Neurodiversity SPARK

14/03/2026

🌟 Something special is happening in Belfast.

Yesterday we celebrated the graduation of the second cohort of “Skills for Life and Work” for neurodivergent learners at Belfast Met.

Across three weeks we watched confidence grow in real time.

People who once felt unsure about speaking stood up and presented.
Learners rebuilt routine.
Friendships formed.
Belief started to return.

This programme is built on something simple but powerful.

“A trauma informed, strengths led learning environment where people can show up exactly as they are and move forward at their own pace.”

And when that happens, people surprise themselves.

One of the most powerful moments from this journey is the story of Diarmuid.

Diarmuid graduated from Cohort One.
Now he is part of the Spark team as a Cohort Champion, supporting new learners through the course using his own lived experience.

He is also involved in another project exploring learning and confidence building through Dungeons and Dragons.

That is what real pathways look like.

And we have to give a huge shout out to our Kathleen, Spark’s newest and most prized find.

Kathleen stepped into Gary’s former role as Trauma Informed Pathways Practitioner while Gary moved further into his CEO and PhD commitments.

Gary was heard saying throughout the three weeks
“Flip me what an upgrade” 😂

But in all seriousness, this is not an easy role.

Kathleen owned it.

From day one she built trust and warmth in the room.
She advocated for the learners.
She helped the group feel safe enough to grow.

And the impact showed.

But the real credit goes to the fantastic cohorts themselves.

Their courage to show up, support one another, and keep going despite the barriers life has thrown at them is genuinely inspiring.

A sincere thank you to Belfast Metropolitan College and the brilliant staff team for trusting Neurodiversity SPARK’s approach and working alongside us to make this happen.

This partnership is showing what is possible when education, lived experience, and trauma informed practice come together. And we are only getting started.💛

We’d love to get your thoughts……🎓
What could more education programmes achieve if learners felt safe enough to grow at their own pace?

11/03/2026

How do neurodivergent students actually experience university learning environments? 🧠

Today Neurodiversity Spark returned to Queen's University Belfast, this time working with Queen’s Students’ Union, to explore that question directly with students.

Gary and Clare delivered our 'Busy Brain' workshop to support neurodivergent students in navigating their learning journey and managing overwhelm in university environments.

To inform the workshop, Spark proposed a short mixed-methods consultation, combining a student survey, a facilitated focus group, and observations gathered during the workshop itself. Over several weeks, this approach allowed us to tailor the session directly to the lived experiences of neurodivergent students at Queen's Students' Union.

Importantly, all of the workshop content came directly from these data sources….. ensuring the discussion reflected real student experiences rather than assumptions.

During the session, students explored:

🧠cognitive overload in learning environments
❗️common triggers for overwhelm
♟️practical strategies to navigate lectures, information load, and academic expectations

The level of engagement and openness from students was fantastic. Their insights are essential to shaping more inclusive learning environments. 🤝

As the next step, Spark will triangulate survey data, focus group findings, and workshop observations to produce a final synthesis and a set of recommendations to inform support for neurodivergent students across Queen's University Belfast.

A big thank you to Queen’s Students’ Union for the opportunity to collaborate on this important work and for supporting initiatives that place student voice at the centre of service design. 🎓

Spark marketer Louise’s slide deck design ensured a highly interactive and engaging experience for all participants throughout 🧠🙌

And it was great to see our lovely Clare thriving in her new Research and Academic Development role at Neurodiversity Spark 😊

03/03/2026

When we started Spark, it wasn’t about awards.
It was about lived experience.
It was about creating spaces where neurodivergent people feel understood, respected and heard.
It was about building trauma-informed systems that actually work in Northern Ireland and beyond.

This week, we were recognised at the Northern Irish Enterprise Awards 2025 as:

🏆 𝘽𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙉𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙤-𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 & 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙢

Recognition is never the goal, but it does matter.
It reflects the courage of those who share their stories.
The organisations willing to listen and learn.
The partners who co-produce meaningful change with us.

This award belongs to our community, to our members, to everyone who shares their stories, challenges systems, and believes change is possible.
We’re so proud. And we’re just getting started. 🌱✨

We will continue doing what we have always done. Quietly building, ethically delivering, and putting lived experience at the centre of everything.
𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 to everyone walking this path with us. 💛

The Spark Team 🧠

02/03/2026

✨ 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸 🧠💡

We’re really pleased to share that Louise Loughridge has joined Neurodiversity Spark as our Digital Marketing, Events & Communications lead, supporting how we share our work, our values, and the people behind everything we do.

Louise’s role sits across marketing, communications, and events, helping make sure Spark’s work is communicated in ways that are clear, accessible, and genuinely human. She works closely with the wider team to translate research, lived experience, and day-to-day delivery into content, campaigns, and events that help people understand what Spark does and how to engage with it.

A key part of Louise’s work is making sure our communications reflect how we actually work: calmly, thoughtfully, and with accessibility and trauma-informed practice built in from the start. From social content and newsletters to events and Hub activity, she helps ensure that important work doesn’t get lost and that people feel welcomed, informed, and confident engaging with Spark.

We’re really glad to finally have Louise as part of the team and super excited about how her work will help shape as Spark continues to grow.
Welcome, Louise 💛

28/02/2026

📚 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸 📚🧠💡

We’re really pleased to share that Clare has joined Neurodiversity Spark as Research and Academic Development, supporting the growth of our Research Lab and evidence-led practice.

Clare works across literature reviews, finance, evaluation, ethics, and research administration, helping bridge the gap between academic research and real-world impact. Working closely with Professor April Hargreaves, our Director of Research, she supports the development of research-informed projects across education, community, and organisational settings.

Her work strengthens our evaluation, sharpens our evidence-to-practice links, and helps ensure what we build is robust, ethical, and genuinely informed by research.

We’re so delighted to have Clare as part of the team. Welcome, Clare 💛💫

24/02/2026

We are delighted to be collaborating with Dr Gráinne Kelly at Queen’s Business School to co-design part of the MSc Human Resource Management programme.

Gary met with Gráinne to help shape part of the Neurodiverse Hiring ‘Evidence Based HR Lab’, where students will develop inclusive recruitment and selection strategies that widen access, reduce unnecessary barriers, and create fairer hiring practices for neurodivergent candidates.

HR professionals are the group we train most at Neurodiversity SPARK. They are often the gateway to opportunity within organisations. Supporting the development of future HR leaders in this space is significant and closely aligned with our wider pathway programme.

We look forward to seeing the thoughtful, evidence-informed ideas these students will bring forward.

📍 Queen's University Belfast

23/02/2026

We’re back at Belfast Met for another 3 week course.

It is always a privilege to return and work alongside learners who bring honesty, courage and lived experience into the room. Over the next few weeks we will focus on building skills, confidence and connection in a space that understands neurodiversity and trauma informed practice.

Spark was founded on the belief that education should work with people, not against them. Every cohort reminds us why this matters.

Thank you to Belfast Met for continuing to create space for inclusive, strengths based learning.

Here we go again 💙

12/02/2026

The ADHD Needs Assessment for Northern Ireland has now been published.

This report acknowledges what many families, adults and young people have been experiencing for years:

⏳ Long waiting lists
🧑‍⚕️ Gaps in adult services
📍 Inconsistent pathways
💬 Pressure on families

Spark was part of the stakeholder engagement process, ensuring lived experience was represented.

The report does not fix services overnight. But it formally recognises the scale of need and outlines clear recommendations for change.

That matters.

We’ve written a blog sharing our thoughts and what this could mean next.

You can read it here: https://www.neurodiversityspark.com/the-northern-ireland-adhd-needs-assessment-is-now-public/

If you or someone you support is navigating ADHD services right now, you are not alone.

Recognition is important. Implementation is everything.

Today, the ADHD Needs Assessment for Northern Ireland has been published. And today, the scale of need has been formally acknowledged.

11/02/2026

🌟 Want to rebuild your confidence and gain real digital skills, in a space that actually feels safe?

If you are neurodivergent and thinking about returning to work or education, you are not alone. We know that traditional courses have not always felt supportive. That is exactly why we designed this differently.

Spark has co-created a neurodiversity-specific Digital Skills for Life and Work programme at Belfast Met. It is practical, supportive and trauma-informed, with psychological safety at the centre.

Over three weeks, you will build confidence and work-ready skills in a calm, structured environment. You will learn how to create and edit documents, use spreadsheets, design presentations, manage email, understand the ethical use of AI, and strengthen your online safety.

But just as important as the skills is how the course feels.

Small groups.
Paced learning.
Sensory-aware delivery.
Clear expectations.
One-to-one mentoring.
Facilitators who understand neurodivergence.

You are not expected to mask. You are not expected to “push through”. You are supported to learn in a way that works for you.

📅 23 February to 13 March 2026
🕙 10:00 to 15:30
📍 Belfast Met, Springvale E3 campus
🎓 OCN NI Level 2 Award in Digital Skills for Work and Life
💷 Fully funded through the Inclusive Futures programme (eligibility applies)

To apply/find out more: https://www.belfastmet.ac.uk/course/p00464-ad/neuro-diverse-digital-skills-for-life-and-work

And if you know someone who needs this kind of support, please share. 💙

03/02/2026

🎉 Launch day: tomorrow! Spark’s Training Hub opens in Belfast.

📍 1st floor, 89 University Street, Belfast
We’re proud to offer a trauma-informed, neurodivergent-friendly training space for employers, regulators and public bodies.

Tomorrow we launch - our first full-day Neuroinclusion in the Workplace training. Places are intentionally small to protect safety and learning quality.🥹

Neurodiversity SPARK is multi-disciplinary, working with facilitators and collaborators across systems change, business design, health & wellbeing, AI & digital inclusion, tasks-and-sequence specialists, policy makers, and behavioural experts, so training is co-produced, credible, and designed to influence systems.

So.......if you want neuroinclusion to be routine (not optional), come see what a trauma-informed, lived-experience approach looks like in practice.

What’s on offer:
🛠️ One-day practical inclusion training (in person or online)

⏱️ Access the Expert - 1-hour sessions for quick, practical support

👥 Small-group, trauma-informed delivery that centres lived experience

🤝 A delivery-first Hub for training, research and partnership

If your organisation is ready to make neuroinclusion routine (not optional), let’s talk.

https://www.neurodiversityspark.com

30/01/2026

Neurodivergent students at Queen’s University Belfast 👋

This Wednesday, we’re supporting a neurodivergent student focus group with Queen’s University Belfast Students’ Union, helping ensure lived experience directly informs decisions about accessible spaces, learning support, and resources.

🗓 Wednesday 4 February
📍 One Elmwood Student Centre
🍽 Free lunch + £20 voucher

This is a chance to share what actually helps (and what doesn’t) when it comes to navigating university as a neurodivergent student, and your input will be used to shape future developments.

👉 Scan the QR code or register via the link
Spaces are limited.

https://app.geckoform.com/public/ #/modern/21FO00v8t9695y005omtf4qk45

25/12/2025

A Year of Listening, Learning, and Laying Foundations 🌱

This year at Spark has been less about growth for growth’s sake, and more about getting it right.

We’ve spent the year listening carefully
👂 to lived experience
to learners who’ve been excluded before
👂to professionals who know the system is creaking
👂 and to the quiet gaps where people keep falling through.

What we’ve learned is simple, but not easy:

🧠 Neuroinclusion only works when it’s built with people, not for them.
💛 Trauma-informed practice isn’t a checkbox, it’s a commitment.
🤝 And real change happens slowly, relationally, and with care.

This year we’ve:
🔍deepened our research-informed approach

🏢🏫delivered trauma-aware, lived-experience-led work across education and organisations

🌍strengthened partnerships across academia, community, and practice

🧱 and built solid foundations for what Spark is becoming

Not louder. Just clearer.

As we look toward the year ahead, Spark is moving into its next phase with new programmes, stronger advocacy pathways, and work that bridges research and real life in practical ways. 🚀

No buzzwords. No shortcuts. Just work that holds people properly and challenges systems to do better.

Thank you to everyone who’s walked alongside us this year 🙏
Next year, we build 🔥