Neurodivergent conditions include Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), Tourette’s Syndrome, as well as autism, ADHD and many others.

People often have more than one neurodivergent condition.

Below you will find sources of support for some neurodivergent condition

Dyspraxia, also known as developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), is a common disorder that affects movement and co-ordination. It does not affect your intelligence.

It can affect your co-ordination skills – such as tasks requiring balance, playing sports or learning to drive a car. Dyspraxia can also affect your fine motor skills, such as writing or using small objects.

Symptoms of dyspraxia can vary between individuals and may change over time. You may find routine tasks difficult.

If you have dyspraxia it may affect:

  • your co-ordination, balance and movement
  • how you learn new skills, think, and remember information at work and home
  • your daily living skills, such as dressing or preparing meals
  • your ability to write, type, draw and grasp small objects
  • how you function in social situations
  • how you deal with your emotions
  • time management, planning and personal organisation skills

The Brain Charity supports people with dyspraxia, as well as families and carers.

Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that mainly causes problems with reading, writing and spelling.

It's a specific learning difficulty, which means it causes problems with certain abilities used for learning, such as reading and writing.

A person with dyslexia may:

  • read and write very slowly
  • confuse the order of letters in words
  • be confused by letters that look similar and write letters the wrong way round (such as ‘b’ and ‘d’)
  • have poor or inconsistent spelling
  • understand information when told verbally, but have difficulty with information that's written down
  • find it hard to carry out a sequence of directions
  • struggle with planning and organisation

People with dyslexia are often skilled in other areas, such as creative thinking and problem solving.

British Dyslexia Association offers advice and support for children, adults, educators and employers.

If you drink alcohol during pregnancy you risk causing harm to your baby. Sometimes this can result in mental and physical problems in the baby, called fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).

FASD can happen when alcohol in the mother's blood passes to her baby through the placenta. Alcohol can damage their brain and body and stop them from developing normally in the womb.

FASD can cause problems for children with:

  • movement, balance, vision and hearing
  • learning, such as problems with thinking, concentration, and memory
  • managing emotions and developing social skills
  • hyperactivity and impulse control
  • communication, such as problems with speech
  • the joints, muscles, bones, and organs, such as the kidneys and heart

These problems are permanent, though early treatment and support can help limit their impact on a child's life.

National Organisation for FASD offers information and advice.

Tourette's syndrome is a condition that causes a person to make involuntary sounds and movements called tics. People with Tourette's syndrome have a combination of physical and vocal tics.

It usually starts during childhood, but the tics and other symptoms usually improve after several years and sometimes go away completely.

People with Tourette's syndrome may also have ADHD, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or learning difficulties.

Tourettes Action offers a range of support and advice.