Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025 #sharestories 

Published on 20 March, 2025 | Emma Hubbard

As we mark and support Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025, we speak to Emma Hubbard at Hall Brown Family Law. She shares with us an honest picture of living with neurodiversity as a family.

Sharing a summary of my experience is tricky as it’s so multi-faceted.

I have two children and looking back now, comparing them at similar ages, the signs were there that my son was somehow different, but being the eldest and our first child, we had no point of reference.

He met all his milestones, but it was little things at the time like he could count to 100 by the age of 2 and he could read before he started pre-school – only simple words and books – but it wasn’t something that had to be taught. He fixated on things for a few months and then lost interest – cars, planes, teddies, but we assumed this was “normal”.

When he started school, his teacher raised concerns that he didn’t seem to interact with other students. His reception area comprised of two year groups and it was vast, learning was play-led and at free time, he would just wander around not really knowing how to engage.

The first-time autism was mentioned, I was sat in the car park of a local supermarket when the teacher phoned me and asked if we had ever considered an autism assessment. Said so bluntly and matter of fact. I was on my own in a car park with my youngest who was under the age of one. It felt like someone had just shattered my world. I cried uncontrollably. This was the start of a long battle.

Diagnosis of Autism didn’t follow until he was seven. We lost two years within the diagnosis process, which was not only difficult, relentless and frustrating but also heart breaking.

We subsequently embarked on another battle when it became clear that he had ADHD, yet the authorities would not accept the diagnosis. We knew that wasn’t right – the inability to sit still but then also to hyper focus to the exclusion of all else. The explosive behaviours around regulating emotions that seemed to far exceed his autistic “traits”. We were forced to fund a private diagnosis, which the Psychologist cemented within 5 minutes of meeting him. He did indeed have ADHD.

An EHCP eventually was obtained, and this helped to secure a place at a mainstream secondary school with an integrated autism resource. That school place and ADHD medication has been transformational. In his words the “whirring” stopped in his brain. His school place and the adjustments that are made within it and within the wider mainstream school that has a fully inclusive ethos means he is no longer afraid of school – simple things – he can wear his ear defenders, and no-one comments or bullies.

I am under no illusions that the school isn’t perfect because nothing in society ever is, but it actively promotes inclusion. At parents evening, he was able to walk us around the school building knowing where to go. You may read this as a parent of a 12-year-old and think “so what all kids can do that”, but actually, no, they can’t. The fear paralyses them. They don’t know how to get from one room to the next because their brains are processing thousands of emotions and feelings at the same time, and it becomes overwhelming. So, for him to be able to walk us round and engage with his teachers is all credit to him and to the school.

Every day is still a challenge.

His brain processes the world in a different way but in many respects in a much simpler way. He lives his life the way he wants to live it and the way that makes him feel comfortable. He doesn’t have the need to please people and whilst that can at times cause issues for societal expected norms, it means he is free to be whoever he wants to be.

Other people with lived experience are the best people to support and help.

Local parent carer forums are also invaluable. My local Rotherham Parent Carer Forum has been a game changer. So many parents with lived experience who can share and help others. For example, when looking for a school, it was a question I asked on there and numerous parents provided their experiences good or bad of school and this formed the list of places we eventually visited. I would never have looked at the school my son goes to now because it was too far away but I hadn’t realised that designated transport to and from the school would be available. It was a parent who told me this.

The main thing is not being afraid to ask for help and advice. It can feel very lonely when your child is seen as different to all others. Realising that you aren’t alone, shifts that burden.

Relating with clients.

From a professional point of view, my lived experience helps me to relate to others where neurodiversity is part of their lives. I am not afraid of discussing issues, needs and diagnosis, which means clients feel comfortable and more at ease.

It has also helped me to be able to explain clearly to other professionals i.e. opposing lawyers, why what they are proposing simply won’t work for a neurodiverse child, or why something we are proposing isn’t about disadvantaging their client, it is about meeting the needs of the child. For example, having the same person take and collect from school can be vital to some children, understanding the overwhelming need for routine and consistency and why being 15 minutes late might seem like a small issue to you but can dysregulate a neurodiverse person for hours

There is still a long way to go in raising awareness.

There are a lot of people trying to raise awareness over social media platforms and in the main they are doing a great job. However, on the ground awareness in the general public, in my experience continues to be very limited and stereotyped. How often do you hear phrases like “if that child was mine, they wouldn’t behave like that”

I still get odd looks when talking openly about my child being diagnosed autistic. There still seems to be a stigma attached to autism perhaps more so than ADHD or dyslexia for example. The more openly people talk, then the more awareness there is.

Being open and honest in the workplace is crucial.

There are a few of us in the team who are either neurodiverse or have children who are. This means that within the team as a whole there is greater awareness of needs and how to approach clients and their children alike. Being open and honest means that other team members aren’t afraid to ask questions about how best to approach a situation, client or case.

Having an open a frank discussion at the start, helps clients no end. How do they want to communicate, what do they need in meetings or at court i.e. lighting, sounds (our fire alarm test is at 10am every Tuesday for example, so for some client’s this would be a trigger), descriptions, directions and step by step instructions to complete documents. Do they need different colour paper or fonts to help viewing documents. It is a case of openly talking and asking and adjusting working practices to suit each client.

View the Neurodiversity Celebration Week Events Line-up below with access to valuable and insightful discussions: https://www.neurodiversityweek.com/events