Why We Exist
The world wasn’t built for neurodivergent people. From rigid workplace cultures to one-size-fits-all education systems, so many of us spend our lives trying to fit into spaces that fundamentally don’t work for how our brains are wired.
That takes a toll. On wellbeing, on confidence, on belonging. And for too long, the ‘support’ available has been rooted in outdated, deficit-based models that frame neurodivergence as something to be managed, masked, or medicated.
We knew there had to be a better way.
That’s why ATTUNED exists – to offer a different approach. One that’s grounded in lived experience, respect, and real understanding. One that doesn’t just teach about neurodivergence, but centres neurodivergent voices, needs, and humanity.
We’re here to help people understand, support and celebrate neurodivergent minds – not change them
Whether we’re training professionals, coaching individuals, or working with organisations, everything we do comes back to that core belief: neurodivergence is not a problem to solve. It’s a natural, valuable part of human diversity.
How ATTUNED Began
01
From Personal Experience
ATTUNED was born from lived experience. Our founders are neurodivergent themselves, and they know firsthand what it feels like to navigate a world that wasn’t designed with different brains in mind.
02
Building Something Bigger
Frustrated by outdated, pathologising approaches to neurodiversity, they set out to create something better – something grounded in respect, understanding, and genuine support.
03
Growing Together
What started as an idea has grown into a community of coaches, trainers, and advocates – all working together to create more neuroaffirming spaces.
“ATTUNED began with a simple but uncomfortable realisation. We (Emma and Lisa) both had year-long waiting lists, and no one we felt confident referring people on to. We knew there were good practitioners out there, but it was hard to find those working in a way that truly reflected the complexity of neurodivergent experience.
At the same time, we had both recently completed ADHD coach training. It was valuable, but it didn’t feel like enough. It didn’t fully take into account intersectionality, across neurotypes or in relation to gender, race, and inequality. It didn’t really engage with trauma.
We went looking for something that brought all of that together.
We couldn’t find it.
So we created it.“
– The ATTUNED Team
What We Stand For
These aren’t just words on a page – they’re the principles that guide every decision we make, every training we deliver, and every person we support.
Behaviour makes sense.
Not in a simplistic way. Not in a way that excuses harm.
But in a way that assumes there is always something underneath worth understanding.
Everything we do flows from that.
Understanding before action.
We don’t rush to strategies. We take time to understand what is driving behaviour, whether that’s rejection sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty, sensory overwhelm, trauma, or lived experience.
Relational, not prescriptive.
We don’t believe in fixing people.
We work with individuals, not on them, building safety, trust, and insight so that change, where it’s wanted, is meaningful and sustainable.
Complexity is the starting point.
Neurodivergence does not sit in isolation.
It intersects with other neurotypes, trauma, gender, race, and systemic inequalities. We don’t treat these as add-ons, they are central to the work.
Lived experience matters. So does rigour.
We value lived experience deeply.
But we also hold clear boundaries around ethics, reflective practice, and professional responsibility. One without the other is not enough.
Real-world, ethical practice.
This work doesn’t happen in ideal conditions. We prepare practitioners to respond to complexity, uncertainty, and vulnerability in ways that are grounded, thoughtful, and ethically sound.
Always evolving.
We don’t see ATTUNED as fixed. We stay curious, reflective, and open, because this work demands it.
Understanding changes what we see, how we respond, and what becomes possible.
Who We Are
We’re a team of neurodivergent coaches, trainers, and advocates who are passionate about creating change.
100%
Neurodivergent-Led
Our entire leadership team is neurodivergent, bringing authentic lived experience to our work
100+
People Trained
We’ve trained hundreds of coaches and professionals across sectors
NeuroKind
Advisory Board
Proud advisory board members of NeuroKind, championing neuroaffirming practice standards
Emma Whymark
Co-founder & Director | Chief plate spinner
Hi, I’m Emma.
I’m a therapist, coach and former SEND teacher and Local Authority adviser with over 25 years’ experience in education. I’ve worked across schools, families and systems, supporting complex needs at both individual and strategic levels. I was also a therapeutic foster carer, which deepened my understanding of trauma, attachment and nervous system regulation in lived, practical ways.
For the past decade, I’ve worked independently as a therapist, coach and trainer, specialising in neurodiversity across children, young people and adults. I’m also a mother of two neurodivergent sons, and was diagnosed with ADHD in 2023 and autism in 2026, experiences that strengthened my commitment to identity-affirming, strengths-based practice.
Alongside my colleague Lisa, I co-founded ATTUNED, now recognised as one of the most rigorous professionally accredited neurodiversity coaching qualifications in the UK. Accredited by the Association for Coaching, ATTUNED was designed to raise standards in neurodiversity coaching by combining lived experience, research-informed insight and structured professional training.
At the heart of my work is a simple belief: when people understand how their brains work, they can flourish.
Lisa Poole
Co-founder & Director | Chief visual thinker
Hi, I’m Lisa.
1/7th of my neurodivergent family. I have a diagnosis of ADHD and my partner is AuDHD. She and I together have 5 neurodivergent children. Our children all have diagnoses including Autism, ADHD, PDA, DCD, SPD, Dyslexia and Dyscalculia. So safe to say, we live and breathe neurodivergence. Three years ago my lived experience developed into a passion and then a career and since 2021 I have been running Perspective Coaching, a private coaching practice working with children, teens and adults. As my client base increased and I found myself consistently at full capacity for client sessions, I realised that I wanted to reach and support more people to help them understand the root of neurodivergent presentations.
Together with Emma, we developed the ATTUNED approach to support other like minded people to train in neurodiversity coaching. I am passionate about providing better support to accommodate and empower the neurodivergent community, promoting the acceptance of the barriers that may present, understand the root of those barriers and use neuroaffirming tools to empower that individual to get their needs met without causing unnecessary discomfort or distress.
Alayna Cort
Organised Chaos Officer
Hi, I’m Alayna.
I support Emma & Lisa with daily admin, project management and social media tasks, so if you get in touch or train with ATTUNED, there’s a good chance you’ll see my name on an email.
Personally, I wear a variety of hats. By profession I’m a UX/UI designer; by newly gained certification I’m proud to call myself an ATTUNED practitioner (Neurodiversity Coach); and by heart, I’ll always be an office manager at my core.
I’ve always had an unexplainable special interest with all things neurodiversity — how differently wired minds experience the world, how much goes unseen and unheard when the right spaces don’t exist, and especially: how much understanding there is still to be gained across every area and field, including for neurodivergent individuals themselves.
ATTUNED has grown considerably...
…since Emma and Lisa first began training coaches, largely because the need for genuinely neuroaffirming support continues to grow. What started as a small training programme has developed into a thriving community of coaches, professionals and organisations who share our commitment to better understanding and supporting neurodivergent people.
As ATTUNED grows, so does the team behind it. We started off with tech setup and ongoing support from Lexi and recently welcomed Alayna to support client enquiries, operations and the day-to-day organisation that helps keep everything running smoothly.
Many of the people who will help shape ATTUNED’s future will have first experienced it as learners themselves. In September we’ll begin training our first Learning Stewards, qualified ATTUNED coaches who will be developing their skills to support the delivery of our training programmes alongside Emma and Lisa. As our courses and community continue to grow, this helps us maintain the depth, quality and personal connection that have always been at the heart of ATTUNED.
Alongside this, we’re continuing to develop new courses, resources and specialist areas of training, which will bring new opportunities to expand the team over time.
While ATTUNED is growing, the reason we’re doing it hasn’t changed.
Proudly NeuroKind
We’re proud advisory board members of NeuroKind, an organisation dedicated to embedding neurodivergent voice, safety, and lived experience into professional standards across sectors.
This partnership reflects our commitment to systemic change – not just individual support, but transforming the way entire industries understand and work with neurodivergent people.
Together, we’re working to ensure that neurodiversity isn’t just acknowledged – it’s genuinely respected, valued, and centred in professional practice.
