Championing neuroinclusive practices in sport

Maya arrives at her first sports session feeling tired and unsure, but the club’s clear communication, calm environment, and supportive coaching help her settle in. With a buddy to guide her, a quiet space to retreat to, and coaches who understand neurodivergent needs, she discovers that sport can feel safe, flexible, and genuinely welcoming. By the end of the session, she’s not just coping - she’s ready to come back.

The Neurodiverse Sport Speaker Programme brings together lived experience, professional expertise, and authentic storytelling to inspire change across the sporting sector. Featuring our directors, collaborators, and guest speakers—including elite athletes, coaches, practitioners, and advocates—the programme offers keynotes, panels, and workshops tailored to your needs. With demand for neuroinclusive practice higher than ever, our speakers deliver practical strategies, challenge misconceptions, and share powerful personal journeys that highlight the strengths and realities of neurodivergent individuals in sport.

At the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, ParalympicsGB unveiled The Retreat—a neuroinclusive performance space in the heart of the Village. More than a wellbeing room, it was performance infrastructure: a calm, flexible environment where athletes could regulate, recover, and prepare to compete. Learning from Tokyo 2020, where coping often replaced true recovery, The Retreat set a new gold standard with sensory-considerate design, self-regulation tools, and restorative spaces. Athlete feedback was clear: this wasn’t a luxury, but a necessity. By embedding neuroinclusion into elite environments, The Retreat showed how wellbeing and performance can thrive together—setting a benchmark for future Games and high-performance sport.

Sarah Hope is a former GB wheelchair basketball player and para ice hockey athlete. Diagnosed with autism and hereditary peripheral neuropathy, Sarah shares a powerful story of resilience, burnout, and finding belonging. From masking and misunderstanding to self-advocacy and structure, her journey challenges sport to do better—and reminds us of the strength found in lived experience.

In this powerful blog, originally captured as a video interview, Olympic rower Caragh McMurtry sits down with world-renowned surfer Clay Marzo and his mother, Jill. Clay, who is Autistic and often finds words difficult, shares glimpses of his inner world through surfing—the water becoming his language. Jill offers heartfelt reflections on parenting, communication, and how understanding Clay’s needs shaped the decisions they made together. This is a story about movement, emotion, and the environments that allow people to thrive.

We’re honoured to have joined BBC 5 Live’s “All About” podcast for an hour-long conversation on neurodiversity in elite sport. From Olympic rower Caragh McMurtry’s lived experience to Lucy Bronze’s powerful self-discovery, this episode spotlighted the strengths, challenges, and growing visibility of neurodivergent athletes. Here’s why this national moment matters—and how it fuels our mission at Neurodiverse Sport.

Our third Neurodiversity Celebration Week webinar explored how sport can unlock opportunities for neurodivergent people—on and off the field. With insights on coaching, mentoring, cultural change, and transferable life skills, panellists showed how inclusion becomes real when it’s lived, not just written into policy.

Hosted by journalist Nick Ransom, our second Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025 webinar explored the unique strengths of neurodivergent athletes. From reframing “ability vs disability” to harnessing dedication as an advantage and moving from equality to equity, panellists shared powerful stories of excellence that challenge stereotypes and redefine success in sport.

Our first Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025 webinar explored the unique challenges and strengths of neurodivergent women in sport. From breaking down gendered stereotypes to building neuro-affirming environments and looking ahead to a more inclusive future, the conversation was raw, insightful, and full of hope.

To close Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025, Neurodiverse Sport launched Beyond the Label—a powerful portrait series by photographer Jade Sellick. Featuring voices from athletes and advocates, the event challenged stereotypes and celebrated the authentic stories of neurodivergent athletes beyond medals and diagnoses.

Neurodiverse Sport and the RFU have teamed up to launch a new suite of coaching resources, helping rugby coaches better support neurodivergent players. These practical tools are rooted in lived experience and designed to make every team environment more inclusive—from grassroots to elite.

What if neurodivergent traits aren’t malfunctions—but adaptations? In this thought-provoking piece, psychiatry researcher Dr Adam D. Hunt draws from evolutionary biology, anthropology, and sport to reframe ADHD, autism, and dyslexia as ancient variations of human design. When seen through this lens, these traits—often pathologised—become powerful assets in the right environments. From classrooms to training halls, Adam invites us to stop fixing people and start redesigning systems.

In this powerful second blog, Paul Burrows shares how sport has been a lifeline for understanding and regulating his Autistic and Dyslexic mind. From the calming effects of rowing on water to the obsessive challenges that helped him make sense of his mental energy, Paul reflects on how movement, structure, and self-awareness can create stability and meaning in an overwhelming world. His story offers insight into neurodivergent motivation, mental health, and the quiet strength found in purposeful routine.

In this deeply personal blog, Paul Burrows explores the powerful link between neurodivergence, sport, and belonging. From early experiences of exclusion to discovering rowing as his "gang," Paul shares how sport helped him make sense of his Autistic and Dyslexic identity. This honest reflection offers insight into the quiet strength of purpose-driven connection, the value of shared goals over socialising, and the importance of creating spaces where everyone can find their place—on their own terms.

Daley Jones is a MET Detective with ADHD and Dyspraxia, and the founder of the National ADHD Alliance for Police. In this honest and often humorous interview, Daley reflects on his late diagnosis, difficulties with coordination, and how football and running became outlets for self-belief. He shares what it’s like to navigate sport—and life—as a neurodivergent adult, and why self-compassion and support systems matter.

Written by Maddy Nutt

Growing up without a formal diagnosis for autism, I very much learnt how to manage certain social situations and although on the outside I may appear to be thriving in these settings and an extrovert, inside my brain is a very different reality.

“If you create a safe space for people to share their different experience of the world you can be an enabler. You can help people step out of their comfort zone and achieve things beyond their limits.”

What happens when a child who’s been excluded, misunderstood, and on the verge of giving up finds a sport—and a coach—that truly sees them? In this powerful blog, Alex Hannah shares the story of his son Ieuan, a young neurodivergent judoka whose journey through Judo has brought growth, joy, and a sense of belonging. It’s a testament to what’s possible when clubs choose inclusion—and when parents and coaches work as a team.

In this second part of his powerful blog series, Autistic ultrarunner and UESCA-certified coach Ishmael Burdeau shares how embracing his diagnosis transformed not only his understanding of himself but also his entire approach to sport. From ultracycling across Europe to completing gruelling ultramarathons like the Spine Race, Ishmael shows how the traits often misunderstood in autistic people—focus, routine, and perseverance—are, in fact, strengths in the world of endurance. His story is a moving reminder that finding the right fit can turn difference into a defining advantage.

Ishmael Burdeau is an Autistic ultrarunner and certified coach whose early experiences with exclusion and misunderstanding in school sport mirror those of many neurodivergent athletes. In this deeply personal first instalment of a two-part series, Ishmael reflects on how endurance sport became a refuge—and ultimately a revelation. His story is a powerful reminder that success doesn’t always look like early talent or conformity, but can emerge through self-awareness, autonomy, and finding the right fit.

Zoe-Jane Littlewood is a former netball player and sports physiotherapist who proudly embraces her dyslexia. In this honest, funny and thought-provoking interview, she opens up about her experiences in elite sport, the reality of communication struggles, and the creative strengths neurodivergent people bring to the field. “If you support us properly,” she says, “we might just be your biggest asset.”

Sam Smith, a former British No. 1 tennis player and now a leading broadcaster, opens up about navigating elite sport as an undiagnosed autistic person. In this powerful blog by Olivia Rae, Sam’s story unfolds as a series of contrasting truths: discipline and disruption, calm and chaos, structure and overwhelm. Her journey reminds us that what’s often seen as “difficult” can in fact be the root of brilliance—when understood through a neurodivergent lens.

In this week’s Neurodiverse Sport spotlight, professional cricketer Benny Howell reflects on how ADHD shaped his identity, style, and success on the pitch. Known for his unorthodox bowling and creative mindset, Benny shares how hyperfocus became his superpower—and how shifting away from rigid sporting norms has helped him and others thrive.

Peter Barnes never received a formal diagnosis—but his reflections on ADHD and neurodivergence offer powerful insight into how self-understanding, adaptability, and resilience can reshape both life and sport. From exclusion in school PE to carving out a lifelong passion for cycling, Peter’s story challenges rigid sporting systems and calls for more human-centred, flexible approaches to coaching and inclusion.

Bright studio lights, honest storytelling, and a line-up of elite athletes turned Neurodiverse Sport’s first live panel into a master-class on neuroinclusion. From Sam Smith’s sensory challenges on-air, to Brooke Hendrix’s ADHD openness in a football changing room, to Greg Halford’s autistic hindsight, the evening moved from overwhelm to collective action—reminding us that coaching curiosity and safer environments are the real performance enhancers.

In this moving reflection, former international cricketer Olivia Rae shares her experience of attending the first in-person Neurodiverse Sport event during Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2024. Through personal stories of survival mode, miscommunication, and finally, recognition, Olivia shows how neuroinclusive environments can create powerful moments of connection and change. This is a story of ripples becoming waves—and how small acts of understanding can leave a lasting impact.

In this honest and empowering reflection, Sarah Javaid—founder of Cycle Sisters—shares how discovering her Autism at age 40 helped reframe a lifetime of struggle. Cycling, once a simple mode of transport, has become her space for healing, joy, and autonomy. Sarah’s story is one of self-understanding, community leadership, and the power of inclusive movement. Her words challenge stereotypes and inspire a broader vision of what it means to thrive.

In this moving reflection, former international cricketer Olivia Rae shares how her late Autism and ADHD diagnosis reshaped not just how she saw herself—but how she lived. Told with honesty and grace, Olivia’s story challenges traditional ideas of success in sport and life. From burnout to balance, survival to sustainability, this is a journey about reclaiming identity, redefining what works, and finally, living unapologetically.

Michael Barton is a national Judo medallist, data analyst, author, and Autistic advocate who proves that structure, support, and self-awareness can be a winning combination. Diagnosed early in life and initially non-verbal, Michael’s journey challenges assumptions about neurodivergence in sport—showing how explicitly taught skills, routine, and the right environment can empower Autistic athletes to thrive.

In this powerful and heartfelt interview, former NCAA football coach Kyle Gookins shares how becoming a parent to an Autistic son transformed not only his life, but also his coaching philosophy. From high-performance pressure to person-centred practice, Kyle speaks with honesty about ego, emotional intelligence, and the practical shifts coaches can make to better support neurodivergent athletes. A must-read for anyone passionate about inclusive sport.