A new report has warned that neurodivergent children placed in temporary accommodation are often subjected to conditions “comparable to torture.”
The report, entitled ‘It’s like torture: Life in Temporary Accommodation for Neurodivergent Children and their Families’ was based on a UK-wide call for evidence and forms part of the Sensory Lives Project.
Supported by King’s College London, the Shared Health Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust, this is a research project aimed at understanding how homeless families with neurodivergent children experience living in temporary accommodation. The aim is for their findings to be represented in national discussions about the child homelessness emergency.
Living environments ‘impossible’ for neurodivergent children
The report’s authors received 280 responses from parents and practitioners across the UK and found that, on average, families spent 4.5 years in temporary accommodation.
They described living environments that were impossible for neurodivergent children to tolerate and reported chronic sensory distress, sleep disruption, instability and unsafe housing environments.
The report argues that these experiences amount to “child cruelty” when combined with repeated moves, short notice periods and unsuitable housing located far from established support networks.
King’s College London says it exposes a “hidden crisis at the intersection of housing, childhood and neurodiversity.”
Support for neurodivergent children in temporary accommodation
There is no official data on how many neurodivergent children live in temporary accommodation in the UK and the report highlights this as a “significant policy blind spot,” while its authors estimate between 25,000 and 120,000 neurodivergent children may be affected. This is out of a total of 172,420 children living in temporary accommodation nationally.
The report includes a number of recommendations, which include incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into UK law, improving data collection to record EHCP and SEN status, and ensuring continuity of essential services when families move.
It also recommends mandatory neurodiversity training for housing officers, improved housing standards and neuroinclusive design, ending the use of hotels and B&Bs for families and piloting a Sensory Needs Fund to provide targeted financial support.
Neurodivergent children ‘invisible’ in homelessness policy
One of its co-authors, Professor Katherine Brickell, said that while temporary accommodation “may fulfil a legal duty to house families,” in practice it was “repeatedly failing to meet even the most basic conditions required for neurodivergent children.”
She added:
“For many children, these placements are overcrowded, noisy, unstable and wholly unsuitable for their sensory, emotional and developmental needs.”
She said that children’s rights needed to be embedded into housing decisions so that what are designed as short-term safety nets do not become “a source of lasting trauma,” and to ensure “neurodivergent children are not treated as an afterthought.”
Co-author Dr Rosalie Warnock said the lack of specific data meant neurodivergent children “remain largely invisible within homelessness policy.”
Explaining that the needs of neurodivergent children often make them particularly vulnerable to instability, disruption and unsafe housing conditions, she said that “housing, health and education systems are operating in silos,” forcing families to navigate complex, disconnected services by themselves.
This can result in affected children experiencing mental health problems and disrupted education.
Unsuitable accommodation risks physical and emotional harm
The report was undertaken through the All Party Parliamentary Group for Households in Temporary Accommodation, with support from the Shared Health Foundation, Justlife and Autistica.
The Chair of the APPG for Households in Temporary Accommodation, Dame Siobhain McDonagh MP, said everyone “should be appalled that children are being forced to endure conditions that are comparable to torture.”
She added:
“These conditions are not only degrading and inhumane, but risk inflicting lifelong harm on children’s physical and mental health.”
She welcomed the Government’s National Plan to Ending Homelessness but said it contained “significant gaps,” including how neurodivergent children can be specifically recognised and protected from physical and mental harm.
The Director of Research at Autistica, Dr Amanda Roestaff, said that the use of unsuitable temporary accommodation leads to “wide-ranging, predictable impacts that undermine neurodivergent children’s health, wellbeing and education.”
She said practical and affordable solutions, such as reducing sensory overload and ensuring continuity of education, health and care, could be implemented.
Supporting neurodivergent children and adults
First Response Training (FRT) is a leading national training provider delivering courses in subjects such as health and safety, first aid, fire safety, manual handling, food safety, mental health, health and social care, safeguarding and more.
They are a Disability Confident Committed Employer and were recently awarded INclusive Worcestershire Leader status. This means they are a fair, equitable and inclusive employer who is proactively and continuously striving for positive change.
As one of the first training providers approved to deliver the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism, they work with many Experts with Lived Experience of autism and learning disabilities across the UK.
These Expert Co-Trainers are recruited and supported by a specialist team at FRT, who ensures that reasonable adjustments specific to each Expert Co-Trainer are maintained throughout their employment.
FRT are now accredited under the Quality Assured Care Learning Service from Skills for Care to deliver Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training.
They are also an approved provider of Oliver’s Training via the Training and Development Services framework delivered by the NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub. This provides a fully compliant, pre-approved route to market for all NHS organisations, part or fully government funded organisations and blue-light services.
Neurodiversity training solutions
FRT have also developed and delivered a number of Neurodiversity training courses, such as Introduction to the Autism Spectrum, ADHD Awareness, Dyslexia Awareness, Sensory Processing Disorder Awareness and SEND Awareness.
They have also previously worked in partnership with clients to develop bespoke training for them in topics such as Adapting Learning for SEND and, SEND and Barriers to Learning.
A trainer from FRT says:
“Whether in schools, universities, workplaces, care services, housing or our communities, we need to focus on fostering environments where everyone can thrive.
“With 15% of the UK population identifying as neurodivergent, policy-makers, organisations and businesses alike must take meaningful steps to provide support, make reasonable adjustments, and educate their workforce.
“At First Response Training, we are committed to inclusion through flexible policies, neurodiversity training, and practical workplace adjustments. We can support our clients to make the same commitment, firstly with training to empower staff with the essential knowledge and skills to support neurodivergent individuals, and then with useful resources to help you continue your journey.”
Download FRT’s Neurodiversity Training Brochure here.
You can also download their free Neurodiversity Training Guide and a guide to creating an inclusive workplace for neurodivergent employees.
For more information on the training that FRT can provide, please call them today on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.