Making Gloucestershire the best place in the country to grow up neurodivergent

Who We Are

Speaking about neurodivergence
Jane Roberts, a mother with lived experience of ADHD

I became a campaigner for ND, especially ADHD, in 2021.  This followed the death by suicide of our adult ADHD son Ben Brimley in December 2020, aged 30.  Ben was late-diagnosed at 17 and suffered a lot of misunderstanding and emotional pain in life as he grew up.  As a young child Ben was very happy and had no mental health issues his struggles came from being late diagnosed and not having the right support.  You can read Ben’s story here.

The aim of Gloucestershire Youth ND Project is to make Gloucestershire the best place in the country to grow up neurodivergent by supporting events designed with young ND people, aged 11-25 in mind.

Jane Roberts. Founder

The Story So Far

Stroud Neurodiversity Project

2021

Teacher and parent training delivered for us by ADHD Foundation


Gloucestershire Neurodiversity Project

2022

Teacher and parent training delivered by ADHD Foundation.  Barnwood Trust were the main sponsors and we part sponsored it too.


Focus on Secondary Schools

2023

Teacher training focussed on Gloucestershire secondary schools, delivered by ADHD Foundation.


Consensus Statement from Experts

We sponsored an expert Consensus Statement on how best to help people with ADHD and Substance Misuse.    25 experts led by Dr Susan Young produced valuable advice for both ADHD practitioners and substance misuse practitioners.  We made a video showcasing key results and telling 4 brave people’s stories of their life journeys, which you can view here

2022-3


Research on ADHD and Suicide

We sponsored research into the link between suicide and ADHD at Glasgow University, led by Rory O’Connor.  This work had 3 phases the results of which are: 

Phase 1 Literature Review.  Read here
Phase 2: Quantitative Survey Read the survey here. 
Phase 3: Interviews View interviews here.

2022-4


Gloucestershire Youth ND Project

2024

Launch of Gloucestershire Youth Neurodiversity Project making our focus direct help for young ND people 11-25.  ADHD Foundation delivered a launch event in April, neurodiversity webinars, youth worker training and workshops for young people aged 11-25.


Gloucestershire Youth ND Project

2025

In May we awarded NDHub Gloucestershire a 12 month contract to deliver Thrive workshops for young people 11-25, support the foundation of clubs and events for young ND people and to form Gloucestershire ND Youth Council.