I was diagnosed with autism and ADHD after quitting school and several jobs. Knowing how my brain works has changed my life.

• Ellie Middleton was diagnosed with autism and ADHD at 24, after years of struggling at work.
• She started posting about her experiences with neurodivergence on LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Ellie Middleton, a 26-year-old author and creator from Manchester, England. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I was a high school dropout who couldn't hold down a job. But, two years ago, I learned I had ADHD and autism.

Since my diagnosis, I've done so much I never thought I'd be able to do. I've gathered a large following on social media and published my book, "Unmasked, The Ultimate Guide to ADHD, Autism and Neurodivergence."

I was first diagnosed with anxiety at school

I started having panic attacks in school and getting teary and shaky when I was 15. I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder.

I was also diagnosed with a panic disorder and agoraphobia in 2011 and put on antidepressants.

Throughout school, I felt like I was constantly burned out. In my final year of school, I had to drop out.

I couldn't stay in a job for long

I got a job in the Post Office, but after six months, I got overwhelmed and had to leave.

I then worked in customer service for a bank, but I got overwhelmed and tearful and struggled to leave the house. I left the job after one year.

I accepted that I'd only ever be able to have a basic, entry-level job because I couldn't handle much stress.

I knew I'd never climb the career ladder if, every six months, I had to take a month off. But, at the same time, there was a lot I wanted to do. I had a million ideas.

Working made me bored and exhausted

Putting on a fake voice, making small talk, and making eye contact with people all day left me exhausted.

At the same time, I need a lot of stimulation to keep focused. My brain is overactive. Doing the same thing on repeat was mind-numbing. I'd find myself reading a book while taking a call for my job.

Learning I had ADHD and autism was a relief

I'd taken several different types of antidepressants, and nothing seemed to work. I felt stuck and didn't want to be in the cycle anymore.

I realized I should get tested for autism when I was speaking to my counselor, and she suggested I might be neurodivergent. I looked into it and realized I might have autism and ADHD.

I decided to get tested for ADHD at first because I knew I could get medication for that, unlike autism. I was diagnosed with ADHD in October 2021 and autism the following April. It was validating to know that I wasn't broken. I just didn't know how my brain worked.

I started posting about my experiences

Getting diagnosed was a lightbulb moment. So many people were experiencing what I had. I was lucky to have an answer and I needed to tell people about it.

I knew speaking about it online would increase the chances of other people realizing they had ADHD and autism too.

I was working for a personal branding agency focusing on creating LinkedIn content for CEOs and founders, which encouraged us to post about our work lives on LinkedIn.

I posted on LinkedIn about what it means to "be professional" in 2021. I listed features about me, such as my piercings, which didn't make me any less professional in the post. The post blew up — so many people commented and engaged with it.

I went from having no audience to 10,000 followers from that post.

I grew my audience

I got offered a job at Great Influence, a content-marketing agency, in 2022. I was in a good place to learn more about content creation and building brands.

I started posting about my experiences as a neurodivergent person in the workplace on LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram.

Having a neurodiverse brain means I work in different ways to other people. Learning how to work with my brain, rather than against it, has been a game changer.

It means I can generate lots of ideas all the time, communicate a point concisely through posts, and analyze what works well.

After four months, I was hired to do workplace talks and training. I've spoken at companies like Google, Compare The Market, Coca-Cola, and Samsung.

I published a book

I'd built up audiences across platforms by posting every day and live-blogging on TikTok and Instagram about my experiences with autism and ADHD in depth. I have more than 200,000 followers on LinkedIn, 87,000 on TikTok, and 55,300 on Instagram.

But I wanted to do something again that allowed me to explore these issues in depth. I decided to write my book, which was published in October.

It's been amazing to see people reading it and hear how much it means to readers.

Being self-employed has helped me manage my career. If I'm struggling with verbal communication, I can avoid doing calls and just email people instead — or write instead of doing videos.

I have more control over supporting myself and making sure that I don't completely burn myself out.