Suzi Payton — Autistic ADHD Speaker and Former Teacher

Suzi Payton is a Brighton-based speaker, comedian, author and coach who works with organisations that want their staff to understand neurodivergence, and with autistic and ADHD adults who want to stop hiding parts of themselves. She was diagnosed as autistic and ADHD in adulthood, also has Tourette's and OCD, and taught in secondary schools for 17 years before turning her own experience into her work.

Her talks mix stand-up, personal story and practical content. Topics include neurodivergence at work and in relationships, late diagnosis, burnout, mental health in the workplace, celebrating neurodiversity within inclusion work, and what improvisation can do for confidence. Clients have included NHS England, American Express and the YMCA, and she is booked through agencies such as Speakers Collective as well as directly. Separately, she runs comedy improv workshops for teams, built around creativity, collaboration and trust, drawing on her time on the comedy and improv circuit. She hosts the ADHD Adventures podcast, set up ADHD The Experience — an evening of comedy, storytelling and talks by and for neurodivergent people in Brighton and Hove — and co-wrote Lost and Now Found, a guide for late-discovered autistic adults, with Kate Laine-Toner.

For individuals, Suzi offers one-to-one coaching for neurodivergent adults, including those with ADHD, autism, Tourette's or OCD, focused on self-confidence, quietening the inner critic and living without constant masking. Group courses, business visibility coaching and a membership programme called Unmasked Visibility sit alongside this. Fees for coaching and speaking are not published; the route in is a booked call or the contact form. For an HR lead or event organiser, the draw is a speaker who can hold a room with humour while being direct about what neurodivergent staff actually need.