This Neurodiversity Celebration Week, we’re shining a light on the amazing children and young people we support who have a range of diverse needs.
Neurodiversity Celebration Week is about helping the world understand, value, and celebrate those with different minds.
The initiative calls for us to challenge misconceptions about neurodivergent individuals and nurture the unique talents they bring to the table.
What is neurodiversity?
Within humanity, there are lots of natural differences in how people think, learn and act. “Neurodiversity” refers to the variety of neurological ways people process information.
Those who are neurodivergent might have a condition like autism or ADHD, or a medical disorder that means their strengths and struggles differ from those of people with more “typical” brains.
Intersections of vulnerability
Experiencing difficulties at home or school is challenging for any child. So for those young people who, on top of this, have a learning difficulty or disorder such as autism or ADHD, everyday life can be difficult.
In our work across the UK, India, and Tanzania, we support children and young people with all diverse range of needs, many of whom are neurodivergent.
In London, 56% of the children we support having a learning difficulty.
Being neurodivergent can make a child more vulnerable to being exploited by those who wish them harm.
Personalised support
That’s why, when children are referred to us, we work hard to identify the roots of their vulnerabilities and provide the help they need.
Our youth practitioners are always finding new ways to engage with young people according to their individual personalities and preferences.
Whether through painting, journalling, or watching powerful stories in video form, our youth practitioners are dedicated to helping every child overcome their unique struggles.
Our support doesn’t have a set time limit.
We take time to get to know each child and find the best ways to connect with them, so they can get the best help possible.
Anna’s story
Anna*, 16, was referred to us after she ran away from home. She presents as autistic but doesn’t have an official diagnosis yet.
When Railway Children worker, Jess, began supporting Anna, she wasn’t attending all her timetabled lessons at school because she found the environment overwhelming. The school decided she wasn’t going to be allowed to sit all her GCSEs.
But Anna is very bright and wanted to sit all of her exams.
She enjoyed learning, but often got very bored in class because she already knew and understood a lot of what was being taught.
“A lot of my initial work with Anna was around liaison with education,” says Jess, “and trying to get school to put reasonable adjustments in place – I was basically advocating on Anna’s behalf that she was very capable of completing her GCSEs and sitting the exams.
The school agreed to a compromise: Anna had to sit a mock exam for the subjects she hadn’t been attending and, as long as she achieved a 5 or above, she’d be allowed to sit the exam.
At first, Anna didn’t want to do this but. But after speaking to Jess about how the process would benefit her, Anna agreed to sit the mock tests and passed them all with flying colours!
Anna sat all her GCSEs in the summer and scored highest in the year in most of her subjects.
“Anna’s mum was absolutely over the moon,” reflects Jess. “Anna’s traits can be quite challenging at times – they make it hard for her to compromise. So her mum was delighted that Jess had agreed to the school’s conditions and that she’d done so well.”
Jess then supported Anna with next steps – helping Anna decide what college she wanted to go to and joining her for interviews. Anna is now enrolled on a Mechanical Engineering course.
“She’s engaged with her learning every single day and has attended every lesson,” says Jess. “Although Anna is the only female on her course, she loves it and is doing so well. She’s formed relationships and is building friendships with other students.”
But there was one more area where Anna needed Jess’s support.
“Anna and her mum had quite a negative relationship when I started working with her,” describes Jess. “Anna’s mum felt unable to engage with Anna and unsure of how to encourage her.”
So Jess organised family counselling sessions to help open a line of communication between them. Both mum and daughter were able to feel heard and listened to.
Jess also ran sessions herself with Anna and her mum, encouraging them to discuss topics that had caused tension in the relationship helping them to come to an agreement together.
“Both Anna’s mum and Anna have reported that their relationship has improved since they’re able to talk more openly and honestly with each other,” says Jess.
*Names changed and models used to protect identities.