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Neurodivergent adolescents & the emotional burden at school

DormouseAtRest_25

Anna Freud (a mental health charity for children and young people) recently published material around the latest research (from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, in partnership with Anna Freud and University College London) into;

"Neurodivergent adolescents experience twice the emotional burden at school compared to their neurotypical peers":

https://www.annafreud.org/news/neurodivergent-adolescents-experience-twice-the-emotional-burden-at-school/

The research conclusion highlights the potential value of using a "My Emotions in School Inventory (MESI)" to help measure the exposure of neurodivergent adolescents to emotional burden (EB).

"The ‘My Emotions in School Inventory (MESI)’ was co-produced with young people with ADHD and/or autism to measure levels of emotional burden (EB – combining frequency of exposure to common upsetting events and intensity of emotional responses to them) in adolescents."

Particularly pleasing; was the realisation that this emotional burden self-report measure for adolescents was actually co-produced with neurodivergent adolescents.  I believe that was really important.

Many people in our community here might potentially wish to be aware of and consider this research.

As a volunteer with a community service organisation (supporting adolescents) I take the opportunities, where possible, to participate in that organisation's strategy consultation process and inclusion programmes. 

I definitely intend to think further upon this research (not least because; I am all too aware that it may not actually be within the school setting that a neurodivergent young person initially chooses to share their emotional burden issues / concerns with someone and seeks some guidance or support).

Research paper:

Lukito, S., Chandler, S., Kakoulidou, M., Griffiths, K., Wyatt, A., Funnell, E., Pavlopoulou, G., Baker, S., Stahl, D., Sonuga-Barke, E. and the RE-STAR team (2025), Emotional burden in school as a source of mental health problems associated with ADHD and/or autism: Development and validation of a new co-produced self-report measure. J Child Psychol Psychiatr. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.70003

The research paper website:

https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.70003

Or, in PDF format:

https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jcpp.70003

(Hoping some of the above might prove to be of interest to people in support of neurodivergent young people in their lives and communities).

Parents

  • I have never come across an autistic person who has said that they enjoyed school. For most it is somewhere between unpleasant and unbearably traumatic. I still consider that my response to starting school at four and a half years of age, three months of selective mutism, was a reasonable one. Society has a long way to go to make mainstream school a pleasant or even bearable experience for autistic children.

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  • I have never come across an autistic person who has said that they enjoyed school. For most it is somewhere between unpleasant and unbearably traumatic. I still consider that my response to starting school at four and a half years of age, three months of selective mutism, was a reasonable one. Society has a long way to go to make mainstream school a pleasant or even bearable experience for autistic children.

Children
  • in reply to Martin

    On my very first day in school, I locked myself in the car and refused to come out. This was before central locking, so I just had to keep pushing on the little pop-up lock button. Eventually my mother and the headmaster, approaching from opposite sides of the car managed to pry me out. It went downhill from there.

    School wasn't all terrible. I have some fond memories (like getting slashed in art class and ending up in A&E needing stitches—people were nice to me that day). But the school environment in general probably did me a lot more harm than good.