More than inclusion: reimagining secondary education through neurodiversity-affirming practice

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Lang, J., Wood, R., Inchley, J., Haughton, D., Turner, F., Gajwani, R., Minnis, H., & Press, M. (2026). More than inclusion: reimagining secondary education through neurodiversity-affirming practice. London Review of Education, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.14324/lre.24.1.06

Publication date: 26 Mar 2026 Added to AutiHub: 18 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
8
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 8 (12.5%)
  1. Jason Lang *
  2. Rebecca Wood
  3. Joanna Inchley
  4. Dawn Haughton
  1. Fiona Turner
  2. Ruchika Gajwani
  3. Helen Minnis
  4. Melea Press

Abstract

Despite growing recognition of neurodiversity as a valuable form of human variation, neurodivergent students, those who are autistic or have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia or other neurodivergent profiles, continue to face exclusion and disadvantage in secondary education. This article reports findings from Phase 1 of the Neurodiversity in Scottish Schools project: a participatory, co-produced enquiry applying a public and patient involvement and engagement approach. Using workshops, interviews and consultations with parents, educators, researchers, policymakers and neurodivergent young people, the study explored systemic barriers and facilitators to inclusion in mainstream secondary schools. Key findings highlight the need for whole-school culture change, reflective practice for teachers, lived experience-led training, alternative assessment methods and support for students unable to access school. Concepts such as epistemic injustice and the double empathy problem surfaced as critical in understanding barriers to inclusion. We outline a co-produced framework for future research into neurodiversity-affirming, universal interventions and scalable, sustainable change models in education. This article contributes to inclusive education, neurodiversity-affirming practice and systemic reform in the context of Scottish secondary schools, with likely applications in other similar educational contexts.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 20 Sep 2026 01:01.

Cited references
56
With a DOI
42
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
14
7 / 56 (12.5%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
3 / 56 (5.4%)
References with detected author names
53 / 56 (94.6%)
Without detected author names
3
Without a structured title
3
Without a stable identifier
14
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
131
From DOI or external metadata
131
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
42 / 131 (32.1%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 89 / 131 (67.9%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
12 / 131 (9.2%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 12 / 42 (28.6%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 10 / 125 (8.0%).
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