Early Themes from the 2025 Neuroinclusion Survey

We are deeply grateful to the 229 people who took the time to respond, and to the many members who shared and promoted the survey. The care, honesty and emotional labour in these responses is unmistakable. They offer us a clear window into lived experience across workplaces, healthcare, education and family life.  This year, with your help, we have over twice the number of responses as we’ve received in previous years, and so much is already being learned from it all. 

Before we explore what is emerging, it’s important to be clear that this analysis covers only the open-text questions in the 2025 Neuroinclusion Survey. These are the questions where people could write freely, in their own words, about their experiences. Around 90% of the full survey data is still awaiting analysis, and we will be publishing further findings throughout Q1 and Q2 as we work through the rest of the data.  We anticipate a full report on the survey results in April 2026. 

Even so, just this small fragment of the information received is very illustrative.  Across sections on workplace adjustments, company culture, diagnosis, and parenting neurodivergent children, several consistent themes emerged: 

• Systemic barriers:  Many challenges stem not from individuals, but from organisational and societal systems that are not designed with neurodivergent people in mind. 

• A desire for autonomy and trust:  People want flexibility, choice and to be treated as capable adults. 

• The impact of culture and visibility:  Psychological safety depends on understanding, role modelling and proactive management. 

• Cumulative stress and harm:  Poorly designed processes, delays and lack of support build over time, contributing to burnout and disengagement. 

• Rising awareness but unmet needs:  Recognition of neurodiversity is growing, but practice is lagging behind. 

This year’s responses also reflect a shift in how people experience workplace culture. While our 2024 survey showed gradual improvement across the industry, with employees of GAIN members seeing significant positive change, this year 15% of respondents reported a backward slide in inclusivity, with a further 34% seeing no change. Several comments point to the wider political and societal climate as a contributing factor, something which was a consistent theme through multiple comments. 

As one respondent put it:  

“Recent laws in the US and anti-trans measures here in the UK make me question whether my workplace will continue to prioritise inclusion, and it has already made some managers more cautious about supporting neurodivergent employees.” 

The comments we received are a reminder to employers that inclusion does not exist in a vacuum. Broader societal signals shape whether people feel safe to disclose, to ask for help, or to trust that policies will be upheld. In uncertain times, organisations must reaffirm their commitment to neuroinclusion, ensure protections remain robust, and communicate clearly that people will be supported.  Early and proactive reassurance and affirmation, alongside visible evidence that action will continue, will mark the difference between organisations that engage as allies of their marginalised employees because it is the right thing to do, and those who only do it when it’s easy. 

Beyond that, we found several consistent themes cross discussions of adjustment processes, diagnosis, company culture and support for parents and carers. 

Adjustment Processes 

We identified the following themes: 

• If you want us in the office, make it bearable and safe for our nervous systems. 

• Treat us as adults who understand how we work best. 

• Reasonable adjustments shouldn’t require extraordinary resilience to obtain. 

• Adjustments are a two-way process, not something neurodivergent people should carry alone. 

• Neurodivergence should never make someone more vulnerable to misuse of power. 

• Stop fitting people into boxes – design work around people. 

• Inclusion is about belonging, not just policies. 

• The right tools remove barriers – the wrong process creates new ones. 

Diagnosis Experiences 

We identified the following core needs:  

• Timely, accessible, and fair diagnostic processes. 

• Diagnosis and treatment not dependent on ability to pay. 

• Earlier recognition and understanding to prevent cumulative harm. 

• Recognition that diagnosis brings meaning, not just a label. 

• Trauma-informed, respectful diagnostic practices. 

• Legitimate recognition of self-identification where systems fail. 

• Reduction of stigma and real-world consequences of diagnosis. 

• Diagnosis to enable help, not create new obstacles. 

Company Culture 

We identified the following core needs: 

• Inclusion that translates into action, not branding or optics. 

• Environments where being open does not result in harm, or career risk. 

• Protection from bullying and discriminatory management practices. 

• Neuroinclusion competence at management and senior leadership level. 

• Properly resourced, supported, and valued neurodiversity networks. 

• Adjustments that are real, usable, and equitably applied. 

• Stability and commitment to inclusion even during change. 

• Inclusive cultures that are systemic, not luck-based. 

• Moving beyond ignorance-based harm. 

• Recognition that neurodivergence does not exist in isolation, recognise the compounding effect of being neurodivergent and part of another marginalised group. 

Support for Parents and Carers 

We identified the following core needs: 

• Connection with other parents and carers who understand lived experience. 

• Access to professional expertise to guide decision-making and support. 

• Help parents navigate educational systems and advocate effectively. 

• Flexibility to manage professional responsibilities while caring for ND children. 

• Tangible materials and guidance to help parents support their children. 

• Widespread understanding of neurodivergence to reduce stigma and increase support. 

This is only the first layer of what you have shared with us. Much more insight will emerge as we complete the full analysis. But even at this early stage, one message is clear: people are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for systems, cultures and workplaces that do not harm them, and that allow them, and their children, to thrive.  You can read about these early patterns in more detail in the downloadable pdf below. 

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