Policy Briefings

What are they?

These two-page documents have been created alongside the Salvesen Mindroom Centre. They give a snapshot of research findings alongside some evidence-based recommendations. The documents outline what we found, what we recommend based on our findings, as well as what we did and why we did it. They are available in pdf and plain text format.

Who are they for?

The briefings are aimed at anyone involved in enabling change – from MSPs to social workers and classroom teachers – we’d encourage you to have a look.

Will you be adding more?

We hope to add to this library on a regular basis, covering a range of topics that could impact the lives of neurodiverse people.

Download the briefings

Education and Learning

Briefing 1 - Learning difficulties and exclusion from school

Children with a learning difficulty are at higher risk of exclusion from school

Briefing 4 - Key factors to a positive experience of mainstream schooling

Good relationships between staff and students, and a positive commitment to diversity by the school is key

LEANS education policy briefing

LEANS provides a complementary approach to support inclusion, wellbeing and equality, by supporting and improving children’s understanding of diversity

Briefing 8 - Supporting autistic university students

Evidence suggests that UK Universities are failing to adequately support many of their potentially high achieving students

Briefing 14 - Neurodivergent designed and led peer support in mainstream secondary schools

Peer support groups should be student-led and designed thoughtfully to make sure they are inclusive. Staff facilitators can use the guidance laid out in our NEST handbook to get started.

Health and Wellbeing

Briefing 9 - Mental health service barriers for people with autism

Autistic people’s mental healthcare needs are not well met, due to a range of logistical barriers, absence of specialist knowledge, and lack of individualised treatment pathways

Briefing 10 - Understanding stress in autistic people and their parents

Both being autistic and being a parent of an autistic child is stressful and this stress can easily be exacerbated by service inaccessibility

Briefing 12 - Supporting autistic people with eating disorders

There’s a real shortage of bespoke treatments for autistic patients with eating disorders, but evidence suggests one-to-one models will be more effective than group sessions

Briefing 13 - Causes and frequency of depression in youth with ADHD

Young people with ADHD are more likely to experience depression compared to the general population of the same age 

Families and Community

Briefing 2 - Professional experiences of parental support seeking

Professionals view decision-making as a collaborative process with parents

Briefing 3 - Accessing information: Experiences of parents

Parents view their access to information as luck or chance

Briefing 7 - Preterm birth and parent communication preferences

Opportunities for conversations between parents and doctors should be offered early on and in a flexible way. Trainingabout prematurity should be offered to health visitors, early years educators, and teachers

Communication and Relationships

Briefing 5 - Autism and bilingualism

Evidence showing that parents should be supported to raise their autistic child bilingually if they want to

Briefing 6 - Autistic communication and peer engagement

Autistic people might benefit from the chance to spend time with other autistic people. Peer support and mentoring models might be a good way to achieve this

Briefing 15 - Communication between autistic and non-autistic people