Research Spotlight: Hearing and understanding the lived experiences of neurodivergent young people navigating mainstream secondary school.

Liz Staples has dedicated her studies and working practice to understanding how neurodivergent learners experience and engage with education. This work is driven by her own lived experience of having ADHD and raising neurodivergent children which highlighted the challenges for neurodivergent individuals in education at any stage.

Did You Know?

➤It is suggested that as many as 20% of children and young people are neurodivergent.

➤There is twice as much chance neurodivergent young people will experience school exclusion than their peers without SEN.

➤A study by Fleming et al (2017) suggests that young people with ADHD are more likely to have a low educational attainment level – significantly a whopping 3 times more likely than their typical peers.

What was the research as looking at?

Simple line drawing of a person thinking with a green question mark above. The figure has a hand on their chin, set on a white background.

This research involved working with a mainstream secondary school and six neurodivergent young people from year 11. I met with the young people over four months to listen to their experiences of the many facets of schooling. The research was designed to hear their voices so that I could understand what school was like for them. These findings will then be written into a report which the hosting school are keen to learn from.

How did you conduct your research?

➤ The research was relaxed and directed by the students. I did provide a small amount of initial structure to act as a starting point before they shared what they wanted me to know. These small group discussions made it easier for the students to feel secure when sharing their stories with me.

➤We ‘walked & talked’ around the school grounds which gave the young people the opportunity to feel relaxed and talk freely.

➤ I provided the young people with an instant camera and asked them to take me around their school and take photographs of areas which reflected positive or negative experiences for them. For example, half of the group photographed the school canteen and remarked that it is usually very noisy and too crowded which overstimulated them.

What are your key findings?

➤ Understanding and patience from friends is vital for reassurance and affirmation.

➤Noise levels are often difficult to cope with in both the learning and social spaces.

➤Teachers often move onto new topics before students have truly grasped the concepts and knowledge taught at that time.

Any recommendations?

➤Students and staff need educating about neurodivergence.

➤Teaching pace needs to be reflexive to the student’s needs.

➤Classroom practices need to respond to student’s needs and build in movement breaks, variation of teaching styles with interactive sessions and build in time for knowledge embedment.

Your final word…

Educating about the realities and complexities of neurodivergence is key to creating inclusive environments and effective learning spaces. I suggest that there are changes which can be made from a neurodivergent viewpoint which would improve educational experiences for all students.

This research study is being presented at the BERA 2025 national conference.