A new research review has confirmed something many of us at FutureTech have long known: the way we support autistic children needs to shift. 

From fixing to affirming, from standardising to individualising, and from focusing on compliance to prioritising wellbeing.

The paper, “Promoting Neurodiversity-Affirming Care for Autistic Children: A Scoping Review” by Wagland et al. (2025), explores what truly affirming care looks like. 

Spoiler alert: it’s not about teaching children to “fit in” - it’s about helping systems, environments, and people around them adapt.

This evidence aligns beautifully with FutureTech’s Parents, Peers and Professionals program, a whole-community initiative designed to support neurodivergent students through meaningful change at every level - the classroom, the playground, and beyond.

What the Research Found

Wagland and colleagues reviewed dozens of studies and frameworks to ask: what actually counts as neurodiversity-affirming care?

Here are a few of the key shifts they identified:

• From symptom reduction to quality of life
  Many traditional supports aim to minimise or “treat” autistic traits. Neuro-affirming care shifts the focus to improving wellbeing, communication, relationships, and autonomy.
  
  
• Honouring autistic communication styles
  The review urges a move away from prioritising neurotypical speech and behaviour. Instead, care should validate and support different ways of expressing needs - including non-verbal communication, stimming, and echolalia.
  
  
• Environmental adaptation is key
  Rather than asking autistic children to adapt, schools and services should adapt their environments - making spaces predictable, sensory-aware, and welcoming of diverse needs.
  
  
• Care must be identity-affirming
  Affirming care recognises autism as a valid neurotype, not a disorder to be corrected. It fosters positive identity development, not masking.
  
  

It’s a powerful, research-backed reminder that truly inclusive education isn’t about helping kids “fit” into broken systems .

It’s about redesigning systems so all children can thrive.

Creating an Inclusive School Culture for Every Student

At FutureTech, our Parents, Peers and Professionals program was designed with these very principles at its heart. 

We work directly with schools to support meaningful inclusion - not just through one-off training. 

But through an integrated approach that uplifts the whole school community.

Here’s how our work mirrors what the research recommends.

Supporting Professionals

Many teachers we meet want to do the right thing - but haven’t been given the tools, space, or support to do it in affirming ways.

Our training helps educators:

• Unpack unhelpful narratives about autism
  
  
• Learn neuro-affirming, practical strategies grounded in lived experience
  
  
• Reflect on their own assumptions and shift toward curiosity, connection, and co-regulation
  
  

This isn’t just about better practice - it’s about reimagining what inclusive teaching looks and feels like.

‍Empowering Parents

Parents are often given long lists of “deficits” and interventions - but rarely the validation or community they need.

In our sessions for parents and carers, we:

• Offer a space to connect with others navigating similar journeys
  
  
• Provide tools to advocate for their child’s strengths, needs, and identity
  
  
• Support all parents to understand and value neurodiversity
  
  
• Reframe autism as something to embrace - not overcome
  
  

We stand alongside families, not above them.

‍Equipping Peers

Inclusion doesn't work if neurotypical students don't understand neurodivergence.

That’s why we run interactive peer workshops in schools, helping students:

• Explore different sensory and communication experiences
  
  
• Practice inclusive communication
  
  
• Build genuine empathy and connection with neurodivergent classmates
  
  

It’s about building empathy, connection and curiosity.

How It All Ties Together

This research review reflects what our FutureTech community sees every day: autistic young people thrive when they're supported in environments that understand, respect, and adapt to them.

And that takes all of us. 

Not just the student and the specialist, but the parent at the school gate, the friend in the playground, and the teacher leading the classroom.

That’s why Parents, Peers and Professionals works. 

It’s grounded in the belief that inclusive schools don’t happen by accident. 

They are built, together, on a foundation of respect, knowledge, and lived experience.

‍

Want to bring this work to your school?

We’d love to chat about how FutureTech can support your community through tailored workshops and support.

Reach out via our Contact page.

Let’s build environments where neurodivergent young people don’t just survive - they belong, thrive, and shape the future.

‍

Read the full paper here: 

Wagland, Z., Sterman, J., Scott-Cole, L., Spassiani, N., & Njelesani, J. (2025). Promoting Neurodiversity-Affirming Care for Autistic Children: A Scoping Review. Neurodiversity, 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330251357479 (Original work published 2025)

‍