Lived Experience Identity
Joanne Lockwood is joined by talent lead and podcast host Sophie Power to explore what it feels like to discover, in adulthood, that you have been “running on a different operating system” all along. Sophie shares her experience of being diagnosed as autistic in her early thirties, what it changed, and what it didn’t, as she reframed years of school, relationships, and work through a new lens.
The conversation unpacks how popular culture and workplace narratives can over-simplify autism into the “autistic savant” trope. Sophie discusses why the language of “superpowers” can be well-intended yet still put pressure on autistic people to prove their worth, and how traits like pattern recognition are often misunderstood or over-romanticised.
They also move from story to practical inclusion. Sophie and Joanne discuss simple, low-cost adjustments that help neurodivergent people thrive, from fidget tools and sensory-friendly lighting to clarity in processes and reducing unhelpful expectations around eye contact, handshakes, and interview performance. In recruitment specifically, Sophie argues for transparency, offering adjustments up front, and being consistent if interview questions are shared in advance.
Throughout, the episode returns to belonging, authenticity, and the idea that supportive environments benefit everyone, not just those who disclose a diagnosis.
About Sophie Power
One-sentence summary
Sophie Power’s story is about finally realising she was never broken — just built differently — and choosing to live in a way that protects her energy, her dignity and her right to belong.
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Synopsis
Sophie Power grew up feeling like life came with instructions everyone else had read except her. Bright, curious and deeply empathetic, she devoured books, memorised every dinosaur name she could find, and threw herself earnestly into causes she believed in — only to find herself laughed at, misunderstood, or quietly left out. She describes always sensing “there’s got to be a disconnect here somewhere”, joking that she was “not wired right”, long before she had language for what that meant. At 32, an autism diagnosis reframed everything. “I’m trying to interact with a world that runs on Windows,” she says, “and actually, I’m on a completely different operating system.”
What changed wasn’t her personality or ability — it was her understanding. The diagnosis didn’t suddenly grant her new traits; it granted her permission. Permission to wear sunglasses in bright offices. Permission to fidget. Permission to stop measuring herself against standards built around eye contact, handshakes and rehearsed spontaneity. Most of all, it allowed her to stop trying to prove she had a “superpower” to justify her existence. Sophie is trying to reshape how we see neurodivergent people — not as savants, not as puzzles to optimise, but as whole humans whose needs are real and whose contributions are richer when they don’t have to exhaust themselves pretending.
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10 Small, digestible concepts for easy learning
1. Different wiring doesn’t mean faulty wiring.
Sometimes the problem isn’t the person — it’s the instruction manual they were given.
2. Diagnosis can be validation, not limitation.
A label can close doors, but it can also unlock self-understanding.
3. Masking is a skill — and it’s exhausting.
Performing “normal” often comes at the cost of energy and identity.
4. Superpower narratives can hide real need.
Celebrating strengths is good; demanding brilliance is not.
5. Preparation is not cheating.
In work and in life, being allowed to prepare helps people show their real ability.
6. Fidgeting can be focus.
What looks like distraction may actually be regulation.
7. Energy is finite.
For some people, simply getting through the day requires extraordinary effort.
8. Belonging starts with being understood.
Knowing why you feel different can lead you to your people.
9. Accessibility is rarely expensive.
Softer lighting and clear expectations cost little, but mean everything.
10. Normal is a narrow idea.
Most of us live somewhere outside it.
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The “why” in the story
What they believe is true about people
Sophie believes people want to do well. That most differences aren’t deficits, and that given clarity and understanding, people flourish.
What they cannot unsee
She cannot unsee how many expectations — eye contact, quick answers, firm handshakes — are treated as markers of competence when they are simply cultural habits.
What they are no longer willing to tolerate
She is no longer willing to accept that neurodivergent people must prove their worth through exceptionalism — must find a “superpower” to justify support.
What they are trying to build instead
She is building workplaces where needs are anticipated, not apologised for; where preparation is encouraged; where difference is ordinary.
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Narrative structure
1. The trigger:
Years of bullying, confusion and feeling blindsided in relationships and at work. A therapist admitting they didn’t know how to help. A friend gently asking, “Have you thought about it for yourself?”
2. The tension:
Living in a system calibrated for someone else’s brain. Being seen as “weird” instead of supported. Being praised for gifts while privately burning out.
3. The insight:
“I’m on a completely different operating system.” The issue wasn’t a moral failing or lack of effort — it was a mismatch between her wiring and her environment.
4. The pivot:
She stopped trying to perform constant neutrality and started advocating — outlining what equality means in practice at work, naming accommodations, wearing sunglasses when she needs to.
5. The destination:
A life where she doesn’t have to earn her right to exist through exceptional output. Workplaces where belonging feels steady, not conditional.
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Five key takeaways and learning points
1. You can be competent and still struggle.
Surface confidence doesn’t cancel hidden effort; notice the unseen cost.
2. Stereotypes can shrink real people.
Treating autism as genius-level pattern spotting ignores exhaustion, vulnerability and ordinary humanity.
3. Clarity reduces anxiety.
Transparent expectations — including interview questions — let people show up fully. So what: better performance, less fear.
4. Energy management is part of inclusion.
When environments respect sensory needs, productivity increases naturally.
5. Belonging often begins with language.
Understanding yourself changes how you move through the world — and who you seek out.
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Ten distinct ideas explained
1. Late diagnosis grief and relief coexist.
Realising at 32 meant revisiting childhood memories with new eyes — painful, but clarifying.
2. The cost of being laughed at but not understanding why.
When you sense rejection without explanation, it erodes your sense of safety.
3. Pattern recognition vs mysticism.
What looks like a “spidey sense” is often disciplined observation built over years.
4. The exhaustion behind sociability.
Loving people does not mean socialising is effortless.
5. Executive functioning is invisible labour.
For some, everyday organisation is a marathon, not a checklist.
6. Masking blurs identity.
Theatre training helped her perform confidence — but performance is not the same as comfort.
7. Small accommodations restore dignity.
Sunglasses, softer light, fidget tools — these communicate respect.
8. Underemployment wastes human potential.
When recruitment rewards style over substance, talent stays locked out.
9. Consistency builds trust.
Sending interview questions in advance only works if you honour that commitment.
10. Finding your tribe heals.
Understanding her neurotype helped Sophie feel “closer to belonging”.
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How people should change as a result
1. Think
- Shift from “Is this person confident?” to “Is this person capable?”
- See preparation as professionalism, not weakness.
- Recognise that effort is unevenly distributed across brains.
- Question whether your “culture fit” is simply familiarity.
- Understand that celebrating strengths without supporting needs is incomplete.
2. Feel
- Move from scepticism to curiosity.
- From pity to respect.
- From impatience with difference to compassion for hidden effort.
- From token celebration to steady solidarity.
- From defensiveness to openness.
3. Act
- Offer interview questions in advance — and stick to them.
- State available accommodations clearly, without waiting to be asked.
- Normalise fidget toys and flexible lighting in meetings.
- Stop equating eye contact with credibility.
- Check in about energy, not just output.
- Challenge “autistic genius” stereotypes when you hear them.
- Create written clarity around how your team works.
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One thing to remember
Not every different brain has a superpower — but every different brain deserves understanding.