Neurodivergent-Affirming Career Support

Career counselling that works
for how your brain actually works.

Standard career advice wasn't designed with you in mind. The frameworks are too linear, the timelines are too rigid, and the pressure to "just pick something" rarely accounts for the very real complexity of navigating careers with a neurodivergent brain.

Book a free discovery call Take The Year Ahead Indicator
What to expect

Sessions designed around
your needs, not a standard template.

Every session can be adjusted. These aren't add-ons — they're built into how I work.

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Pace is flexible
We go at your pace. If 45 minutes is too long, we do less. If you need more processing time between responses, take it. There's no clock-watching pressure here.
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Low-sensory by default
Video sessions are always available as audio-only if preferred. I keep backgrounds simple, don't use cluttered slide decks, and can adjust lighting and visual stimulation on request.
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Written options available
If verbal processing is harder than written, we can work through questions in a shared doc. Pre-session written prompts are available if you want time to think before we talk.
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Non-linear is fine
Conversations don't have to follow a neat structure. If you need to revisit something, jump to a tangent, or take a completely different direction mid-session — that's okay. We'll find the thread.
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No masking required
You don't need to perform neurotypicality in our sessions. Stimming, pacing, fidgeting, blunt communication, unconventional eye contact — none of it is a problem. Come as you are.
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Strengths-focused framing
A lot of career advice for neurodivergent people focuses on "managing" differences. I'm interested in figuring out where your neurodivergence is actually an advantage — and building a pathway around that.
Who I work with

You don't need a diagnosis
to work with me.

Many people I work with are self-identified, awaiting assessment, or simply know their brain works differently — that's enough.

🧩 Autistic adults and young people
Navigating workplaces, job seeking, and career transitions when the unwritten social rules of professional environments feel exhausting or opaque. We'll find environments and pathways where your strengths genuinely shine.
⚡ People with ADHD
Career paths that work with your energy, attention, and interests rather than against them. We'll also talk honestly about environments that are genuinely more ADHD-friendly — and what that actually looks like in practice.
📚 Dyslexic and dyscalculic folks
Career planning without the assumption that your strengths are best measured by academic achievement. Many of the most valuable skills in careers and workplaces are things dyslexic thinkers excel at — let's name them properly.
🌀 People with anxiety, sensory processing differences, or other profiles
Whether you have a formal diagnosis, a cluster of traits that don't fit a single box, or you're just figuring out how your brain works — there's space here. I don't need you to categorise yourself to work effectively with you.
"I'm deeply committed to ensuring career development opportunities are accessible to all people, particularly those from marginalised and underrepresented backgrounds. I completed specialist training in career development learning for people with disabilities, and I've volunteered with the Adult Migrant English Program supporting people facing intersecting barriers. Creating genuinely welcoming spaces isn't an afterthought in how I work — it's the foundation." — Naomi Paton, founder of The Long Haul Careers
My background in this space

Why I care about this, specifically.

My specialist training in Providing Career Development Learning to People with Disabilities (University of Wollongong) gave me a formal grounding in how to adapt career guidance for people with disability — including neurodevelopmental conditions. But more importantly, it reinforced something I'd already seen across a decade of working in student services: the standard career toolkit leaves a lot of people behind.

I've worked with neurodivergent students across multiple universities — supporting them through the practical challenges of pathway decisions, subject loads, workplace transitions, and figuring out what they actually want (as opposed to what they've been told they should want). I've seen how much difference it makes when someone doesn't need to explain or justify how their brain works before getting to the actual conversation.

The Year Ahead Indicator was also designed with neurodivergent users in mind — short, clear questions, no trick phrasing, and a results framework that genuinely accommodates non-linear thinking and unconventional paths.

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Specialist training

Career Development Learning for People with Disabilities — University of Wollongong

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Lived practice

10+ years supporting students with disability and neurodivergent profiles across four Victorian universities

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AMEP volunteering

Volunteer careers practitioner with the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) — supporting people navigating significant life transitions and unfamiliar systems.

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The Year Ahead Indicator

Designed to accommodate non-linear thinkers. The Seeker and Wanderer types specifically reflect profiles that are often mislabelled as "not ready" when they're actually just differently ready.

Questions you might have

Not at all. Many people I work with are awaiting assessment, self-identified, or simply know that their brain works differently without having a label for it. What matters is that you feel the session is relevant to you — not what's on any paperwork.
There's a notes field when you book through Calendly — just mention anything relevant there and I'll make sure the session is set up to suit you. You can also email me beforehand if that's easier.
Yes — just let me know when you book. We can do a 30-minute session at a reduced rate, or structure the 45 minutes with a break built in. The priority is that the session is actually useful for you, not that it fills a fixed time block.
No — and it's something I actively work with. We can use written prompts, the Year Ahead Indicator results as a starting point, or structured questions that make it easier to organise your thoughts. You don't have to arrive knowing what to say.
I hear this a lot. Most careers advice is designed for people who already know what they want — it assumes a level of certainty and linearity that doesn't match how many neurodivergent people actually think and decide. The Long Haul starts from the opposite assumption: that you're complex, that your path might be non-linear, and that the goal is clarity rather than conformity.

Ready to talk?

Start with a free 20-minute discovery call. No commitment, no pressure. Just a real conversation to see whether working together makes sense.

Book a free discovery call →

Or take The Year Ahead Indicator first — it's a good starting point.