Think about being an eight-year-old who is aware of they expertise the world in another way however has no phrases to elucidate why. Faculty feels overwhelming, friendships are complicated, and on a regular basis duties appear more durable than they do for everybody else. A guardian notices these struggles and seeks assist, solely to find they’ve to attend years for an evaluation (NHS England, 2025).
Most of the kids on the centre of this situation could also be experiencing traits related to consideration deficit hyperactivity dysfunction (ADHD) or autism, together with variations in consideration, exercise ranges, social communication and interplay, sensory processing, and patterns of pursuits or behaviours (APA, 2022).
Whereas the Equality Act (2010) states that affordable changes must be supplied no matter whether or not a baby has a proper prognosis or not, this authorized entitlement isn’t constantly carried out (Ward & Powell, 2026). Consequently, many kids stay unable to entry the understanding and lodging they want (Autistica, 2024). As kids wait, their difficulties don’t pause. Delayed recognition has been linked to decrease shallowness, college disengagement, and a larger chance of hysteria and melancholy (French et al., 2023).
Psychoeducational sources have been proven to enhance understanding, coping, and high quality of life for recognized neurodivergent kids (Powell et al., 2025). Nevertheless, many current sources are written utilizing scientific, deficit-focused language and are designed for kids who’ve a prognosis. This leaves an necessary query: what help is on the market for kids who’re nonetheless ready or might by no means obtain a prognosis? Shore and Powell’s (2026) qualitative research explores whether or not co-produced, neurodiversity-affirming sources can bridge this hole.
Strategies
The authors needed to discover how neurodiversity-affirming psychoeducational sources have been perceived by kids aged 7-11 with no formal prognosis of autism or ADHD, their households, {and professional} stakeholders. Twenty-four households have been recruited by way of faculties and group networks, and 7 stakeholders have been recruited by comfort sampling. Little one members attended mainstream faculties and included these on diagnostic waitlists or with suspected autistic or ADHD traits. Stakeholders included academics, academic psychologists, clinicians and advocacy representatives.
Households acquired one in every of two interactive booklets tailored from current ADHD- and autism-focused sources. Utilizing strengths-based, non-clinical language, the booklets help child-led studying by way of interactive actions, open-ended prompts, visible parts, and sensible methods that could possibly be personalised to particular person experiences.
Households used the sources for no less than two weeks earlier than participating in a semi-structured interview exploring their relevance, acceptability, usefulness and accessibility, alongside ideas for enchancment. Stakeholders reviewed the prototype booklets and gave written suggestions. Household interviews and stakeholder suggestions have been analysed collectively utilizing Braun and Clarke’s (2021) reflexive thematic evaluation to determine patterns and themes throughout the information.
Outcomes
Evaluation recognized one overarching theme, supported by six themes:
- Lively participation and the ability of participating design highlighted how members felt the colorful design, interactive actions and personalised duties inspired kids to interact with the sources. Contributors described the actions as motivating, accessible and confidence-building, and valued the participating, child-friendly format in contrast with conventional, text-heavy psychoeducational supplies.
- Harnessing phrases as a foundational precept confirmed that members valued using clear, non-pathologising language. Fairly than specializing in “problems” or “signs”, the sources used strengths-based phrases akin to “traits” and “superpowers”. Households felt this diminished stigma and helped kids view their variations extra positively, and stakeholders believed the accessible language made sources extra appropriate to be used in faculties.
- Private resonance as a mechanism for self-acceptance demonstrated that kids recognised their very own experiences within the sources, which members felt supported self-understanding and a extra optimistic view of their neurodivergent traits.
- Communication as a first-line help device highlighted how members felt the sources created a shared, non-clinical language that helped kids talk their wants and supported extra collaborative discussions between kids, households and professionals.
- Tailoring for development in a common design emphasised the significance of versatile, child-led design, with members valuing a number of methods of participating that helped kids entry the sources in ways in which suited their particular person wants and preferences.
- Methods for challenges to reinforce well-being demonstrated that members felt the sources supported planning, emotional regulation and coping, whereas additionally supporting shallowness, confidence and self-acceptance.
Empowering individualised engagement was recognized because the overarching theme, as a result of all themes highlighted how members felt the sources enabled kids to actively discover their experiences in an individualised and affirming manner. The co-produced, non-clinical design allowed kids to interact with their cognitive profiles with out requiring a proper prognosis, whereas strengths-based language and private resonance supported kids to develop a extra optimistic understanding of themselves. Stakeholders considered the individualised strategy as notably worthwhile for inclusion and help whereas kids awaited evaluation.
Conclusion
Maybe a very powerful message from this research is that kids shouldn’t have to attend for a prognosis earlier than they’ll entry help, recognise their strengths, talk their wants and develop sensible coping methods. Neurodiversity-affirming psychoeducation may assist bridge this hole, with members notably valuing sources that have been co-produced, participating, versatile and grounded in strengths-based, non-clinical language. Though additional analysis is required to determine their effectiveness, this research gives an necessary reminder that help must be guided by kids’s wants, quite than ready for a diagnostic label.
Strengths and limitations
This research has a number of notable strengths:
- The qualitative design utilizing semi-structured interviews enabled members to offer detailed accounts of their experiences and views that won’t have been captured by way of quantitative measures alone.
- Together with kids, dad and mom/caregivers {and professional} stakeholders captured views from totally different teams concerned in supporting neurodivergent kids and helped determine themes throughout participant teams.
- Households engaged with the sources for no less than two weeks earlier than offering suggestions, giving them time to discover their usefulness and relevance to on a regular basis experiences quite than counting on preliminary impressions.
- The researchers demonstrated specific reflexivity by acknowledging how their neurodivergent identities may have influenced the analysis course of. Reflexive journals and discussions round coding choices elevated the transparency of the evaluation. Nevertheless, their shut involvement may have formed how interviews have been carried out and findings interpreted, which must be thought of when deciphering the findings.
A number of methodological limitations also needs to be thought of:
- Potential choice bias: The pattern was principally White British and concentrated in just a few areas of England, and recruitment by way of faculties, group networks and comfort sampling might have attracted households already taken with neurodiversity-affirming approaches. The research was additionally explicitly framed across the neurodiversity paradigm, with dad and mom figuring out their kids as experiencing challenges related to consideration, exercise ranges or social-sensory processing. Households who perceive their baby’s experiences in another way might subsequently have responded in another way to the sources, probably limiting the transferability of the findings.
- Reliance on grownup help: For youthful kids or these with larger help wants, the usefulness of the sources might rely on lively involvement from dad and mom or college workers. Households or faculties with restricted time, capability or engagement might subsequently expertise totally different outcomes, limiting the transferability of the findings.
- Mainstream college setting: All the kids attended mainstream faculties, which means the findings might not switch to kids in specialised academic settings. Kids with larger studying, communication or sensory wants might require additional variations to the sources or how they’re carried out.
- Quick analysis interval: The sources have been evaluated over a comparatively brief interval, so it stays unclear whether or not the perceived advantages could be sustained over time or translate into significant enhancements in kids’s wellbeing.
Implications for apply
This research highlights that help for neurodivergent kids doesn’t have to attend till after a prognosis. As a substitute, neurodiversity-affirming psychoeducational sources may present worthwhile first-line help by giving kids the language and techniques to higher perceive themselves.
Though the Equality Act 2010 states that affordable changes shouldn’t rely on formal prognosis, many households proceed to report a scarcity of help till one is obtained. Neurodiversity-affirming sources may probably be embedded inside whole-school approaches, pastoral help or SEND (particular academic wants and disabilities) provision to encourage self-understanding and communication between kids, households and workers. Nevertheless, additional analysis is required to determine how successfully these sources might be carried out inside faculties.
The findings may have implications for well being providers. With growing ready instances for autism and ADHD assessments throughout the UK, GPs, clinicians and early intervention providers may think about how evidence-informed psychoeducational sources would possibly help kids and households whereas they wait. Though not an alternative choice to complete evaluation, members felt the sources helped kids higher perceive their experiences and inspired collaborative problem-solving inside households. This strengths-based strategy is supported by wider autism analysis, with larger strengths use related to higher high quality of life, wellbeing and psychological well being (Taylor et al., 2023). Importantly, as a result of Shore and Powell’s (2026) sources don’t assume a prognosis, they could be related to kids who determine with the experiences described, no matter whether or not they in the end obtain an autism or ADHD prognosis.
Future analysis ought to now transfer past acceptability and discover effectiveness. Bigger and extra numerous research are wanted to find out whether or not these sources enhance outcomes akin to emotional wellbeing, shallowness and college engagement. Analysis also needs to discover how they are often carried out inside academic settings. Offering sources in faculties may enhance entry for households with much less time, capability or data to interact at house, whereas college workers could also be nicely positioned to facilitate engagement. Exploring their integration into current SEND help, pastoral provision and whole-school approaches may subsequently assist set up their feasibility in on a regular basis apply.
As an Training Psychological Well being Practitioner working in faculties for the SEND Psychological Well being Assist Staff, I discovered these findings notably encouraging. I regularly work with kids who’re on lengthy ready lists to obtain an evaluation. Throughout this time, households usually really feel that they’re left alone and uncertain how greatest to help their baby. These findings recommend that straightforward, evidence-informed sources could possibly be embedded inside faculties and NHS pathways to help kids and households whereas they anticipate evaluation. Future analysis is now wanted to determine whether or not this strategy is efficient and possible to implement at scale.
Assertion of pursuits
Jess Stace works as an Training Psychological Well being Practitioner inside a SEND Psychological Well being Assist Staff and recurrently helps the psychological well being of youngsters with a neurodevelopmental prognosis or awaiting an evaluation. This expertise has influenced her curiosity in early intervention and psychoeducational approaches. She has no different conflicting pursuits to declare. AI instruments have been used for proof studying and within the modifying course of.
Edited by
Dr Nina Higson-Sweeney.
Hyperlinks
Major paper
Evie Shore, & Lauren Powell. (2026). Bridging the hole: Co-produced neurodiversity-affirming sources for undiagnosed kids aged 7–11: Insights from kids, households and stakeholders. Journal of Analysis in Particular Instructional Wants, 26, e70077. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.70077
Different references
American Psychiatric Affiliation. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical handbook of psychological problems (fifth ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787
Autistica. (2024) ‘Not a precedence’ highlights disaster in autism evaluation and help. https://www.autistica.org.uk/weblog/no-a-prority
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). One dimension suits all? What counts as high quality apply in (reflexive) thematic evaluation?. Qualitative Analysis in Psychology, 18(3), 328-352. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1769238
French, B., Daley, D., Groom, M., & Cassidy, S. (2023). Dangers related to undiagnosed ADHD and/or autism: a mixed-method systematic overview. Journal of Consideration Problems, 27(12), 1393-1410. https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547231176862
NHS England. (2025). Report of the impartial ADHD Taskforce: Half 1. https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/report-of-the-independent-adhd-taskforce-part-1/
Powell, L., Parker, J., Stott, J., & Colbert, E. J. (2025). The influence of psychoeducation interventions on social abilities in autistic 5–12-year-olds: A story systematic overview. Neurodiversity, 3, 27546330251356718. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330251356718
Taylor, E. C., Livingston, L. A., Clutterbuck, R. A., Callan, M. J., & Shah, P. (2023). Psychological strengths and well-being: Strengths use predicts high quality of life, well-being and psychological well being in autism. Autism, 27(6), 1826-1839. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221146440
Ward, M., & Powell, L. (2026). The lived experiences of main and secondary schooling for autistic college college students. Worldwide Journal of Inclusive Training, 30(4), 732-748. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2025.2490596
