot through conversations with First Nations people since moving to Australia, including the importance of approaching mistakes with humility.

If someone genuinely didn’t know something, there’s an opportunity to help them learn.

Maybe they used the wrong pronoun or assumed something was appropriate when it wasn’t.

Once they know, the question becomes, “How can you do better next time?”

How can you make your workplace, policies, systems and ways of working more inclusive?

It’s about continuing to learn rather than expecting perfection.

Michelle: I love the idea of sharing interview questions ahead of time.

It’s so simple.

Many of the accommodations we put in place for neurodivergent people are actually beneficial for everybody.

It seems like such an obvious thing to do.

Laetitia: Exactly.

Think about lighting, for example.

When you dim harsh lighting, a lot of people feel more comfortable.

But in many workplaces, someone has to specifically ask for that change.

For a neurotypical person, it might simply make the environment more pleasant.

For a neurodivergent person, it might determine whether they can comfortably remain in that space at all.

That’s where the concept of equity becomes important.

We should be designing environments with different needs in mind rather than treating accessibility as a compliance exercise.

At Understanding Zoe, we’re trying to build those principles into our business practices.

Even scheduling this discussion on a Saturday morning is an example.

It works well for me because my daughters are at drama classes.

When Rox suggested this time, I thought, “That’s actually much easier than an evening.”

Evenings can be difficult for our family.

After all the demands of school, children may need more co-regulation and support.

It’s often when meltdowns or emotional exhaustion appear.

So a morning conversation works much better for me.

Michelle: I’ve actually been thinking the same thing.

I’m not coming off the back of a long day either, so perhaps we’ve discovered a new time slot for our discussions!

What advice would you give to another neurodivergent woman, or a parent, who’s considering entrepreneurship?

It’s a challenging journey, isn’t it?

Laetitia: It is.

The first thing I’d ask is, “Are you really clear about why you’re doing it?”

Your vision, passion and deep interest in the problem you’re solving are what will carry you through the ups and downs of running a business.

You need to be genuinely passionate about what you’re building because entrepreneurship can be a wonderful but challenging journey of self-discovery.

The second thing is to surround yourself with people who can support you.

That might be your team, your family, your friends or a community of people who understand your experience.

You need safe spaces where you can share what’s happening when things become difficult.

It takes a village to raise a child, and I believe it also takes a village to grow a business.

The third thing is to be willing to delegate what you don’t know how to do, or what drains your energy.

You don’t necessarily need to hire an expensive consultant or a full-time employee.

You might start with a virtual assistant or an intern.

Find people who can support you with the tasks that don’t bring you joy.

If you spend all your time running a business doing things you dislike, you’re not going to be happy.

For me, being able to focus more on strategy, vision and advocacy means finding people who can help with other areas of the business.

I still have to do some of those less enjoyable tasks, but I don’t have to do everything myself.

Those would be my three main pieces of advice.

And if I can add a fourth for parents, make sure you have the right support systems for your children too.

When you’re building something you’re passionate about, it can occupy your thoughts constantly.

You’re thinking about the business day in and day out.

There are books and ideas about building a business so you can work only a few hours a week.

But that’s rarely what the early stages of entrepreneurship look like.

It’s not necessarily a ten-hour-a-week job!

You need to make sure your family has the support it needs.

That might mean arranging help with school pickups or making sure there are dedicated times to spend with your children.

You want to create a business that fits your life rather than allowing it to consume everything else.

Michelle: It’s definitely not a ten-hour-a-week gig, that’s for sure!

Laetitia: Exactly.

I’ve been an entrepreneur for several years now, including running a consulting business before Understanding Zoe.

People sometimes tell me they started a business because they wanted to work less.

And I think, “Okay, let’s see how that goes!”

Maybe after a few years, when you’ve built a team and the business is running smoothly, you can create more flexibility.

But that’s not usually the experience when you’re starting out.

Michelle: Have there been lessons from entrepreneurship that have influenced your parenting, or lessons from parenting that have influenced how you run a business?

Laetitia: Definitely.

I’ve learned a lot from parenting that I bring into business.

When you’re raising children, particularly neurodivergent children, you become very familiar with organisation, planning and thinking ahead.

Those skills can be incredibly valuable when you’re running a business.

I’ve also brought lessons from entrepreneurship into parenting.

For example, I’ve learned to give myself space to process rejection sensitivity.

Now, when Zoe experiences similar feelings, I try to give her the same space.

There are also lessons that connect both experiences.

One of the biggest is developing a deeper understanding of yourself.

Running your own business is a journey of self-discovery.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, I was a general manager in a large corporation and worked as a strategy consultant.

I’ve held demanding, high-profile roles.

But in those environments, I could sometimes hide or mask behind an organisation, a brand, a senior leader or an established way of working.

When you run your own business, you’re responsible.

And there’s a similar responsibility in parenting.

You’re responsible for the words you say to your child, the actions you take and the choices you make.

Both experiences force you to learn a lot about yourself.

For me, entrepreneurship and parenting a neurodivergent child have been part of my journey of unmasking.

They’ve helped me become more comfortable showing up as myself.

When I worked in a large corporation, I didn’t necessarily share everything about myself.

Now, with my own business and personal brand, I can decide what I want to share.

There’s no corporate marketing or branding department telling me what I can and can’t say.

I experienced that freedom when I was running Essential Shift Consulting, and I experience it now with Understanding Zoe.

I get to decide how I show up.

That creates an incredible sense of freedom and self-discovery.

Michelle: I understand that!

When I worked in professional services, I used to call them the branding police.

It’s quite a different experience when you can make those decisions yourself.

I’m curious about your book.

We mentioned it in your introduction, but can you tell us a little about what motivated you to write it and when you wrote it?

Laetitia: Of course.

My book is called Light It, and it’s about trusting your intuition and building a thriving business.

I wrote it around 2021 and 2022.

The idea came to me while I was grieving the loss of a friend who passed away from cancer very quickly.

I was also spending time on a silent retreat and meditating.

During that experience, I began reflecting on how much my own life had changed.

In 2014, I experienced a major burnout while working as a strategy consultant in Paris.

After that, I made significant changes.

We moved to Australia.

I found work where I could be clearer about my boundaries and how I needed to operate.

I didn’t want to experience another autistic burnout.

I changed my life to better honour my needs and reduce the risk of returning to that level of exhaustion.

While grieving my friend, I reflected on the path I’d taken and how I could share what I’d learned with others.

I wanted to help people create businesses and lives that honour their intuition.

I wanted them to recognise when they’re approaching burnout, when they need to slow down and how to trust the process.

There are so many business books promising extraordinary success in a very short time.

They’ll tell you how to make millions in a few months or build a hugely successful company almost overnight.

That approach never resonated with me.

I wanted to write something different.

Something about reconnecting with why you started your business in the first place.

Why are you doing this?

What matters to you?

How can you build something that honours your values and your needs?

The book uses a framework called LIGHT.

L stands for Lean In.

Lean into your vision and the thing you’re passionate about creating.

I stands for Illuminate.

It’s about planning forward and developing an illumination map to understand where you’re going.

G stands for Gather.

Gather the people who will help you succeed, but also recognise the strengths and talents you already have within yourself.

H stands for Honour.

Honour the process and the time things take.

I use an analogy about growing fruit.

If you plant a pineapple, you might wait 18 months before harvesting one pineapple.

But if you plant cherry tomatoes, you might harvest many of them within a few months.

They’re different experiences with different timelines and outcomes.

It’s a reminder that meaningful things take time.

And finally, T stands for Transform.

What’s the impact you’ve created?

How have you transformed your own life or the lives of others through your business?

The framework is cyclical.

You can revisit it at different stages of running your business.

The book combines practical tools, lived experience and personal stories.

It brings together strategy, spirituality and evidence-based processes.

Michelle: Amazing.

I’m definitely going to download it.

I’ve got some work travel coming up this week, so I’ll listen to it while I’m travelling.

Laetitia: Thank you!

People often tell me that the book resonates with something they’re experiencing at that particular moment.

I hope you enjoy it, and I’d love to hear your feedback.

Michelle: I’ll definitely send you a message once I’ve listened.

To finish our discussion, what’s one small thing that never fails to bring you joy, whether in parenting or in business?

Laetitia: I actually had this question ahead of time, so I could think about it!

There are so many things that bring me joy.

Maybe it’s my PDA, but when someone asks me to choose just one thing, I think, “One thing? That’s so much pressure!”

But I managed to narrow it down to one broad concept.

Connection.

Connection with myself, whether that’s taking a bath, meditating or simply spending some quiet time alone.

Connection with other people.

That might be a hug with my daughters or my husband.

I’m a hugger!

If we meet in person, Michelle, I’ll ask whether I can hug you.

When I’m networking, I’ll often ask someone, “Can I give you a hug?”

I really appreciate that deep pressure and physical connection.

And then there’s connection with the world around me.

I’m a spiritual person, and that connection is very important to me.

It might mean going barefoot in my garden, listening to birds singing or watching the leaves move in the trees.

Those moments help me reconnect with myself and my surroundings.

Connection is what consistently brings me joy.

Whether it’s connection with myself, another person, nature or the universe, it’s something that helps me feel grounded and calm.

Michelle: I love that.

It’s a wonderful way to end our discussion.

Thank you again for giving up part of your Saturday morning to join us.

We’ve reached the end of our time, but we have more Divergent Discussions coming up.

Later in November, we’ll be joined by Luke Holdsworth to talk about gaming and how tabletop role-playing games can support connection and social development within the neurodivergent community.

Rox is also organising our upcoming events for November and December.

You’ll find those through Humanitix, the Kaboose app or our website.

Thank you again, Laetitia.

It was wonderful to meet you, and I’m surprised we haven’t connected before now.

I’m glad we have, and I look forward to continuing the conversation.

Laetitia: Me too. Thank you so much, Michelle. See you soon!