Autism and Neurodiversity across the Lifespan

There is increasing support for taking a 'Neurodevelopmental' approach to understanding the range of ways children, young people and adults present.  We include more detail about language on our Turas page about the personal nature of language choice, and what we mean when we talk about neurodiversity and neurodivergence.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects approximately 1% of the population in Scotland.  Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is another neurodevelopmental condition that affects approximately 3-5% of the population.  Improving access to assessment, diagnosis and consistent standards of intervention and support has been a key focus for The Scottish Government, NES and our partner organisations.  The most recent refresh of The Scottish Strategy for Autism reiterates staff education, training and development as being at the heart of the strategy. Similarly, the recent Scottish Government Neurodevelopmental Service Specification sets out 7 standards of care for the support of neurodivergent children and young people.

NES remains committed to working in partnership with stakeholders across agencies to deliver high-quality education and enabling excellence for the health and care of neurodivergent individuals and their families.