A new book on autism and ADHD at work
Launching November 11, 2026
What changed wasn’t my brain. What changed was the room I was put in.
From Chapter 1, The Recess Room
The Right Room: Building Teams Where Autism, ADHD, and Other Cognitive Differences Succeed Together
Direct isn’t mean. • I wasn’t smarter. I was just uninterrupted. • You control the culture inside your team. • The skill and the struggle come from the same place. • Recess isn’t only for kids. • Direct isn’t mean. • I wasn’t smarter. I was just uninterrupted. • You control the culture inside your team.
What do autism and ADHD look like at work?
Some people spend years believing they are bad at work. But maybe the working environment was simply built for a different kind of brain.
In The Right Room, Racheal Pallares examines what happens when workplace expectations collide with ADHD, autism, and other cognitive differences. Through stories drawn from her own life and years of work with managers and teams, she shows how ordinary practices—unclear instructions, rigid meetings, mismatched roles, unspoken rules—can quietly turn capable people into perceived problems.
When we learn to see where the environment is creating friction, we can make changes that improve both individual and team performance.
29
chapters
5
parts
3
formats
“
Chapter 2, It All Started with Pizza
Pizza is the duct tape of the corporate world.
It holds nothing together but gives people something to do while the situation gets worse.
Autism and ADHD at work, chapter by chapter
Every tool works without an organizational mandate. One person can start.
Opening: The Recess Room
- The Recess Room
Part 1: Foundation
- It All Started with Pizza
- The Standard Brain Doesn’t Exist
- The Coffee Pot Is Empty
- Change the Culture, Change the Room
- The Boxes
Part 2: The Friction Points
- Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Processing
- Monotropism
- Sustained Attention
- Task Initiation
- Remote Work
- Masking
- Double Empathy
- Working Memory
- Last-Minute Changes
- Emotional Regulation
- Stimming and Fidgeting
- Feedback
- A Strong Sense of Justice
Part 3: All Sides of the Room
- For Neurodivergent Professionals
- For You, the Neurotypical Reader
- Manager Capacity
- The Kind, Compassionate Manager
Part 4: Occupational Burnout
- What Is Occupational Burnout?
- How to Get Out of Occupational Burnout
- Changing the System of Burnout
Part 5: Closing
- Conflicting Needs
- Accommodations vs. Adjustments
- The New Operating System
What early readers are saying
“Finally, a book that gets past awareness. I have read a shelf of books that explain autism and ADHD. This is the first one that showed me how they actually show up at work, in the meeting that changed at the last minute and the shirt nobody thought twice about handing out, and then told me what to do about it.”
Felicity Smith
CEO and former head of talent at a Fortune 500
“Racheal Pallares shines a light on the effort that can go unseen in everyday working life, and reminds us to ask people what helps them do their best work rather than assume a diagnosis gives us the answers.”
Jayne Fox
ADHD Coach and Neurodiversity Educator, New Zealand
“The Right Room courageously explores the importance of shifting our workplaces to one that enables human capability for the future.”
Tara Langan
Founder, Career TLC, Canada
How to work as a team with ADHD and autism
Chapter 20
If you have autism, ADHD, or another cognitive difference
“Every time you name what you need without apology, you shift what’s possible in that space.”
Language for what you need, tools you can use without anyone’s permission, and a way to tell when a room is safe.
Chapter 21
If you manage employees with ADHD or autism, or work beside them
“The desire and the care were already yours. This is the part that makes them land.”
What to stop doing, the questions you are afraid to ask, and what to say when a moment goes wrong.
Hardcover. Paperback. Kindle.
11.11.26
Launch day is November 11, 2026.
Author photo by Abby Davidson
About the author
Racheal Pallares
“I spent thirty years waiting for someone to build the right room. When I finally found it, I started asking one question. Who else is waiting to find the right room?”
Racheal Pallares is a human systems designer who has spent her career designing work around cognitive differences, including autism and ADHD. She has led multi-year workforce redesign for public agencies, developed managers inside the Fortune 500, and is the author of The Right Room (November 2026). When she’s not working, you can find her around Pittsburgh, floating down the river, hiking, baking, and entertaining friends and family.
Build a high-performing team with different kinds of minds
Read it together. Then bring your questions to Racheal.
Team packages start at 10 copies. From 25 copies, Racheal joins your group live.
10+ copies 10% off
25+ copies 15% off + 30-min live Q&A
50+ copies 20% off + 60-min live session
100+ copies Custom + keynote or training
Training employees with ADHD and autism? Bring the book to your whole team.
Training built on the book
The Neurodiversity Training Institute brings these ideas into your workplace.
