A detailed, evidence-informed blog for survivors, families, and professionals

By Laura Prince | NAAVoices.com

Why This Conversation Matters

Neurodiversity and mental health are deeply interconnected — not because neurodivergent people are ‘predisposed’ to mental illness, but because society has historically failed to recognise, support, and accommodate different neurotypes. Research consistently shows that autistic, ADHD, and otherwise neurodivergent individuals experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, burnout, trauma responses, and chronic stress. These outcomes are shaped by unmet needs, stigma, late or missed diagnosis, and environments that demand constant masking.

This is not a story of inherent deficit. It is a story of environmental mismatch, systemic barriers, and the profound cost of being misunderstood.

In December 2025, the UK Government launched an independent review into mental health, ADHD and autism services, acknowledging that demand has risen significantly and that many people who are autistic or have ADHD are struggling to access the right services and support. This blog explores the evidence behind these struggles — and points towards a more compassionate, trauma-informed approach.

The Scale of the Challenge: Key Statistics

• 15% of the global population is estimated to be neurodivergent, often experiencing multiple conditions simultaneously
• 13 times more people were waiting for an autism assessment in September 2025 compared to April 2019 (UK Government data)
• 22.6% of 16-64 year olds in the UK had a common mental health condition in 2023-24, compared to 15.5% in 1993
• 40% prevalence of ADHD is estimated among autistic people — demonstrating significant overlap between conditions
• 7 million neurodivergent individuals are estimated to live in the UK — roughly 1 in 10 of the population
• Autistic adults are significantly more likely to experience poor mental health, contributing to a greater risk for suicidal ideation, self-harm, and death by suicide

What the Research Tells Us

Beyond Labels: A New Framework

A groundbreaking 2024 article published in World Psychiatry by Dr Giorgia Michelini (Queen Mary University of London) challenges the traditional approach to diagnosing neurodivergent conditions. The research introduces a transdiagnostic framework that views autism, ADHD, and learning disabilities as points on a spectrum rather than distinct categories — and recognises their frequent overlap with mental health challenges.

Current diagnostic systems, such as the DSM-5 and ICD-11, separate these conditions into distinct categories, overlooking their shared characteristics and complex interplay. Dr Michelini’s work proposes a more holistic approach, acknowledging that mental health difficulties often arise not from the neurotype itself, but from the interaction between a person’s traits and the world around them.

Understanding Neurodiversity Across the UK Population

Research from the University of Birmingham (2024) — the largest examination of neurodiversity among UK adults to date — surveyed 1,000 people aged 18-70 about their experiences of characteristics associated with neurodevelopmental conditions.

The findings revealed significant overlap: people with higher levels of characteristics associated with one condition (e.g., ADHD) are also more likely to have higher levels of the characteristics related to other neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g., autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia). Professor Ian Apperly explains: “People’s experiences of neurodevelopmental conditions are highly variable, and it is common for people to have more than one condition.”

Crucially, the research also showed that different underlying causes can explain the same traits — some people exhibited high levels of autistic traits without showing high overall neurodivergent characteristics. In contrast, others showed autistic traits alongside traits associated with other conditions.

The Mental Health Impact: Evidence Summary

A Generation Left Behind: The Impact of Late or Missed Diagnosis

Across the UK, there is a whole generation of adults — particularly women, AFAB (assigned female at birth) people, and those from marginalised backgrounds — who were never identified as neurodivergent in childhood. Many were labelled ‘difficult’, ‘sensitive’, ‘lazy’, or ‘too much’, internalising shame and self-blame instead of receiving understanding and support.

What Late-Diagnosed Adults Often Describe:

• Lifelong masking to fit into school, work, and relationships — suppressing natural behaviours and mimicking neurotypical social cues
• Chronic anxiety and burnout from constantly compensating for difficulties that others couldn’t see
• Misdiagnosis with conditions like borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, or depression — without recognition of underlying neurodivergence
• Trauma responses shaped by years of unmet needs, invalidation, and discrimination
• Identity confusion — feeling disconnected from who they truly are beneath the mask
• Barriers to accessing care — especially for women, people of colour, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds

Research published in 2024 on women with combined autism and ADHD (AuDHD) confirms this lived experience. The study found that the combination of ADHD and autism contributed to women being missed and dismissed, as they didn’t fit gendered stereotypes and didn’t fit neatly within one diagnostic box.

For many adults, receiving a diagnosis later in life brings both relief and grief — relief at finally understanding themselves, and grief for the decades spent unsupported and misunderstood.

Understanding Masking: A Survival Mechanism With Serious Costs

Masking is when neurodivergent individuals conceal their authentic selves to conform to societal expectations or avoid judgment. It involves suppressing natural behaviours (like stimming), forcing uncomfortable eye contact, mentally rehearsing conversations, and performing neurotypically — often from a very young age.

Masking is not a conscious choice or a form of deception. It’s a deeply ingrained survival mechanism that enables individuals to navigate a neurotypical world. For women especially, societal pressures to be agreeable, empathetic, and socially graceful intensify the pressure to mask.

The Consequences of Long-Term Masking:

• Chronic fatigue — constant physical and mental exhaustion from the non-stop effort of performing
• Autistic/ADHD burnout — a distinct state of profound exhaustion where even basic daily functioning becomes difficult
• Anxiety and depression — from constant self-monitoring and fear of social missteps
• Loss of identity — feeling disconnected from who you are beneath the mask
• Delayed diagnosis — masking can hide neurodivergent traits so effectively that professionals don’t recognise them
• Increased suicidality risk — research links masking to higher rates of suicidal ideation in autistic adults

Research confirms that masking is a ‘no win’ situation — while it facilitates access to opportunities and social inclusion, it is consistently described as exhausting and ultimately leads to burnout. One participant in research described it as: “Masking is a skill, but can feel like a curse.”

The Legal Framework: Rights and Protections in UK Law

UK legislation recognises the connection between neurodiversity, mental health, and vulnerability — even if the term ‘neurodiversity’ itself is not explicitly used in the law.

The Equality Act 2010

Under the Equality Act 2010, a person is considered to have a disability if they have a ‘physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’.

This includes mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, OCD, and bipolar disorder — all of which are more common among neurodivergent people due to chronic stress, discrimination, and unmet needs.

Key Legal Points:

• No diagnosis required: A worker does not need a formal diagnosis to be considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010 (ACAS guidance)
• Reasonable adjustments: Employers have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments to prevent disabled employees from being put at a substantial disadvantage
• Anticipatory duty: Organisations must think and plan to make sure disabled people can access their services
• Protection from discrimination: Direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, and discrimination arising from a disability are all prohibited
• Constructive knowledge: Case law has repeatedly shown that tribunals may deem employers could have gained reasonable knowledge of an employee’s neurological differences, even without disclosure

Public Sector Equality Duty

Public bodies, including the NHS, police, schools, and local authorities, must comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty, requiring them to:

• Eliminate discrimination
• Advance equality of opportunity
• Make reasonable adjustments
• Consider the needs of disabled and neurodivergent people in all decisions

What Compassionate Support Looks Like

Understanding the connection between neurodiversity and mental health is not about pathologising neurodivergent people — it is about recognising the harm caused by systems that were never designed for them.

A Trauma-Informed, Neurodiversity-Affirming Approach:

1. Recognise environmental mismatch: Mental health difficulties arise from the interaction between neurodivergent traits and unsupportive environments — not inherent deficit
2. Consider intersectionality: Gender, sexuality, race, and socioeconomic status all shape mental health outcomes for neurodivergent people
3. Acknowledge masking: Support people to unmask safely rather than rewarding ‘passing’ as neurotypical
4. Avoid behavioural activation pitfalls: Standard depression treatments may worsen burnout unless adapted for autistic/ADHD individuals
5. Respect late diagnosis: Diagnosis in adulthood brings validation but also grief — both need space
6. Create safe spaces: Where neurodivergent people can be their authentic selves without judgment or penalty

Practical Strategies for Preventing and Recovering from Burnout

Burnout varies greatly from person to person, and often looks different for neurodivergent people compared to neurotypicals. Here are evidence-informed strategies:

Prevention:

• Spend time unmasked — masking is consistently one of the highest predictors of burnout
• Ensure appropriate accommodations are in place at work, school, and other settings
• Practice boundaries — neurodivergent people often have fewer ‘spoons’ (energy reserves)
• Engage in special interests — activities that are enlivening and restorative
• Prioritise sensory needs — manage sensory overload proactively
• Support healthy rhythms — sleep hygiene, routines, and predictability

Recovery:

• Rest without guilt — recovery takes months or years, not days
• Reduce demands — strip back obligations to essentials
• Seek neurodiversity-affirming therapy — approaches like CBT, ACT, or IFS adapted for neurodivergent needs
• Connect with the neurodivergent community — peer support is consistently identified as essential
• Avoid ‘exposure’ approaches — unlike anxiety, autistic burnout often worsens with exposure; avoidance can be protective

Towards a More Compassionate System

The research is clear:

• Neurodivergent people experience higher rates of mental health difficulties due to environmental mismatch, not inherent deficit
• Intersectional factors — gender, sexuality, race — further shape mental health outcomes
• Late or missed diagnosis contributes to lifelong distress, burnout, and trauma
• UK legislation recognises the need for protection, reasonable adjustments, and anti-discrimination measures
• Masking — while a survival skill — comes at a profound cost

A compassionate, trauma-informed approach acknowledges that neurodivergent people are not ‘broken’ — the systems around them are. When society adapts, mental health outcomes improve. When people are understood, supported, and allowed to be their authentic selves, they thrive.

The goal is not just for neurodivergent people to unmask — it’s to create a world where they don’t have to.

UK Support Resources

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This resource was created for NAAVoices.com.

Evidence reviewed January 2026. For educational purposes only — not a substitute for professional advice.

Author: Laura Prince | www.naavoices.com