Those of us with young children may have heard them parrot that “we all learn differently”, reflecting the vast progress made in schools to acknowledge and understand neurodiversity and special educational needs. Where our children are learning this as second nature, adults are racing to catch up. Thanks to the vocal honesty of those who navigate life with neurodiversity as their superpower, the systems or processes which have been established without our neurodiverse friends in mind are being reassessed for the better.
In January 2025, the Family Justice Council published compelling guidance on ‘Neurodiversity in the Family Justice System for Practitioners’. The guidance puts clear responsibility on family law practitioners to support neurodivergent individuals to ensure there are no barriers to participation in proceedings and access to justice and a fair trial. However, the guidance acknowledges that neurodiversity may not be recognised or part of a person’s self-identity. If we can’t identify or accept neurodiversity in ourselves, how are others supposed to identify and support it?
Perhaps helpfully, neurodiversity is a broad label and no one size fits all. The key is to understand the individual and what their needs might be but exactly the same is true for every client receiving professional services. Perhaps the stakes are higher here, where a failure to acknowledge or support neurodiversity in family proceedings can materially impact not only the experience of the neurodiverse individual - as they navigate what is usually an inherently difficult time, irrespective of additional vulnerabilities - but the outcome itself. In this respect, family practitioners are being encouraged to lead the way.
So, what must we do? We do the same for every client (whether or not they identify as neurodiverse) and empower them to express their needs in a process which is likely to leave them vulnerable and exposed.
Below, we have identified some potential challenges that family proceedings can throw up (focussing on the adult rather than children participants here), and offer some ideas for accommodations. However, the challenges are not unique to family law and will be seen in many legal processes or areas of litigation:
- Processing of information can vary greatly from person to person: In family proceedings, a high processing speed can be expected – in personal interviews with experts, cross examination in the witness box, or simply a short deadline given for an answer. These occasions rarely happen out of necessity and often are for strategic advantage. Deadlines can be extended and questions can be put in advance and/or in writing. Meetings or witness evidence can be cut to manageable windows allowing for breaks or quieter periods to decompress and process. The Family Courts are alive to the need to accommodate these needs, but their hands may be tied by resources. For those able to move into alternative (and privately funded) dispute resolution, the scope to create bespoke arrangements is likely to allow for a better supported experience.
- Practitioners must take care to use language in a way which respects the individuals and does not undermine them: This can be important for clients’ day to day sense of acceptance and comfort in the proceedings. For example, telling a client they have ‘gone off on a tangent’ or ‘fallen down a rabbit hole’ around a topic may feel critical and embarrassing. Instead, trying to redirect their effort and focus into another area of their case may allow for a more positive and accepting approach whilst achieving the same outcome. Whether the neurodiverse party is your client or your opposition, it rarely helps in family proceedings to create new problems for the family. Take care to describe negative or challenging behaviour demonstrated by the neurodiverse party not as inherent to the person, but as a presentation of distress relative to a specific external environment or factor.
- New places or experiences can be distracting or overwhelming: In schools, this can be supported by ‘pre-teaching’ and the same idea can be used in family proceedings – explaining what a party can expect from each stage of a process or event can help reduce anxiety and improve the opportunity to participate comfortably. Familiarising individuals with the venue for meetings or hearings, or facilitating them to happen via video links, can make a meaningful difference to some participants.
- Some individuals may struggle with multitasking: For example, an individual is sent an email asking them to review a draft letter, which requests documents from them and tells them that there is a court hearing in six weeks’ time. Tailored and effective communication is essential with all clients. We can make it easy for everyone if we ask what would help. Options might include recorded voice messages, limited bullet points using short sentences and simply structured questions.
- Actions and behaviours may need to be understood through the lens of an individual’s neurodiversity: Failure to meet a deadline imposed for a lengthy statement may need to be contextualised in the ability of that party to focus and process the material in the time frame the deadline affords. Similarly, a parent who presents as obsessive in respect of their children’s lives may be better understood if their behaviours are given context (and the appropriate support) with respect to the parent’s neurodiversity.
- Deadlines feature prominently in court proceedings: Some parties benefit from receiving calendar invites to remind them of deadlines, court hearings, etc. Others may find this overwhelming or disruptive to their existing mechanisms.
For every area of challenge, there is a counterbalance of strength:
- Hyperactivity and impulsiveness can sit alongside intense energy, observational skills and creativity (hyper focus too, which can be dynamite when deployed with effect!)
- Dyslexic participants may struggle to turn around lengthy written statements but have strong verbal skills and creative problem solving which serve them well under cross examination.
- Social communication difficulties, rigidity and anxiety can track well into court proceedings, showing as principled honesty and integrity.
Ultimately, everyone participating in family proceedings holds vulnerability and we must double down to provide support in any way possible.
Finally, a last word on the survivors of domestic abuse and just one aspect of their challenges in family proceedings. Research tells us that cognitive performance can significantly decline in those who have experienced trauma. Although not a form of neurodiversity as traditionally understood, the impact of abuse can meaningfully change cognitive function, which if not properly accommodated and the victim survivor not supported can lead not only to a retraumatised party but crucially to the wrong outcome in proceedings. Many of the same accommodations will usefully apply.
Contact a member of our Family team for more information.
