Paige Layle

Paige Hennekam (born August 2, 2000), better known as Paige Layle, is a Canadian ADHD and autism acceptance activist and author. She began posting about her experiences with ADHD and autism on social media in March 2020 and has since gained a large following on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. She also wrote the book But Everyone Feels This Way: How an Autism Diagnosis Saved My Life.

Early life
Layle was born Paige Hennekam in Kawartha Lakes on August 2, 2000. She attempted suicide at the age of 15, after which she was diagnosed with autism, OCD, and ADHD.

Career
Layle started making TikTok videos about autism in March 2020, after hearing an audio clip on TikTok that mocked autistic people. She created a four-part video series on autism in girls to address common misconceptions about the disorder. In 2020 and 2021, she joined other members of the autism community in weighing in on the controversy surrounding Sia's film Music.

In 2021, Layle and other autism advocates such as Chloé Hayden criticized Color the Spectrum: A Livestream to Support the Autism Community, a fundraiser launched by Mark Rober in support of NEXT for AUTISM. She critiqued NEXT for funding Autism Speaks, an organization that has received backlash for its attempts to "cure" autism. To counter Color the Spectrum, Layle and other advocates planned to host a fundraising livestream on the same date and time to raise money for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN). The livestream was later cancelled due to allegations that had ASAN plagiarized work from Indigenous creator Autistic, Typing.

In 2022, Layle was a performer for the audiobook version of Wendy Walker's American Girl, produced by Audible.

As of December 2023, Layle has 2.6 million followers on TikTok, 131,000 followers on Instagram, and 171,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Layle's first book, But Everyone Feels This Way: How an Autism Diagnosis Saved My Life, was released in March 2024.

Personal life
Layle is pansexual and uses "she/they" pronouns. She continues to reside in Kawartha Lakes, where she works as a teacher.