Self Advocacy and Success as a Neurodivergent Leader: an Interview with Alexis Commodore, Founder of BirthX

In celebration of Neurodiversity Acceptance Month, we had the opportunity to speak with neurodivergent founder Alexis Commodore, Founder of BirthX. BirthX is a digital platform that’s creating a movement towards patient-centered maternity care by educating birthing people on their options before giving birth. During our time together, Alexis gave us insight into her intersectional experience as an Afro-Latina founder with ADHD.

Let’s start with the basics. How did you go from being a nurse to founding a health tech company? 

I was a nurse for seven years in the ER. I thrived in the chaos. I witnessed a lot of things in the healthcare system I was unhappy about and couldn't come to terms with, and then Covid hit. Every problem was magnified and even harder to watch. Even when you’re advocating for your patients as best you can, there’s a lot of red tape. 

My dad died right before Covid, and he was a huge advocate for fair and equitable housing in the city of Boston. He had worked for the city for years, but I honestly didn’t know the extent of his work until his memorial service. So many people showed up and spoke so highly of him and the work he had done with the housing authority, and that really inspired me. It made me think about the legacy I would leave, and inspired me to make a change. Last February, I left my job as a nurse to pursue my passion for maternity care and do my part to fix the stigma associated with the health care system for mothers. 

You’re working at the intersection of health care, mental health and technology. What would you consider to be the keys to success along this path?

I have a really great team. You have to find people who are equally as passionate about what you’re doing as you are, and bring that energy to work with them. As a neurodiverse person, I’m information-hungry. My superpower is digesting large amounts of information and breaking it down for other people, but I need my team in order to make that happen seamlessly. They bring the vision and information to life in a digestible way - through creative, through copy, through so many formats. One of the biggest struggles people face while pregnant is lack of information and lack of education, so we do our part to make it less overwhelming. In order to advocate for yourself, you need access to this knowledge. 

You bring a lot of different aspects of diversity to the table as a woman of color and a neurodivergent person. Can you tell us about some of the struggles you’ve faced as a result of that intersectionality? 

My ADHD wasn’t diagnosed until recently because a lot of my symptoms were attributed to dyslexia, especially growing up. It took a lot of work with my therapist to uncover my ADHD and find new ways to cope with it once I transitioned jobs. I didn’t realize how great of an atmosphere an emergency room is for someone with ADHD - there is constant stimulation. I used to change jobs very frequently because I was bored and they were slow. When I transitioned, I was burnt out but I also didn’t know how to clock in and clock out as an entrepreneur. I was struggling with it a lot because I knew I was capable, but there was something in my way. For months, I would take two steps forward and four steps back. I was really resistant to taking medication, but it helped me get back on track. It’s meant to be a tool just like everything else. 

Oftentimes neurodivergent people go undiagnosed for so long because our disorders might not be physically apparent. It’s something we deal with under the surface which makes it a lot more difficult to uncover. When my therapist told me she thought I might have ADHD I had to come to terms with the stigma of carrying that label. In some way, it was also really good to have that label because I could communicate to my team better about how I function. As a business owner and an Afro-Latina woman, being anything ‘other’ has made my work more challenging. I’m constantly battling these stereotypes. 

How can we as a society do a better job of making space for people who identify as neurodivergent? 

It’s so important for a better functioning world. Neurodiverse people have so many strengths, but they learn and do things differently. Knowledge is power. I wish my teachers had known this about me, and people were more open to learning about neurodiversity. When people are honest and want to learn more, it helps us communicate and understand each other better. Making accommodations for how people learn and get their work done is empowering. For example, I’m in a coding class right now and although I might not be able to meet every weekly deadline, I’ll get the same work done in a month as anyone else in the class. Giving the space for people to work in accordance with their brain, their energy levels and their focus is so vital. 

There’s a fine line between challenges people legitimately face and stigma, can you tell us about how you’ve navigated that? 

My community is so supportive, so that really helps me. I think an earlier diagnosis would’ve changed my view on my Dyslexia and ADHD a lot. Once I was diagnosed with Dyslexia I was given accommodations in school, and I just refused to take them. I didn’t want to stay longer for the test or go to school early. I didn’t want anyone thinking I wasn't smart enough or couldn’t keep up with them. These accommodations were tools, but I saw them as setbacks because of the stigma. It made me feel really isolated because I felt like I was the only one whose brain worked this way. Stigma keeps us from having conversations and being open about it, which is the biggest hindrance to progress. 

Do you have any final words of wisdom? 

If you feel like there’s something wrong with your body, trust that. It took me years to figure out I had ADHD, and I was constantly surrounded by doctors, nurses and therapists. I knew something was wrong, I trusted that and I kept looking. If I hadn’t kept looking, I would’ve never found the answer.