About

I’m Dr Vikky Leaney, an author and academic working at the intersection of neurodivergence, gender and mental health, and available to talk at events and to organisations.

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Author

My first book, Pep Talks for Neurodivergent Women, is out on 26th October 2026. It isn’t an affirmations book. Each page is a single pep talk for a moment that rarely makes it into self-help: the exhaustion after masking all day, the spiral after a short text reply, the shutdown nobody sees coming. It’s straight-talking, practical and written for neurodivergent women who want to feel seen rather than fixed.

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My writing has been published in Times Higher Education and Mad in America.

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Academic

I hold a PhD in Mental Health from Lancaster University and an MSc in Applied Positive Psychology.

 

My doctoral research explored late-diagnosed ADHD in women and developed the Feminist Biopsychosocial Theory of ADHD (FBPSA), a framework examining why standard models of ADHD have so often failed to see women. I also developed Critical Thematic Analysis (CTA), a qualitative research method.

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Available to speak

I’m available to talk to organisations, conferences, networks and events on three themes.

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Neurodivergent women. What standard models of ADHD and autism miss about women, why so many are diagnosed late, and what masking costs. For workplaces that want to move beyond generic neurodiversity training.

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Structural sexism. How systems built around one kind of person, in healthcare, research and work, shape who gets recognised, diagnosed and believed, and what changes when we ask better questions.

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Post-traumatic growth. What the research says about how people can grow through hardship, and where the idea is misused when it turns into a demand to “find the silver lining.”

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Talks can be tailored to your audience and format. To discuss an event, get in touch at info@vikkyleaney.com.

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I live in Kent with my husband, my daughter and a dog who has no idea any of this is happening.