Background

It is estimated that between 15 and 20% of the Scottish population is neurodiverse (Scottish Government, 2023).

Neurodiversity is an umbrella term which can refer to all of the following traits:

No two people will be affected in the same way or to the same degree. Individuals may have more than one trait.

People with neurodiverse traits can and do contribute actively to society. They bring a different perspective to situations, can show acute attention to detail and identify creative and novel solutions to problems.

However, they are also challenged by exclusion and inequalities in our society, despite being protected under the Equalities Act 2010.  Their conditions can be invisible to others and their needs can be unrecognised or overlooked.

The list below is not exhaustive, but gives some indication of the range of challenges that neurodiverse people can experience in their daily activities:

• anxiety and stress about the unknown - it can be difficult to go to an unfamiliar place or meet unfamiliar people. Unplanned changes to time, dates with little notice can also prove stressful.
• hypersensitivity to their environment - severe lighting, loud noises and unfamiliar smells can be distracting or cause sensory overload. Some people find the effort involved in maintaining eye contact means they are no longer able to process what is being said.
• some neurodiverse people need to fidget, have a fiddle toy or doodle. It does not mean they are not listening; in fact, these things are often important in allowing them to focus.
• understanding of social situations
• difficulty understanding facial expressions, tone of voice, body language and personal space
• overload can result in a neurodiverse person not having enough time to process new information, or to formulate a response to questions

Planning your engagement

• When looking at potential venues, find out if there is somewhere that already suits neurodiverse participants, whilst also thinking about easy access to public transport and the availability of parking facilities.
• Provide clear public transport information, including bus numbers and times, what stop to get off the bus at, as well as any helpful landmarks along the route for people to look out for.
• Choose a venue which has natural light or soft lighting and try to avoid venues that have fluorescent, flickering or bright lights and colours or bold patterns on carpets and walls. Reduce the volume of any background music or avoid using it and if these can’t be avoided, inform participants of these areas.
• For many people, concentrating for long periods can be challenging. Carry out engagement activities in small chunks and build in regular short breaks. Keep digital sessions short as focusing on a screen can be especially tiring.

Before the meeting

• Provide information in advance, such as the agenda, any supporting materials, copies of slides, so that individuals know what to expect. It may be helpful to include photos of the venue, location maps and more detail about what will happen during the meeting, including some information of what group sessions or activities will take place.
• Use simple clear visuals such as flow charts, pictures, infographics or short bullet points. Many neurodiverse people struggle with processing audible information.
• Provide well formatted wrtten information. Use serif fonts (such as Arial, Comic Sans, Calibri). Think about the colour of paper (avoid dazzling white paper) and include white space to reduce visual stress. Format text correctly and avoid using lots of bold, underline and italics outside of headings. Avoid long paragraphs of text. Too much information can cause people to miss things and increase the amount of time and concentration needed to digest the information.

At the meeting

• Keep the environment as clutter-free as possible. Having lots of things in the background is very distracting. For online video calls, consider blurring your background or using a virtual background to hide unnecessary clutter.
• Have a quiet breakout space area away from the meeting space that can be used.
• Be clear about the purpose of the meeting or event. Where possible stick to the agenda and times. Any last-minute changes may increase the level of stress.
• In conversation use clear, specific language. Don’t use sarcasm or odd phrases. For example, don’t say “time’s ticking” to encourage someone to hurry up. It may be better to say, “you have 5 more minutes.”
• Consider alternative ways to allow neurodivergent people to contribute to group discussions and decision-making. This could include tools such as mind mapping, graphic illustration and process mapping.

After the meeting

• If it is a busy venue, it may be helpful for neurodivergent people to leave a little early, so they don’t have to deal with busy areas within the building.
• Use a variety of methods to seek feedback so that future meetings and events can be improved. This could include having a space for people to share their feedback with you individually, placing a suggestion box in the room or providing a link to an anonymous online survey.