Ellie Middleton

Ellie Middleton spent the first 24 years of her life thinking she was a neurotypical person but was then diagnosed with autism and ADHD. This diagnosis, she says, was the best thing to ever happen to her as she finally understood why she could not compute the same way as those around her did. For much of her life, Ellie had been trying to force herself to be something, and someone, she is not. Now, Ellie has built up an impressive reputation online and shares her tips with her fellow neurodivergent on how to avoid burnout, and how to reach their full potential which led to her being nominated as the Positive Disability Role Model for The National Diversity Awards.

As soon as Ellie left education in 2015 from Giggleswick School she went straight into full-time work and began her career as Counter Clerk for Post Office Ltd, and then as a Customer Service Advisor for Santander UK. Whilst working for Damart UK, Ellie was their Customer Service Advisor before then becoming their Online Coordinator. Upon discovering her passion for social media, Ellie became a Content and Social Media Executive for Kurogo and then Personal Brand Manager and Content Strategist for Great Influence. All throughout her life, Ellie had been called every name under the sun and was labelled ‘dramatic’, ‘selfish’, and ‘self-absorbed’. Little did she know, Ellie was not any of these things, she was just different – honest, straight-to-the-point and misunderstood.

Upon her ADHD and autism diagnosis, Ellie first started trying to unlearn how she had been operating, as she says, she had a Mac operating system in a world when everyone was operating with Windows. She then started the long journey of learning to forgive herself for being different. To help others with busy neurodivergent brains, Ellie founded (un)masked in 2021 to provide a safe space for neurodivergents to connect and thrive, helping them as they go through their own diagnosis. Ellie has been gaining more and more traction on social media and has become an experienced speaker on the subject, sharing her thoughts on the TEDxShoreditch stage with her talk titled ‘Why an autism diagnosis is an invitation to finally be yourself’. Within just two weeks, her talk has already gained an incredible 5,800 views.

Ellie has now worked with leading brands such as LinkedIn, Google and The Independent try and change the narrative on neurodivergents. Ellie is proof that once you get a diagnosis and understand being different is not bad, you can thrive and reach your full potential. Ellie travels the UK sharing how we can better accommodate neurodivergents, and helps in their discovery journey. She is also the author of ‘unmasked: the ultimate guide to ADHD, autism and neurodivergence’. When looking to better understand the mind of those who are neurodivergent, look no further than Ellie Middleton to hire at your next event today.