Understanding Communication Differences in ADHD and Autism - Ep 137 with Elaine Lee

“It’s like being a car on a side street trying to enter a highway… and you just can’t get in.”Elaine Lee shares what it’s like struggling to enter conversations, missing social cues, and feeling out of sync in both work and relationships. After being diagnosed with ADHD, autism, and dyslexia later in life, she began to understand why communication had always felt so difficult.In this episode, we explore misreading emotions, defaulting to problem-solving instead of connection, and how misunderstanding intent can damage relationships. Elaine also shares how she’s building Evro, a tool designed to help people better understand communication patterns.If you’ve ever felt like you couldn’t “read the room” or struggled to jump into conversations, this episode will feel very familiar.Elaine Lee is a product strategist and CEO of Evro, a communication-focused AI tool designed to help people better understand conversations and social dynamics. She has over 15 years of experience across fintech, health tech, and AI platforms.Episode Highlights00:05:00 — Struggling to read social cues at workElaine explains how not being able to detect boredom, disengagement, or passive-aggressive behavior made navigating meetings difficult. This impacted her effectiveness as a leader and made sensitive situations harder to manage.00:06:30 — Why joining conversations feels impossibleShe describes group conversations as trying to merge onto a busy highway without a gap. By the time she finds space to speak, the topic has already moved on, leading to frustration in both social and professional settings.00:08:30 — Missing emotional cues in real timeIn a tense meeting, a colleague became visibly upset and raised their voice, but Elaine didn’t recognize it in the moment. She continued trying to solve the problem logically, only realizing later what had happened.00:13:00 — Reframing relationships after diagnosisAfter her diagnosis, Elaine began to understand that communication struggles weren’t due to lack of care or effort. This helped her and her partner meet in the middle and reduce long-standing misunderstandings.00:15:30 — Reinterpreting her childhood with compassionLooking back at her mother’s behavior through an autism lens shifted her perspective. What once felt like absence or lack of love became something she could understand with more empathy.00:22:00 — Building Evro to bridge communication gapsElaine explains how Evro analyzes conversations to highlight patterns people might miss. The goal is to reduce misinterpretation and help people communicate more effectively across different styles.Connect with Elaine:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elaine-lee-a0716918/Website: https://www.evro.ai/Connect with Jeremy:LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/nageljeremyEmail: jeremy@focusbear.ioMore from Focus Bear:Website: https://focusbear.ioLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/focus-bear/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@focusbearappTwitter: https://twitter.com/focusbear1Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/focus_bear/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/focusbearapp/Podcast: https://podcast.focusbear.io