How to Start a Business When You're Autistic or ADHD w/ Elissa Renee

We're taught from day one that depending on other people is a weakness. What if that belief is the exact thing keeping you stuck?In this episode I sit down with Elissa Renee — a speech language pathologist, CEO, and late-diagnosed autistic and ADHD entrepreneur behind Speech Works. For most of her life she was handed the standard script: be independent, get a stable job, stop relying on anyone. She tried to live it. The 9-to-5 wore her down, her health suffered, and she racked up more absences than anyone she knew.The real conflict wasn't her ability — it was a system that never taught her how to actually function in it. She couldn't read or write for years and quietly paid people to do it for her. Just walking to the mailbox and opening it could trigger a burnout that left her in bed for days. Nobody in school ever taught her how money, mail, or basic adult systems worked. They taught her the history of America instead.The turning point came when she stopped fighting how her brain works and started building around it. She went self-employed and became her own boss. She discovered "body doubling" — and realized the help she was shamed for needing was a legitimate accommodation, not a flaw. She learned to ask for help by going straight to the top. And she got in front of a camera for the first time to put her work into the world.In this conversation, you'll learn:- Why so many autistic and neurodivergent adults thrive self-employed instead of in a 9-to-5- How "you have to be independent" became a trap — and what changed when she let it go- The school-taught skills that were missing, and the real-life ones nobody teaches- Why asking for help (the right way) became her biggest competitive advantage- How she rebuilt her finances and routine around her actual wiring, not someone else'sGuest: Elissa ReneeConnect with Elissa 👇🔗 Facebook: Elissa Renee 🔗 Website: speechworksbyelissa.com🔗 New project: yourchildcantalk.com🔗 Socials: search “SpeechWorks by Elissa” on your favorite platform🔔 If this episode stirred something in you, don't ignore it. Share It with someone who needs to hear this. Subscribe, leave a comment and remember, you weren't born to follow the script, you were born to be free.