How we can do more to protect the mental health of those who are neurodivergent - Kate Crawford-Blake
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week. It’s a prompt to support our own mental health and that of others. This year’s theme of ‘action’ acknowledges that sometimes steps need to be taken to boost the mental health of those around us.
Neurodivergency is the field I work in, which is not a mental health condition. But, sadly, the two topics are related: Neurodivergent people are far more likely than others to suffer from mental health difficulties.
Research suggests that the mental health of autistic people and those with ADHD is affected by feeling they haven’t been heard, understood, or supported in ways that meet their needs.
Approximately 70 per cent of autistic adults also have a mental health difficulty, most commonly anxiety or depression. Similar patterns are seen in adults with ADHD, where untreated or unsupported neurodevelopmental needs often lead to secondary mental health difficulties over time.
Even more stark, studies report that as many as 60 per cent of autistic adults experience suicidal thoughts during their lifetime, compared to below 20 per cent of people in the general population, and death by suicide is the leading cause of premature death for autistic adults without intellectual disability.
It is all too clear that neurodivergent people carry an unequal mental health burden.
Neurodivergent conditions mean people experience and interact with the world differently to others. The harm to mental health generally lies in living in environments that do not understand or accommodate those differences.
Many of our adult clients describe years of feeling ‘too much’ or ‘not enough’. For some, trying to cope with overwhelming sensory environments, unclear social expectations, and feeling pressure to adapt, leads to exhaustion, anxiety, low mood and a sense of isolation.
Late or missed diagnosis can make this worse, leaving people without an understanding of themselves and their challenges. This makes it more likely that they will learn instead to mask or camouflage their differences in order to get by. While this can help on the surface, it often comes at a high emotional cost and is linked to increased risk of burnout and suicidal thinking.
Mental Health campaigns encouraging open conversations are positive. But some neurodivergent people tell us that they have tried to talk.
Teachers, GPs, employers, or mental health services, have misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or passed people between systems that don’t fit together.
Support that wasn’t adapted to their communication style, sensory needs, or cognitive profile, can leave them feeling alone.
Help must begin far earlier than crisis services. To really benefit neurodivergent people, when needed, tailored wellbeing accommodations and support would span education, health services, justice and employment.
When neurodivergent people feel accepted, accommodated and supported, their mental health improves, because they feel less pressure to change who they are.
During this Mental Health Awareness Week, if someone struggles to explain how they’re feeling, that doesn’t mean they don’t want help. It may mean they need more time, a different approach, or someone who understands neurodivergent communication.
Kate Crawford-Blake is head of research and training at Evolve Psychology.