Reasonable Adjustments

Neurodiversity Hub Wirral

Reasonable adjustments are changes that your school or family can make to help remove or reduce difficulties linked to your neurodivergent needs. These needs may be around routine, change, or how you process the world. You can ask for reasonable adjustments at any time.

Provide safe and accepting places where neurodivergent people of all ages can be themselves. This includes understanding and allowing stimming. Stimming means repeating movements or sounds to feel calm. It also includes helping others learn about different brain types, behaviours, and ways of communicating. Support for sensory needs should also be offered.

Support different communication styles. Help children and young people speak up about how they prefer to communicate.

Provide safe, sensory‑friendly spaces for children and young people who need breaks from the busy school environment. These places should never be used as punishment.

Work closely with parents, carers, and families to understand why a child or young person may act differently at home and at school. Some people call this the coke bottle effect. It describes how a child may hold in all their stress at school, like a bottle being shaken. Then, when they get home and feel safe, the pressure “explodes.” This usually means the child does not feel safe to be their true self in school.

Work with the child or young person to RAG rate their day. RAG means Red, Amber, Green. They can mark each part of their timetable as hard (red), okay (amber), or easy (green). This can include lessons, assemblies, travel, hallways, or break times. The School Stress Survey can help with this.
Talk together about what can change in the red areas. Make a shared plan. Ideas may include:

  • a new seating plan

  • moving between lessons early to avoid crowds

  • regular breaks to rest

  • sensory support such as noise‑reducing earbuds

  • a quiet place to eat lunch

Avoid setting goals that encourage masking. This includes goals in Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCs), Individual Education Plans (IEPs), or behaviour plans. Where possible, ask a neurodivergent adult or a trained person such as an Autism Champion to check the goals.
Ask yourself: Does this goal make a neurodivergent child act like a neurotypical child in a way that feels uncomfortable to them?
Examples may include:

  • forcing eye contact

  • expecting them to cope with painful sensory input

  • asking them to play in one “right” way

  • pushing for full compliance instead of supporting their needs

Remove barriers to comfort and access whenever you can. This may include changes to the school uniform. Examples include soft black trousers instead of tailored ones, leggings instead of tights, or a polo shirt instead of a formal shirt. A child who feels uncomfortable will not be able to focus on learning.

Provide support for people who process information differently or at a different speed. Helpful changes might include:

  • giving information in writing

  • using visuals, videos, or audio that can be replayed

  • reducing how much work is expected if they understand the topic

  • giving less verbal information at once