Educational and vocational engagement

Lyndel Kennedy, PhD scholar

More neurodivergent students are enrolling in higher education than ever, but many don't complete their degrees or diplomas.

Research has focused mainly on Autistic university students, often ignoring students with other neurodivergent conditions. However, many people have more than one neurodivergent condition.

Research may also assume that it is neurodivergence itself that leads to students dropping out. But other factors may also be relevant.

Research questions:

• What factors contribute to the academic success of neurodivergent students?
• What supports do neurodivergent students want, and what barriers stand in their way?

We co-designed a survey and interview questions with neurodivergent students to better understand the university and TAFE experiences of neurodivergent students compared with non-neurodivergent students in Australia and New Zealand.

From over 200 survey respondents, we found that:

• 93% of neurodivergent students had mental health conditions, and a third had multiple neurodivergent conditions.
• Neurodivergent students had higher rates of anxiety, depression and sensory sensitivities, and lower executive functioning and wellbeing and did not enjoy higher education as much as non-neurodivergent students.
• Less than half of neurodivergent students had disclosed to their university or TAFE; many delayed disclosing until a crisis occurred as they worried about stigma and discrimination.
• Only half of neurodivergent students had accessed support, but when they did, they found them helpful.
• Overwhelmingly, neurodivergent students wanted new supports (e.g., mentoring programs and support groups) to be led by neurodivergent facilitators.
• For academic success (passing units or subjects), neurotype was not important. Better executive functioning skills and more social support were related to better success for all students in the study.

Success for neurodivergent students can be improved with the right support and better person-to-environment fit. Lyndel will use the information from her research to make recommendations for improving higher education supports for neurodivergent students, contributing to a future where more neurodivergent students realise their full academic potential.

Lyndel is now analysing in-depth interviews with 34 neurodivergent students.

Read Lyndel's publications

As a result of a 2022 project commissioned by the Queensland Department of Education, OTARC Director Professor Alison Lane and colleagues delivered a Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) of the literature about sensory processing challenges in school settings. This review assessed the evidence for various interventions, including weighted vests, alternate seating, classroom amplification systems and multisensory environments and provided recommendations for their use.

The findings from this review were incorporated into developing training and resources for teachers and learning support staff, specialist advisors, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, principals and teacher's aides. The findings of focus groups with school staff indicated a need for more knowledge amongst teachers in mainstream schools about how sensory processing challenges may impact student behaviour and learning. Further, decisions regarding the strategies used by school staff to address these challenges were not always grounded in evidence .

The suite of resources includes a flow-chart-style poster to guide decision-making regarding sensory needs, two webpages explaining sensory issues, and explaining inclusive education principles, all linked to the Department resources, together with a manual setting out the overall approach.

These materials were developed using a practical framework comprising five decision-making phases, called "a SENSIBLE approach: SENSory-Informed Best practices for LEarning". This framework assists school staff in implementing strategies that facilitate inclusive access, active participation, and academic success for all students, regardless of their sensory processing challenges. It also encourages integrating evidence-informed practices and inclusive education principles when creating learning opportunities that accommodate sensory variations.

This approach is unique because it is designed for education teams within schools rather than focusing solely on classroom teachers. The SENSIBLE approach is currently being rolled out in Queensland government schools, with evaluations of its impact planned.

This is an excerpt from the OTARC response to the Western Australian's Education and Health Standing Committee's Inquiry into support for Autistic children and young people in schools. You can read the full submission here.

• Unwin, K., Wales, K., Johnson, T., & Lane, A. (2022). Supporting Students with Sensory Processing Challenges: Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA). La Trobe University, Bundoora.
• Lane, A.E. & Leonard, C. (2023). A sensible Approach SENSory-Informed Best practices for Learning Decision-Making Framework Manual. Queensland Department of Education, Brisbane.

Bloom is a neurodiversity-affirming support program led by the Endowed Chair for Autism Research, Professor Dawn Adams. The program is co-produced by a neurodiverse team that includes Autistic, otherwise neurodivergent, and neurotypical researchers. Additionally, Bloom collaborates with both Autistic-led and non-Autistic-led organisations. The content of Bloom is based on what the team learnt from 57 Autistic adults and parents of Autistic children (70 hours of interviews), ensuring the program is grounded in lived experience. The team’s commitment to inclusive design, from initial development through to sharing results, was recognised with the 2024 Autism CRC Inclusive Research Practice Award.

The program consists of eight weekly, two-hour sessions co-delivered by an allied health professional and an Autistic Guide (Autistic adult). This co-delivery model is central to Bloom’s success, bringing together professional insight and lived experience in a way that builds trust, connection, and shared understanding.

Parents who participated in Bloom consistently described it as a safe, inclusive, and transformative space.

I am in awe of how well they facilitated this. Because of all… the different communication ways and the extremely safe space that they created was just brilliant. - Riley

Others highlighted the power of connection:

[The inclusion of Autistic perspectives in Blooms design and delivery] in itself was very, very helpful for me in that particular time in my journey. – Sammie

Feedback from parents, Autistic Guides, and allied health professionals showed Bloom was:

• feasible (high retention, attendance, and completion rates)
• acceptable to participants
• delivered with high fidelity.

Importantly, parents reported improvements in child, parent and family wellbeing as well as family and child quality of life, an outcome rarely measured. For the children parents reported improvements in:

• Global health
• Emotional distress (depression, anger)
• Wellbeing (life satisfaction, meaning and purpose)
• Social functioning (family).

Facilitators and Autistic Guides shared that Bloom enriched their personal and professional development. For some, it was deeply reflective and healing:

There was more pride, more acceptance of themselves as well. – Hannah

Bloom is a model for what inclusive, co-designed supports can look like. It moves beyond consultation toward genuine collaboration, setting a new standard for equity in autism support.

Supporters
Griffith University, Macquarie University, La Trobe University, Giant Steps, Reframing Autism, Children’s Health Queensland, and the STEPS Group Australia.

DXC Technology -The Dandelion Program: Autism employment

The creation of the Dandelion Program by multinational Hewlett Packard (now DXC Technology) in 2015 began with the dual aims of:

• Providing meaningful employment for a small group of Autistic young people
• Tracking the success of the DXC’s alternative workplace approach in supporting Autistic employees.

The impact of this initial small-scale program has spread far beyond that small group of individuals and their families, to now encompass:

• A freely-available protocol for other companies to follow in emulating the success of the Dandelion Program
• Programs in the Department of Human Services (DHS) software testing area; in cybersecurity at the Department of Defence, and most recently, in Records Information Management, at the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.
• 80 Autistic people employed at DXC via the Dandelion Program
• 220 other organisations have downloaded material from Social Impact Practice, the DXC division devoted to spreading the approach pioneered at DXC.

Dandelion Program website

Specialisterne Australia, DXC Technology and the Department of Human Services

Specialisterne Australia, DXC Technology and the Department of Human Services ran The Dandelion Program to provide skilled employment for Autistic people from 2014-2017. OTARC has an ongoing research partnership with the three organisations.