This project addresses a gap in adolescent and young adult mental health research. It will focus on the transitional age range of 18-24 as 75% of mental health conditions have already begun by the time someone turns 24.
Neurodivergent people face a significantly higher risk of experiencing challenges to their mental health. At the same time, they are frequently excluded from effective treatments like mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). This is because of the way interventions are designed.
Some barriers to participation include:
Asking participants to sit still for long periods of time
Not taking sensory needs into consideration
Using abstract language
These unintended barriers to participation can result in sensory overwhelm and a higher drop off rate among neurodivergent participants.
We know that MBIs work well for neurotypical populations. However, there is a lack of neuro-inclusive trials co-produced with the community to ensure that they are also accessible.
Project aims
This project aims to bridge the accessibility gap by developing a neuro-affirming MBI protocol.
We want our intervention to recognise and celebrate neurological differences rather than attempting to correct them.
What we hope to achieve
We will identify barriers and existing adaptations through a national questionnaire and clinician workshops. We hope that this will lead to further work in this area.
This project is being led by Dr Jamie Brown with supervision provided by Professor Dheeraj Rai and Dr Helen Bould.