Neuroinclusion

Have you noticed or experienced this?

For many neurodivergent students, recess and lunch are often harder than classroom learning.

Not because they’re “bad at socialising” or they need to “just get outside more.”

But because playgrounds and break times demand an enormous amount of cognitive, sensory and emotional processing with far less support.

☀️ Significantly less adult scaffolding
🧠 A much higher executive functioning load
🎭 Increased masking or dissociation to fit in
⚡ Greater likelihood of conflict and misunderstandings
🎲 Constant unpredictability
👥 Intense social pressure and unspoken expectations
❓ Few clear rules to follow
🔊 A dramatic increase in sensory input
💛 Complex and ever-changing friendship dynamics

Then we wonder why a student who has coped beautifully in the classroom suddenly “falls apart” after lunch.

If we truly want inclusive schools, we need to stop viewing recess as a break from learning and start recognising it as one of the most demanding parts of the school day for many neurodivergent students.

Have you noticed this too as a parent, educator, therapist or neurodivergent person?

Time agnosia (sometimes referred to as time blindness) is a neurological difficulty with perceiving, estimating, tracking and feeling the passage of time ⏰

This is commonly experienced by neurodivergent people, especially ADHDers, Autistic people and those experiencing burnout or executive functioning differences.

It can look like:
• Overestimating how long tasks will take
• Underestimating how long tasks will take
• Constantly losing track of time
• Running late even when trying really hard not to
• Forgetting dates or how long ago things happened
• Taking weeks to reply to messages without realising time has passed
• Not remembering birthdays, ages or timelines accurately
• Incorrectly estimating the length of relationships, jobs or life events

Many people with time agnosia experience time as “now” and “not now” rather than in consistent, measurable increments. Without external supports, the nervous system can struggle to accurately map time internally.

Support strategies can include:
• Visual timers and clocks
• Time blocking
• Calendar reminders and countdowns
• Transition warnings
• Reducing shame around lateness and memory differences
• Building routines that externalise time instead of relying on internal perception alone

Understanding time agnosia helps us move away from moralising time struggles and towards accessible support.

✨ We’re Hiring | Occupational Therapist | Perth, WA ✨

Come and do occupational therapy differently.

At Neuroinclusion Success Clinic, we believe therapy should be affirming, collaborative, and genuinely centred around the person rather than compliance, masking, or “fixing” who someone is.

We’re looking for an Occupational Therapist who is passionate about neurodiversity-affirming practice and wants to be part of a team that values curiosity, authenticity, advocacy, and continual learning.

If you’re someone who:
💜 Wants to make a meaningful difference
🌿 Values connection over compliance
🧠 Is passionate about supporting neurodivergent people across the lifespan
🤝 Thrives in a supportive, values-driven team
📚 Loves learning and growing alongside experienced clinicians

…we’d love to hear from you.

Whether you’re an experienced OT or looking for a workplace where you’ll be genuinely supported to grow, this could be the opportunity you’ve been searching for.

📍 Perth, Western Australia

Tag an OT who needs to see this or share this with someone who would be a great fit!

When people think about stimming, they often picture hand flapping or obvious repetitive movements. But many stims are so subtle they’ve been normalised, masked, or mistaken for habits.

You might not even realise you’re doing them.
✨ Rocking
✨ Chewing
✨ Singing or humming
✨ Finger tapping
✨ Scrolling
✨ Replaying the same song or video
✨ Jaw clenching
✨ Scratching
✨ Scribbling

These behaviours can help regulate the nervous system by providing predictable sensory, motor, or cognitive input. They can support concentration, emotional regulation, sensory processing, and transitions throughout the day.

Not every person who does these things is neurodivergent. And not every neurodivergent person stims in the same way.

The important takeaway is this: stimming isn’t something to eliminate. It’s a form of communication from the nervous system about what it needs.

Have you ever caught yourself doing one of these without realising? Which one is your go-to?

Inclusive workplaces aren’t achieved through good intentions and care alone.

It’s built through intentional action, systemic change and genuine partnership with neurodivergent people.

If these feel familiar, your workplace isn’t alone:
• Neurodivergent employees are expected to explain, advocate and educate leaders whilst already experiencing burnout.
• Workplace barriers are often viewed as an individual problem instead of a mismatch between systems and employee needs.
• One neurodiversity training session is expected to transform an entire workplace culture.
• Policies and expectations are too rigid to adapt to different ways of working.
• Ignorance and a lack of compassion prevent proactive support.
• Recruitment and performance management continue to favour neurotypical strengths.
• A lack of psychological safety means many employees don’t disclose their neurodivergence and continue masking.
• Neurodiversity training is often delivered without meaningful lived experience.

Real neuroinclusion requires ongoing learning, collaboration and practical changes that benefit everyone.

If your workplace is ready to move beyond awareness and into action, our neurodivergent occupational therapists can work alongside your leaders and teams to create more inclusive workplaces where every employee has the opportunity to thrive.

📩 Enquire today to learn how we can support your workplace.

💬 Which of these do you think workplaces need to address first?

World Autistic Pride Day is today 🎉

Pride in autistic ways of thinking.
Pride in autistic communication.
Pride in autistic joy, creativity, passion, and authenticity.

For too long, autistic people have been told to change, hide, mask, or become “less autistic” to belong. Today is a reminder that autistic people do not need to earn acceptance by appearing neurotypical.

Autistic pride means recognising that autism is a valid neurotype and not a flaw to fix. It means celebrating strengths while acknowledging the barriers created by environments that were never designed with autistic people in mind.

To every autistic person reading this:
Your needs are valid.
Your boundaries are valid.
Your way of existing in the world is valid.

The goal was never to fit into a world that excludes you.
The goal is a world where you can belong exactly as you are.

🌈 Happy World Autistic Pride Day.

🫶🏼 Share this post if you believe autistic people deserve acceptance, inclusion, and the freedom to be authentically themselves.

School success is about both the student and their environment 📚

Too often, neurodivergent students are expected to work harder, try harder, and cope better in environments that were never designed with them in mind.

Think about it:
✨ Sensory overwhelm
✨ Unpredictable routines
✨ Lack of psychological safety
✨ Inflexible teaching methods
✨ Communication barriers
✨ Limited regulation supports
✨ Unsupportive peer relationships
✨ Classroom design challenges
✨ Poor understanding of neurodiversity
✨ Exclusionary school cultures

When a student has challenges, we often ask, “What’s wrong with the child?”

A better question is:
“What is this environment communicating to them?”

Because school success isn’t simply determined by ability. It’s shaped by the interaction between a student and their environment.

When we create classrooms that are predictable, flexible, safe, and neurodiversity-affirming, students thrive.

📌 Save this for the next time someone says a student just needs to “try harder”.

🫶🏼 Share with an educator, therapist, or parent who needs this reminder.

Sleep isn’t just about being physically tired.

One of the biggest mistakes we make when supporting sleep (especially for neurodivergent people) is focusing only on low energy, yawning, rubbing eyes, or looking exhausted.

Because physical tiredness and cognitive tiredness aren’t always the same thing.

You can have a body that feels completely depleted while your brain is still running a marathon.

Or a mind that feels foggy and overloaded while your body is still craving movement, sensory input, or connection.

And this is why “bedtime” is often when neurodivergent people need the most co-regulation.

For many, accommodations such as co-sleeping, lying beside someone until they fall asleep, body doubling, physical touch, or simply having another nervous system nearby aren’t bad habits, they’re supports that help the body and brain feel safe enough to rest.

Successful sleep isn’t just about sleep hygiene, blackout curtains, white noise, weighted blankets, or bedtime routines.

It’s also about interoception.

Learning to recognise:
✨ What does physical tiredness feel like in my body?
✨ What does cognitive tiredness feel like in my mind?
✨ What helps both of those states align?

Because sleep often happens most easily when our bodies and brains are tired at the same time.

So I’m curious…

How do you know when your body is tired?

And how do you know when your mind is tired?

👇 Describe the feeling in the comments.

Supporting neurodivergent employees is a shared responsibility, and you deserve support every step of the way.

Too often, neurodivergent occupational therapists are left feeling like they need to navigate workplace challenges alone, when in reality there are many valuable supports available to help them succeed. This is a challenge for both neurodivergent individuals and their employers.

From EAP providers and unions to peer networks, managers, DES providers, diversity officers, WorkSafe, workplace health and safety teams, OTs, online communities, colleagues, family and friends, support can come from many places.

Knowing what supports exist is only part of the puzzle. Understanding how and when to access them can make a significant difference to wellbeing, retention, and career sustainability.

In our upcoming training for neurodivergent OTs, we’ll explore 12 key workplace supports and services that can help you advocate for your needs, access accommodations, and create a career that works with your neurotype rather than against it.

Because thriving at work shouldn’t require masking, burnout, or doing it all alone.

✨ Tag a neurodivergent OT who needs to see this.
📚 Sign up via the link in my stories