'It's free to take the steps that make the biggest difference': Neurodiversity UK

When Jack Norwood founded the Brighton ADHD support group more than a decade ago, he could not have predicted it would eventually lead him to building a social enterprise training some of the UK's largest organisations. But the journey from peer support to professional consultancy is precisely what makes Neurodiversity UK distinct and, as Jack and his colleague James Robertson explain, it is the foundation of everything they do.

Jack is founding director and coach at Neurodiversity UK; James is head of consulting and training. Between them, they bring a blend of lived experience and corporate expertise that enables powerful work.

From support groups to the boardroom

Jack was diagnosed with ADHD 16 years ago and describes a difficult journey getting help. Having eventually received support through the NHS, he went on to found the Brighton ADHD support group, then the national peer support charity ADHD Aware, before training as a coach with the ADHD Foundation and, a year and a half ago, launching Neurodiversity UK.

For Jack, that support group background gives Neurodiversity UK a perspective that employer-facing consultancies cannot replicate.

'With a support group, there's a very low barrier to entry, so you see everyone,' he says. 'It gives you a real diverse mix of what neurodiversity is. And also, you get to know people for a very long time. I've known people for 15 years now, and really got to see what works and what doesn't work.'

The depth of that community knowledge feeds directly into the quality of training that Neurodiversity UK delivers. 'It also gives us a personal story to tell, with a lot more lived experience.'

Where HR policy falls short

James takes the lead when conversation turns to the gap between written policy and day-to-day management practice: a gap he describes as the sector's most persistent challenge.

'HR policy is getting better. It's by no means perfect, but it is getting better at understanding the needs of neurodivergent employees,' he says. 'Where we see the gaps is within practical execution: turning what we should be doing into something which actually impacts on people on a day-to-day basis.'

That capability gap shows up most visibly at manager level. It is not usually a question of intent.

'The intent is there, and the intent is good. But that confidence, that slight fear of the unknown: that's where we come in. To help managers, help HR teams, turn that good intention into practice.'

Access to Work: a scheme in need of better promotion

Jack runs an Access to Work support group for people navigating the scheme, and his assessment is blunt: it is both valuable and deeply flawed.

'It's been called the government's best-kept secret,' he says. 'People didn't know it existed before. Now it's much more popular, but the way the scheme is run means it's not accessible for neurodivergent people.'

He is particularly keen for HR professionals to understand how the scheme prioritises applicants. New starters receive the fastest processing and, in most cases, full funding. Existing employees face longer waits and cost-sharing based on company size. Coaching, however, is always fully funded.

The bigger problem is what happens after an award is made.

'Access to Work will provide recommendations, but it requires companies to act. Buying equipment for someone's reasonable adjustments has to go through their line manager, through HR, through finance. And in large companies that can take an awful amount of time. Or never.'

James observes this highlights the need for inclusivity by design. 'There are a lot of things workplaces can do that means Access to Work wouldn't be necessary. Those adjustments would already be covered. And it's been proven in study after study that making those changes helps everyone. Not just neurodivergent individuals. New starters, people who've been there 30 years. It's a better workplace.'

Neurodiversity Celebration Week: from awareness to action

James led campaign work around Neurodiversity Celebration Week and is cautious about what the increased corporate engagement of recent years actually represents.

'It's great to celebrate it. But it does need action. What we're seeing now is organisations starting to take it seriously and saying, “this needs to be more than a one-hour webinar in March.” We need more than that.'

The organisations making the biggest strides tend to be in sectors with a strong structural pull towards neurodivergent talent, such as engineering, construction, software and AI, where the business case is undeniable. And increasingly, the people commissioning training are neurodivergent themselves.

'It's quite strange, actually, to find someone who isn't, when we're talking to them,' James says. 'We tend to get people who have done their research. They're not looking for off-the-shelf awareness training. They want something credible: that blend of lived experience with professional backing.'

Jack adds that employee resource groups are also driving change from within. 'There are now neurodiversity leads and champions inside organisations, and their sense of justice is really motivating them. It's gone from awareness to action.'

Supporting newly diagnosed employees

A large and growing proportion of neurodivergent people receive their diagnosis in adulthood, often mid-career. Jack has a clear view on how HR should respond. It begins with a reframe.

'The process should be needs-based, not diagnosis-based,' he says. 'Have the support available and accessible, so it can be based on what someone needs, not on whether they have a piece of paper.'

Once someone is diagnosed, he cautions against expecting swift resolution. Medication, if relevant, takes time to calibrate. And the common HR instinct of asking 'what reasonable adjustments do you want?' can place an unfair burden on someone who may not yet know what they need.

'It's not until around six or seven coaching sessions that we help someone identify what their needs are, and then help them communicate them. All of these things are very difficult and take time.'

He describes a coaching client who had worked in a role for many years, performing well, then received an ADHD diagnosis and began asking for support. Their employer was baffled.

'They couldn't understand, because this person had been performing so well for so long. But they had been working at 200% capacity, massively stressed, in order to reach that level of performance. They were just unmasking.'

The point is not that someone needs support to do their job. 'They're competent at their jobs. But their job is using their energy, and causing them significantly more stress to reach that level of performance.'

A social enterprise difference

Neurodiversity UK reinvests its profits into community work, a model both Jack and James say changes the texture of conversations with corporate clients.

'It's not just generic off-the-shelf training,' Jack says. 'We're able to offer that lived experience and personal touch. Everyone involved has that personal connection to neurodiversity. That's part of our culture, very much from the support group tradition.'

For James, the social enterprise model gives the organisation a dimension that purely commercial consultancies cannot easily replicate. 'Being a social enterprise, supporting the ND community in the UK, it goes beyond business to the people we're speaking with. It makes it more personal, because they might be coming to one of our support groups for help with Access to Work. They might be coming to one of our coaches later in life with a later diagnosis themselves.'

Small steps, real impact

On the question of what neuroinclusion looks like for an SME with limited HR resources, James resists the temptation to give a simple formula, but offers a pointed observation.

'I've known SMEs doing a fantastic job with hardly any resources, and massive multinational corporates in 50 countries doing a rubbish job with infinite resources. It doesn't matter how much money you throw at it. If the will is not there from the top of the organisation down, it will not fundamentally change the culture.'

Equally, the practical steps that make the biggest difference are often free.

'Making sure you've got interview questions in advance: that costs nothing. It doesn't matter if you're a multinational or a five-person startup. You can do that. And that is inclusivity by design. Do it for everyone, not just neurodivergent candidates. And suddenly you're making those small steps.'

Jack has a phrase he returns to in his training. 'With support and understanding, everyone can thrive,' he says. 'And I underline everyone. If you lower the barriers to support, neurodivergent people benefit. But so does everyone else. You create a culture where if someone needs support, they can get it. That's what inclusivity by design is going for.'

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