How This Edtech Content Creator Is Making Neurodiverse People Feel Seen

For many students with ADHD or dyslexia, the hardest part is spending years in a system that was never designed for them. In the United States, an estimated 1 in 5 students has a learning difference, yet access to assistive technology remains inconsistent across school districts. Laurie Faulkner knows that experience firsthand. Her late ADHD diagnosis in her 20s gave her a framework for understanding her own academic history, and it gave her a mission: to make sure others find the right tools sooner.

She focuses her professional work on expanding access to assistive education technology and learning tools for individuals with dyslexia, ADHD, and related cognitive differences, using educational storytelling alongside digital growth strategy to raise awareness and drive adoption of accessibility technology across the US and internationally.

Faulkner has accumulated more than 100 million views on her content. Audiences have spent more than 37 years of time learning from her videos, which many report make them feel seen. Her fans share that her content prompted them to seek out assessments by professional education psychologists, which then helped them excel in school and professionally. Faulkner has gained more than 220k followers on Instagram and over 162k followers on TikTok, a combined following of 382k built at a rate that few EdTech creators have matched. The majority of her followers are based in the United States. 37 years of watching is a remarkable engagement metric in the EdTech creator space, reflecting genuine public demand for accessible, practical discussions of neurodiversity and learning tools.

Her academic background supports her work in this area. Faulkner studied Musical Theatre at De Montfort University and completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education at University College London, home to the UCL Institute of Education, ranked #1 globally for Education for twelve consecutive years by the QS World University Rankings. At UCL, she developed a research-based project examining how music and movement can accelerate early language development in young children, particularly those learning English as an additional language. The research produced measurable linguistic gains and established her as both a practitioner and a researcher. She also worked as a performer at Disneyland Paris before beginning her postgraduate studies.

As her audience grew, Faulkner began working with education and technology companies as a strategist, designing campaigns that translate complex technology into content that students, parents, and teachers can actually use. She has partnered with Speechify, BBC Bitesize, Loop Earplugs, Photoroom, RISE Sleep app, Spacegoods, Insight Timer, InFlow, and many more brands, with measurable results. Speechify grew to 56 million users and achieved a brand recognition rate of 5 out of 10 people surveyed in New York City, and 6 out of 10 among adults aged 18 to 28.

Speechify's CFO, Pankaj Agarwal, who leads much of the company's strategic direction, explained: "At Speechify we really care about accessibility. What Laurie did was translate our mission into content that people actually wanted to watch and share."

Raheel Kazi, Head of Web Engineering at Speechify, described the emotional response users frequently report: "56 million people use Speechify, and 10% of reviews include people saying that they cried when they first found the product because it had such a big impact on their lives. Laurie's voice is among the most popular on the platform. The empathy in her delivery and her lived experience of neurodiversity come through in a way that users genuinely feel."

"If I can help one person find the tool that changes how they learn, that's worth it," Faulkner said. "I want to do that at scale, working with school districts and EdTech companies to build a platform where students, parents, and educators can find the resources they need in one place, without having to search for years to find what works for them."

For Faulkner, that vision is the next chapter. She hopes to develop a neurodiversity-focused content platform, a single destination where students, parents, and educators across the United States can find the resources, tools, and community that she had to piece together on her own.

For California Business Journal Disclaimers, go to /terms-conditions/.