SCIENCE@home

Co-Occurring Physical Health Challenges in Neurodivergent Children and Young People: A Topical Review and Recommendation

B. Donaghy,D. Moore,Jane Green

Published 2023 in Child Care in Practice

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT Background Neurodivergence has been established as associated with a significant number of co-occurring physical conditions, particularly for autistic individuals who are at risk for increased pain, hypermobility (including Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) and gastrointestinal problems. However, data, so far, has been focused on adults and generally limited to discussions of condition prevalence alone. Methods The following article will present a topical review of the literature considering evidence for increased physical health concerns within neurodivergent populations, particularly autistic individuals, with a focus on the impact that these physical health concerns may have in an educational setting. Results and discussion The impact of physical health concerns within neurodivergent populations in an educational setting may be concerning. Such populations may face a range of challenges in obtaining appropriate support for physical conditions. We discuss a number of said challenges including; communication challenges, misattributing physical health symptoms as a part of neurodivergence, and a history of not being believed, which limits symptomatic reporting. We further consider the potential impact these physical health concerns may have on scholastic and social development, such as impacts for attainment and attendance. Furthermore, we provide recommendations for teachers, parents/carers and other allied professionals in young people’s lives, on supporting young neurodivergent people with physical health concerns.

PUBLICATION RECORD

CITATION MAP

EXTRACTION MAP

CLAIMS

  • No claims are published for this paper.

CONCEPTS

  • No concepts are published for this paper.

REFERENCES

Showing 1-99 of 99 references · Page 1 of 1

CITED BY

Showing 1-18 of 18 citing papers · Page 1 of 1