Universities are places of learning, but they are also large, complex workplaces. Thousands of students and staff pass through them every year, and a growing share are neurodivergent: autistic, ADHD, dyslexic, dyspraxic or neurodivergent in other ways. Office for Students figures show the proportion of UK students reporting a disability rose from 9.5% in 2010 to 16.7% in 2018, and many neurodivergent students and staff never disclose at all.
That makes neurodiversity training relevant to everyone who works in higher education, not just the disability service.
What neurodiversity means
Neurodiversity describes the natural variation in how human brains work. Autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and other neurodivergent profiles are part of that variation rather than defects to be fixed.
Neurodivergent people often meet barriers in places that were built around one way of learning, working and communicating: crowded lecture theatres, timed exams, dense written guidance, unwritten social rules. With understanding and thoughtful adjustments, those barriers come down, and neurodivergent students and staff can do their best work. Our page on how neurodiversity shows up at work gives a practical overview.
Why it matters now
More students arrive with a diagnosis, or come to identify as neurodivergent during their studies, than ever before. Many more go through university without one. If you teach, support or manage people in higher education, you are already working with neurodivergent people every day.
Staff matter just as much. Many academics and professional services staff are neurodivergent, some undiagnosed, and some masking their needs in a culture that rewards long hours and unwritten expectations. Universities have legal duties to make reasonable adjustments for disabled students and staff alike, and our guide to reasonable adjustments and your legal responsibilities sets out the employer side.
Every department has a part to play
Academic staff
Lecturers, seminar leaders and personal tutors see students more than anyone. Training helps them design teaching and assessment that work for different minds, offer flexibility where it does not compromise standards, and recognise when a student is meeting an executive function barrier rather than lacking motivation.
Student services
Wellbeing, mental health and disability teams need to recognise sensory overload, masking, burnout and shutdown, and to respond with clear, practical signposting.
Admissions and outreach
Loud, chaotic open days and forms full of jargon can stop neurodivergent applicants before they start. Quiet sessions, clear information about what to expect and plain-English forms widen access. Our dyslexia style guide is a useful reference for written materials.
Estates and facilities
Often overlooked, but crucial. Quiet study spaces, calmer lighting and clear signage make a real difference to people who find busy buildings overwhelming.
HR and line managers
Managers need the confidence to ask the right questions, agree adjustments and build onboarding and appraisal processes that work for everyone. That is true for academic heads of department as much as professional services managers.
What happens without training
When staff do not understand neurodiversity, the costs show up across the institution. Students disengage or leave because they feel misunderstood. Talented neurodivergent staff burn out or move on. Teams spend energy on avoidable miscommunication and conflict. And universities face complaints, grievances and legal claims that better understanding could have prevented.
What getting it right looks like
When staff know what to look for and what to do, small changes add up. Quiet spaces near busy hubs, flexible assessment formats, alternative interview formats for staff recruitment and peer mentoring for neurodivergent students are all practical, affordable steps, and they tend to benefit far more people than the ones they were designed for.
What good training covers
Good training is grounded in lived experience, delivered in plain language and full of real examples. It should help people:
- recognise the different ways neurodivergence can show up in teaching and at work
- adjust how they communicate so instructions and feedback land clearly
- design processes that work for different minds, not just the majority
- ask about support without making assumptions or putting someone on the spot
- notice when someone is overwhelmed and respond well
It should also be tailored to the audience. What a personal tutor needs differs from what an estates manager or HR business partner needs.
How Enna can help
We work with universities to build neuroinclusive environments for staff and students. Many start with Neurodiversity 101 for staff across the institution, then add a Neurodiversity Deep Dive for teams who need more detail. For line managers, our Supporting and Managing Neurodivergent Employees workshop focuses on adjustments, conversations and day-to-day management.
If you want an institution-wide view of where the barriers are, our neuroinclusion audits and consultancy review policy, process and culture together. Book a call with our team to talk about your university.
