‘It’s about equity’: Council commits to supporting people with autism and ADHD

Public services in Newport will be adapted to meet the needs of neurodivergent people, following a councillor’s appeals for “inclusion, compassion and respect”.

“This isn’t asking for special treatment, it’s about equity,” said Cllr Laura Lacey. “It’s about recognising that neurodivergent people have always been and always will be part of our communities.”

City councillors have agreed to promote more inclusivity by ensuring the local authority’s services “are equipped to identify and meet the needs of neurodivergent individuals”.

There will be extra training for all council employees, support for awareness and acceptance campaigns, and “reasonable adjustments” to encourage more participation in public life.

Cllr Lacey, who proposed the changes at a council meeting this week, told colleagues the policy was “deeply personal”.

“As someone who is dyslexic, autistic and has ADHD, I know first-hand the struggles neurodivergent people face,” she said. “I wasn’t diagnosed until I was in my forties, after years of being misdiagnosed, misunderstood and even told I had bipolar disorder – when in fact, I was burned out from trying to survive in a world not designed for minds like mine.”

She added: “We need to create environments that work with neurodivergent minds, and not against them.”

There was cross-party support for Cllr Lacey’s calls, with several other councillors also sharing their personal accounts.

“Like many people, I didn’t grow up knowing I was neurodivergent”, said Cllr Stephen Marshall, as he recalled “years of being told I needed to try harder, concentrate more, [that I was] lazy and to be more like everyone else”.

He said many neurodivergent people are “expected to keep pace in a world that wasn’t built with you in mind, and if you struggle the assumption is you’re the problem”.

“The truth is it’s not about fixing people, it’s about fixing systems – we can’t afford to keep overlooking the potential of those one in seven people”, he added, referring to population estimates of neurodivergence.

Cllr Deb Davies, the cabinet member for education, said “there is an increasing number of children presenting as neurodivergent, and there are many good reasons for this, including improved diagnosis and a better understanding of presentation”.

The council wants to “create better outcomes for those with a neurodivergent diagnosis”, she said, before commending two headteachers for their influential work to date.

She said Richard Drew, the headteacher of “our first neurodivergent school” at Ysgol Bryn Derw, provides “inspirational” guidance to the city’s other schools “which ensures a consistent approach”.

Gaer Primary School’s headteacher Alex Smith had made an “astounding” impact by redesigning classrooms there to reduce sensory overload, she added.

Cllr Dimitri Batrouni, who leads the local authority, welcomed the commitment to an “important issue that affects many of us, whether we realise it or not” – while Cllr Matthew Evans, the opposition leader, said it was “reassuring to see so much support”.

“We are not anomalies, we are your neighbours, your colleagues, your children and your councillors,” Cllr Lacey concluded.

“The current setup too often asks neurodivergent people to adapt endlessly, silently and to great personal cost,” she said. “This motion shifts that burden back to where it belongs, onto the systems and institutions that should be serving all of us.”