Available to book
John Elder Robison
Neurodiversity
Disability Awareness
Social Justice
John Elder Robison helps organizations build neurodiversity-inclusive workplaces and educational systems. Robison works with Fortune 500 companies, universities, and government agencies on autism awareness, workplace inclusion, and neurological difference. Neurodiversity Scholar at William & Mary, bestselling author translated into 15+ languages, advisor to NIH and CDC.
Neurodiversity Awareness
Autism Awareness
ADHD Awareness
Educator
Neuroscience
John Elder Robison is a neurodiversity advocate, memoirist, and educator whose work reshapes how institutions and individuals understand autism and neurological difference. He serves as Neurodiversity Scholar in Residence at the College of William and Mary, where he co-founded one of the first neurodiversity programs at a major American university. His four books, including the critically acclaimed Look Me in the Eye, have been translated into more than fifteen languages and sold in over sixty countries. Robison's path to advocacy runs through unlikely territory. He engineered stage effects for KISS and Pink Floyd, developed early electronic games at Milton Bradley, and founded a specialty automotive restoration company. Diagnosed with Asperger's at forty, he draws on decades of navigating workplaces, relationships, and creative fields without a framework for his own neurology. This lived experience, combined with his advisory roles at the US Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control, gives him a rare ability to connect personal narrative with systemic change. Audiences leave Robison's sessions with practical insight into how neurodivergent minds solve problems differently, a clearer understanding of what effective support looks like in schools and workplaces, and a more honest picture of both the challenges and advantages that come with neurological difference. Book Robison to bring clarity, humor, and hard-won expertise to conversations about neurodiversity that matter.
Robison's dual track as Neurodiversity Scholar at William and Mary and former advisor to NIH and CDC gives him unusual credibility to translate lived autistic experience into workplace policy. His engineering background with KISS and Milton Bradley demonstrates the problem-solving advantages neurodivergent thinking brings to creative and technical teams. He'll help leadership move past accommodation checklists toward genuinely inclusive talent strategies.
frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
Email john.elder.robison@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm John's availability and fees. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and a bit about your audience.
John Elder Robison structures his sessions around personal narrative drawn from his own late diagnosis and career history — spanning rock concert engineering, game development, and automotive restoration — which he connects to systemic frameworks informed by his advisory work with federal health institutions.
John Elder Robison speaks on neurodiversity in workplaces and schools, neurological difference and problem-solving, and systemic support for autistic and neurodivergent people. He serves as Neurodiversity Scholar in Residence at the College of William and Mary, where he co-founded one of the first neurodiversity programmes at a major American university, and has held advisory roles at the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and the US Department of Health and Human Services.
No. PepTalk adds no booking fee, so you pay the speaker's fee and nothing beyond it. The service, from shortlist through to contracts and event-day logistics, is included. For repeat or multi-event bookings, PepTalk can agree preferential rates with your procurement team.
Share your event date, audience, format, objectives and budget, and PepTalk sends a hand-picked shortlist within 24 hours. Each suggestion comes with a profile, a fee and a recommendation on the strongest fit. Once you choose, PepTalk handles contracts, travel and logistics through to event day.
The typical fee range is the speaker's standard in-person fee in their home market, shown in their local currency. It moves with format, location, date and session length: virtual sessions and shorter slots usually cost less, while international travel and peak dates cost more. Send your brief to PepTalk and the team will confirm the exact fee in your currency.
Not all of them, and it makes no difference to your booking. PepTalk's network of 15,000+ speakers covers talent the team works with directly alongside speakers represented by agents and agencies worldwide. PepTalk approaches the speaker, negotiates the fee and handles contracting either way.
Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
Get the right person
Tell us what you’re working on and we’ll match you with the talent your audience won’t stop talking about.
