About this idea
My daughter Murna was diagnosed with Level 2 Autism Spectrum Disorder at age 3. She is now 5. I remember sitting in the ABA therapy waiting room at 7:50 in the morning, watching her walk through those doors, and then turning around to drive to work, trying to show up like everything was fine.
It wasn't fine. But I showed up anyway. Because that's what you do when the world wasn't built for your child and you decide, somewhere deep in your chest, that you're going to change that.
I have ADHD myself. I have spent years navigating a professional world that was not designed for the way my brain works, the masking, adapting, shrinking when I should have been leading. I know what it costs. I know what it feels like to sit in a meeting and watch someone overlook the most capable person in the room because they communicated differently, processed differently, showed up differently.
The Wired to Lead program exists to close that gap.
The numbers are staggering. As of April 2025, 1 in 31 children in the United States have been diagnosed with autism, up from 1 in 150 in the year 2000. That is a 382% increase in one generation. There are now 15.5 million adults in the United States with ADHD, nearly double the estimate from just five years ago. Adult ADHD alone costs the US economy $122.8 billion annually, and nearly 80% of that cost comes not from healthcare — but from lost workplace productivity and unemployment. These are not medical problems. They are leadership problems. They are culture problems. And they are entirely solvable.
1 in 31 US children diagnosed with ASD — up 382% since 2008
85% of autistic adults unemployed or underemployed
$122.8B annual US cost of unmanaged adult ADHD
And yet, 85% of autistic adults in the United States are unemployed or underemployed. Not because they lack ability. Because the organizations around them lack understanding. Because the managers above them were never taught how to communicate across neurological difference. Because nobody ever told them that the employee who processes differently, who needs written instructions instead of verbal ones, who goes quiet in meetings but sends the most brilliant email you've ever read, that person is not a problem to be managed. That person is an asset being wasted.
Wired to Lead is a neurodiversity leadership consulting practice built at the intersection of lived experience, workplace insight, and business strategy. I serve three audiences: autistic leaders who deserve coaching that actually fits how their minds work; neurotypical managers who want to lead neurodivergent teams with confidence and clarity; and organizations that are ready to build cultures where every kind of mind can contribute fully.
My approach is grounded in the W.I.R.E. Method — a proprietary framework I developed that moves organizations from awareness to execution: Wiring (understanding how every brain is built), Impact (identifying where neurological differences create friction or untapped potential), Reframe (shifting from deficit to competitive advantage), and Execute (building practical strategies that work for every kind of mind).
The competitive landscape tells me this is exactly the right time. The largest neurodiversity consulting firms are UK-based and clinically focused. The US nonprofit space addresses hiring — but not leadership. Nobody in the American mid-market is doing what I am doing: business-forward neurodiversity consulting with authentic lived experience on both sides of the neurological divide. I have sat in the ABA waiting room. I have also sat in the boardroom. That combination is rare. And it is exactly what organizations need.
I am not building a consulting business. I am building the world I want my daughter to walk into.
This grant would directly fund the things that close the gap between where I am and where my first corporate client needs me to be: a professional coaching certification that satisfies corporate procurement checklists, legal infrastructure through a Michigan LLC, and the tools that make booking, contracting, and delivering seamlessly professional from day one.
Murna is 5 years old. By the time she is ready to enter a workplace, Wired to Lead will have spent years changing the cultures of the organizations she might one day walk into. Every manager trained through this practice is a manager who will know how to see her. Every autistic leader coached through this work is proof that people like Murna belong, not despite how they are wired, but because of it.
That is the idea and why this exists.
Impact
The impact of Wired to Lead reaches three interconnected groups and ripples far beyond each one.
For organizations, the impact is measurable and immediate. Companies that invest in neurodiversity inclusion see up to 30% higher team productivity, 90%+ retention rates in structured programs, and significant reduction in ADA compliance risk. The $122.8 billion annual cost of unmanaged adult ADHD in the United States is driven almost entirely by lost workplace productivity, not healthcare. Wired to Lead addresses that cost directly through manager training, leadership coaching, and organizational strategy.
For neurodivergent professionals, the impact is life-changing. 85% of autistic adults in the United States are currently unemployed or underemployed and not because of lack of ability, but lack of support. Every leader coached through Wired to Lead gains the tools, language, and confidence to lead authentically without masking. Every manager trained gains the awareness to stop overlooking the most capable person in the room.
For the broader community, the impact is generational. My daughter Murna was diagnosed with Level 2 ASD at age 3. She is 5 now. Every organization Wired to Lead works with becomes a safer, more capable place for people like her to one day work and lead. This is not abstract. This is the world being built with one manager, one leader, one organization at a time.
The gap in the US market is very real. Wired to Lead fills that gap and this grant accelerates how quickly it can reach the people who need it most.
What I'll do with $5,000
Credentials & Education — $1,500
A coaching certification or DEI credential
ICF-accredited coaching certification — $800–$1,500
Or a neurodiversity-specific credential like CADDCT
Legal & Business Foundation — $500
Michigan LLC formation — $50
Business attorney to review standard client contract — $300–$500
BCBA Partnership Formalization — $300
Have an attorney draft a simple partnership or referral agreement
Professional Headshots & Brand Photos — $400–$600
Website & Tech Tools — $500
Calendly Pro for booking discovery calls — $144/year
Canva Pro for content creation — $120/year
HelloSign or DocuSign for digital contracts — $180/year
Content & Marketing Push — $500
Hire a VA for 10 hours to help schedule and format content
Or invest in a LinkedIn Premium month for Sales Navigator outreach
Emergency / Opportunity Fund — $1,200
For a speaking opportunity might need travel, a client that may need printed materials and unexpected legal or business need
Quick Bio
I am a Holland Local, mom of a daughter on the spectrum and started the business after being unemployed as a software developer for 15 months.
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